Is This A Joke?

I could see where everyone saying the scratches and marks are a problem if it were graded MS-65 or higher but MS-61? Come on! The lowest a Uncirculated coin can be graded is MS-60 and that can be so scratched up its crazy, so as long as it didn't circulate, scratches can't keep a coin from grading MS-60. This coin is graded 1 point higher and has hits and scratches, so what its a MS-61, that is what you should expect from a MS-61 coin

@Bryan : I understand what you are trying to say about circulation but how can one find the difference between scratches that were caused due to circuation and scratches caused otherwise?

I bought a 1929 Indian Quarter Eagle from a large coin dealer that specializes in Pre 33 gold. I bought it because it was NGC MS 61 andI was looking for a fairly beautiful coin but perfection was not my goal. When I had the coin in hand there was a slice from the edge of the obverse that cut across both sides of the Indian's chin. AppArently low grade MS coins can have some pretty large war wounds as long as the luster isn't broken. Luckily it was a very reputable dealer and they returned my money immediately upon receipt of the returned coin.

brokencompass, as was stated above it is the luster you look at. If it is unbroken then they say it didn't circulate (at least with US coins anyway). Business strike coins were not handled very carefully and just thrown in bags that create marks on the coins not only by the other coins hitting it but also the cloth bags themselves rubbing against it. If a coin has a small break in luster in places they call the coin Almost Uncirculated but in all reality a coin could have probably circulated for a little while and still be called a Uncirculated coin if it wasn't handled very rough

brokencompass:
A quick way to distinguish hairlines caused by contact from those caused by rubbing is to look for a pattern. The former should be mostly random, but the later will usually have a noticeable pattern, often in a circular motion.
As for the coin in question - I think it may have been struck from a greasy or dirty die, because some of the "grainy" areas are in small spaces that would not typically be affected by contact or rubbing. This is especially evident on the reverse, towards the bottom left. It also looks like while some of the fields in these tight spaces have a grainy appearance, the features struck in relief around them do not. This leads me to believe that the actual hairlines on the coin are much fewer than some people responding may think. It's not possible to be completely sure from looking at pictures like this shot with flash though.
Personally, if I was looking at it as a raw coin I would be considering the price based on a net AU grade coin, and certainly not a "choice" example of it.

I was selling a 1917-S SQL in ANACS AU-53. The last 5 hours of the sale, someone turned me in for NOT showing the reverse of the slab. The sale saw canceled and I had to relist. The only good thing is that I relisted at 30% MORE than the final bid and SOLD it!

I looked at others and can see that ebay doesn't care if you sell lots of coins, they don't care if you show the reverse of the slab. I reported 4 "Top Sellers" and never even got an answer from ebay as to why my sale was pulled but top sellers with 25 to 100 coins that don't show the reverse as required were allowed to continue.

*sigh* I'm just glad I was able to get more than my first listing. The buyer LOVED the coin and said he thought it was under graded and looked like a Full Head, that was not listed on the slab.

I wonder how seller can cover the top of the reverse with a sticker and still comply with ebay rules. I'll never report a user for a violation like this again, because ebay doesn't care.

No, it was just before I joined the CCF. I would have loved to use the reporting link. The currenct ebay way of reporting a seller is not very good or user friendly. It seemed like every time I tried to use it, I didn't find exactly what I needed.

As for the Offical coin reporting link found here, perfect.