Posted 04/03/2026 3:56 pm
Peace dollars are graded strictly. TPGs see a large number of them. have just 30-ish seconds to grade them, and many of them are baggy. IMHO, the TPGs look at the number, location, and severity/depth/recency of the contact marks and scratches.
With that in mind, take a look at these areas of your coin. These may be some what the TPG focused on. On the obverse, notice the two intersecting scratches on the cheek, the longer scratch on the throat, the nicks on the chin, and the nicks on the eyelid. These are in the visual center of the coin. There are also a couple scratches in the hair, aligned with matching scratches on the obverse rim at 1:00. There also may be a scratch in the field immediately below WE, although the lighting makes that difficult to see. The obverse roughness could be from a rusted die or it could be surface conditions. I can't see the affected areas clearly, but since you have the coin in hand, look at the areas near the "L" of LIBERTY and just to the left of the lower neck. in the field below WE. On the reverse, notice the two contact marks across the eagle's shoulder, the scratch through the "O" in OF and the adjoining area of the rim, the numerous small marks on the rear tail feathers, the scratch on the rock above PEACE, the somewhat recent scratches on the "T" of UNITED and "P" of PLURIBUS, and the scratch you mentioned above ONE.
Again, there are quite a few small scratches, but they add up. Several are on Liberty's face and the eagle, which are the most central design areas. And a couple of them may be newer and more reflective.
MS-60 is a tough grade, but a lot of Peace dollars are in that 60/61 range with marks that wouldn't drop a Morgan dollar to that level. They do get graded more strictly.
Just a few thoughts on what I think the TPG saw. Others may very well see this coin differently.
With that in mind, take a look at these areas of your coin. These may be some what the TPG focused on. On the obverse, notice the two intersecting scratches on the cheek, the longer scratch on the throat, the nicks on the chin, and the nicks on the eyelid. These are in the visual center of the coin. There are also a couple scratches in the hair, aligned with matching scratches on the obverse rim at 1:00. There also may be a scratch in the field immediately below WE, although the lighting makes that difficult to see. The obverse roughness could be from a rusted die or it could be surface conditions. I can't see the affected areas clearly, but since you have the coin in hand, look at the areas near the "L" of LIBERTY and just to the left of the lower neck. in the field below WE. On the reverse, notice the two contact marks across the eagle's shoulder, the scratch through the "O" in OF and the adjoining area of the rim, the numerous small marks on the rear tail feathers, the scratch on the rock above PEACE, the somewhat recent scratches on the "T" of UNITED and "P" of PLURIBUS, and the scratch you mentioned above ONE.
Again, there are quite a few small scratches, but they add up. Several are on Liberty's face and the eagle, which are the most central design areas. And a couple of them may be newer and more reflective.
MS-60 is a tough grade, but a lot of Peace dollars are in that 60/61 range with marks that wouldn't drop a Morgan dollar to that level. They do get graded more strictly.
Just a few thoughts on what I think the TPG saw. Others may very well see this coin differently.
