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 Replies: 9 / Views: 1,030 |
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New Member
United States
4 Posts |
Lets see your grading skills on this one. I'm thinking could be MS   |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2936 Posts |
Nice Morgan! I'd have to go with an XF-45 due to the wear on the eagle's breast.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
2448 Posts |
Wow, this is a tough one! While I really haven't been grading or even looking at coins for a while, the wear on the coin is unusual. The obverse shows the wear on the tip of the cap, but the reverse shows wear on the eagle's breast. Her small curl of hair in front of the ear is good and the normal wear patterns on the motto "LIBERTY" and adjacent hair and ear is not visible. Good but, for me confusing, photos; are they of the same coin?
Anyway, I'll have to say AU53 to AU55 and thanks for the exercise. The obverse is definitely better than the reverse.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2541 Posts |
I don't think it is MS either. AU 53-55
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5854 Posts |
The coin does look like it may grade around mid to high AU. It may be the pictures but the coin does not appear to have a significant amount of mint luster which would be something I would expect from a morgan in this grade.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
36745 Posts |
First off, nice coin! IF this coin had full mint bloom I would be tempted to go MS on it. I don't like the color, it looks like it was once cleaned and retoned. The eagles feathers could be just from a weaker strike as the earlier S Mint coins were struck far better than the later years. The hair detail is almost all there and that also varies on the strike of the coins. I'm seeing some scratches but I think those might be on the slab it is in. Bottom line, I'd go AU-55 details.
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Valued Member
United States
275 Posts |
 Dav Is this a scan? If so it doesn't show the mint lustre very well. A good pic from even a cell phone camera might give it a little more color.Love Morgans. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
36745 Posts |
Sure would like to hear a response from Dav on this one.
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Moderator
 United States
23522 Posts |
Well, let's think about this for a moment.
First, one expects decent strikes from San Francisco Morgans. With that said, 1903 is long into the production life of the master dies, even having been refreshed over the years, and we won't necessarily expect 1881-S quality out of a 1903.
The appearance of the eagle's breast could be consistent with wear, or it could be due to a weak strike. Likewise for the hair above the ear. Both are the very first places wear appear on a Morgan. So how do you know the difference?
For me, that marker is the bottom leaves on the wreath - the two largest which point directly to the sides of the coin - and the eagle's talons. Both will begin to show the problems of a weak strike almost as soon as the breast feathers will, while not showing wear nearly as quickly. The talons are tough to evaluate in such small images, although they do appear to be nicely rounded. The two leaves tell the story, though. They are well-struck, showing all interior detail.
If the leaves are that well-struck, so then should be the breast. It isn't. This coin has seen circulation, and I'll call it AU-55.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
9792 Posts |
I must see a lot more wear on this coin than the rest of you, I rate it solid EF40 maybe EF45 but no more,
"Buy the Book Before You Buy the Coin" - Aaron R. Feldman - "And read it" - Me 2013! ANA Life Member #3288 in good standing since 1981, ANS, Early American Coppers Member (EAC), Colonial Coin Collectors Club member (C4), Conder Token Collector Club member (CTCC), Civil War Token Society (CWTS) member, Liberty Seated Collectors Club (LSCC) & Numismatic Bibliomania Society member (NBS), USMex, Member in good standing, 2¢ variety collector. See my want page: http://goccf.com/t/140440 |
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Replies: 9 / Views: 1,030 |
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Posted 07/15/2012 08:48 am
