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 Replies: 11 / Views: 1,541 |
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New Member
United States
25 Posts |
I have only been collecting a short time so I am new to all this. Can I get some opinions of how common my experience is? I have collected 8 raw Morgan dollars over the past several months from coin shows, proxibid and (207) Not Allowed - Auto-Removed . I have been trying to get nice coins for the most part to do the more common Morgan dollars in MS64 or so. So I sent in these 8 coins that had been graded by dealers with such terms as MS-65, 64, BU, AU++ (1889-S), and gem. I did have one (1903-S) that was definitely rough that I guessed to be about G-4. What I got back was two MS-63s, one MS-62, a G-6 (yay), and the rest cleaned. Needless to say, I was disappointed. I had hoped(expected), 1 MS-65, 5 MS64s, an AU-58, and a G-4. So is it pretty common to end up with a lot of cleaned coins that fool the novice like myself or did I just get unlucky? Are a lot of the dealers out there super inflating grades or do they just not know? Thanks |
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
Cleaned coins do happen, it all depends where you get them from. Some places are more honest than others when it comes to that
Basically unless you have a relationship with a dealer take what they say with a grain of salt. There are a lot that will pass stuff off as better than it is or just dont know that much about that series.
My advice would be if you want them graded buy them that way especially at first and youll learn over time what they should look like from that and let someone else worry about the grading process so you get exactly what you want from the start
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Moderator
 United States
23522 Posts |
That's not at all an uncommon result for a new collector, meaning no offense. It's why you'll constantly hear people harping on the idea of developing one's own skills first, before submitting stuff to a TPG. There are very few Morgans which are worth the cost of having graded at the MS63 level, and a bare handful which justify it in Good grades. For instance, a 1903-S in G6 is only worth grading if you got it for free; otherwise you won't make up your investment. You cut to the core concept, though - you had an idea what to expect for grade; it's only lack of experience which led you to miss the features which caused you to overestimate the result. So, like I'd tell anyone in your position: Watch the threads where coins are presented for grading and determination of whether or not they're cleaned. Form your own opinion, and compare it to that of others. Don't hesitate to step in and ask anyone why they said what they did. A place like Coin Community helps to concentrate information in one spot, so this necessary skill can take a lot less time than the decades one used to have to spend learning, but it's still a process totally tied to experience. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5825 Posts |
Take it as a learning process, even pros misses sometime, but hoping you didn't pay much for grading the coins. Plus, now you have something to compared when you decide next time to buy! Post pictures of you coins here to get opinions, there's lot of Morgan dollar collectors here. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5854 Posts |
I was very disappointed with my first submission to PCGS. Got a couple back as problem coins and a few more that had graded below what I had expected. I took it as a learning experience and tried to figure out they graded it as such. The next time I submitted, I got much better results.
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New Member
 United States
25 Posts |
Thanks everyone for your replies. I will post some pictures as soon as I get my package back. I think I will be looking at the coins from a completely different perspective this time.
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New Member
United States
25 Posts |
I got the coins in today. I can see the cleaning on 3 of them. This one, I am having a hard time with. Can you give me some ideas on what I should be seeing?   |
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
I dont personally see it either unless it has a weird luster like its been treated with something
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Moderator
United States
16677 Posts |
What did NGC call it?
swcoin.ecrater.com
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New Member
United States
25 Posts |
UNC details
Improperly cleaned
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Moderator
United States
16677 Posts |
It does have that "white" appearance associated with a cleaning but also luster evident.
I'm guessing it was lightly wiped.
I love NGC's term, improperly cleaned as opposed to properly cleaned?
swcoin.ecrater.com
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5854 Posts |
The pictures don't seem to indicate a coin that has been abrasively cleaned. I don't seen hairlines that I would consider abnormally severe and/or numerous. I have a feeling it may have been overdipped. Too many dippings in an acidic solution will cause the luster to weaken and to have a "flatter" appearance. It is little hard to describe the difference but with experience, you will begin to notice subtle differences. If you haven't done so already, you could try comparing it to the one's graded MS-62 and 63 while paying careful attention to the way the light reflects off the surface. Luster can be a hard thing to judge without having the coin in hand. Had it been posted in the grading forum, I think I would have given it a problem free grade under the assumption that the pictures weren't quite doing the coin justice.
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Replies: 11 / Views: 1,541 |
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Posted 04/15/2013 11:09 pm
