The toning masks the strike a bit, and that makes grading this coin more subjective. (Interestingly, your die pair appears to be a later stage of the die pair used for the NGC illustration. Note the die scratch from the long feather to the nostril and the reverse die crack at 9 o'clock.)
The obverse die shows significant die wear, and the clash marks under the Indian's chin are pronounced. LIBERTY is soft, as are the hairline and the braid at the cheek. There is some loss of detail on the feathers, but the third feather, knot and date are at least average for the date and mint. There is a contact mark in the Indian's hair, in the general vicinity of the ear.
The reverse die is not as significantly worn as the obverse die, but there is evidence of the clash and die polishing at EPU. There are also die polishing marks between the rear legs and between the Buffalo's head and UNITED. The eye, horn, and tail are weakly struck, but complete. The split tail is evident but weak. There is a small die crack from the front of the Buffalo's head through the rim. There appear to be two long scratches, from ST of STATES to EPU and through AMERICA. The Buffalo is a bit baggy.
Given the strike quality and post-clash die polishing, I'm inclined to see the rubbing on the hip as die polishing, rather than a touch of wear. The shoulder, however, looks like it has very light wear. The absence of evident wear on the obverse suggests that the shoulder rubbing may be coin cabinet wear, which is unfortunate. The two reverse scratches are problematic. IMHO, they cut a point or two off the otherwise evident grade.
I personally would grade this coin raw as MS-60, but I could well see a
TPG using the shoulder rub to slip it to AU-58 and the three contact marks (one obverse and two reverse) to pin a details label on it. The coin deserves better that that, but TPGs are getting tougher on details factors.
That said, the second set of photos show a coin with eye appeal and a decent combination of strike and technical grade for the date and mint. It's a nice coin, and thanks for sharing it with us!
FtC
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Posted 03/01/2019 9:17 pm
