Morgan 1881 S

I agree , that is a MUCH nicer coin. Glad to hear the dealer made good on it. I will assume that you picked out the first coin , and he did not offer it to you initially- otherwise I would be careful. If he offered the first one to you, and refunded after you found out that it was cleaned...let's just say that sounds a bit shady to me. In the shop I work at part time, that first coin would have been in a cull bin, and no one would get it unless they picked it out themselves.

This coin looks much nicer, but the cheek and facial area critical to grading these is too dark to see any hits/scratches, the fields in front of her face are also pretty dark. From these pics I would say it does not have alot of marks, looks pretty well struck ( well struck S mints are fairly common in this series ) with just a little flatness above the ear. The reverse looks pretty clean with minimal luster breaks on the eagles breast and wings, and good details. I would say NGC would grade this one an MS-64 from what these pics show me.
Greysheet lists it at $170 ask in 64, $41 ask in 63 , just so you know a fair area to pay for this one. Not every dealer uses the Greysheet, but it should be pretty close.

As for the pics, the reverse pic is a little better as it is a little more evenly lit and seems a bit brighter. I have taken hundreds...thousands of pictures of my coins with my camera...I still struggle with alot of them all the time..background...lighting...luster ..toning..cameo...taking pics of coins can be very trying ! Keep at it, I only have to take 8-10 of each coin now to get two usable pics

The polished coin was in his cull bins. I chose it and did not specify exactly what I was looking for. It was shiny and I liked it.

He did not show it to me. He seems very honest and has been in the business many years. Older gentleman and my first impression of him is good.

Here are some lighter photographs.




You guys are good! It's an MS63 and I paid $42.00 for it. He uses the Greysheet.

Just for fun I looked those prices up in a couple other guides I use, including the PCGS web site which is normally a little on the high side, and they list the pricing at $47 to $49 in MS63 and $65 to $67 in MS64.

The 63 pricing is understandable but there is a HUGE discrepancy in the 64 pricing between these guides and the Greysheet. Perhaps I missed something here?

That sounds more like what I would expect.

Very nice Morgan.

You guys are right, I looked at the price for the 1881-O listed right above it..I stand corrected- the 64 price is not $140...it is $50 ! The second set of pics is better, and shows a couple more nicks on the face, and what looks like a hit under the chin, I agree with a 63, and a very nice coin. I am glad the dealer did not initially offer you the first coin, and the price is right...Hang around, get to know him, you will not be sorry.