1898 P Morgan - Grade It!

MS-64

I'm at 63. Reverse looks a little better than the obverse, hits on the cheek and neck brining it down a little in addition to that scratch in the lower left obverse field.

if those Reeding Marks were just a tad bit more prominent, the coin may grade straight. some TPG's will pass it, others will not. luster is a key component to grading just under surface preservation for weight. broken luster even a small amount say on the cheek, would keep the coin out of MS64 territory. due to the photos inability to show the luster properly. there is too much light glare in your photos. tone that down and do not use any overhead lighting as it washes out and obscures the surfaces.

blowing the coin up look at the obv lettering, BUS and UNUM and stars 8-9-10, they have hallowing around them, all indications of a dip. there is a scratch at K8 also. whatever the black dots are on the reverse field just to the right of the wing are too constantly spaced to be natural

all that said I'm not 100% sure this one would pass without better photos. UNC details or MS63+

Most 1898 UNCs are 62-63-64 coins, but comparatively few run higher. The silver rush 1898 coins brought a lot of baggy coins to the market. They had a rough life in storage. Your coin is better than most, but has the usual rim ding and a little cheek rash, along with one field scar near stars 4 and 5. The reverse is very nice. IMHO, the obverse is MS-63, the reverse is an easy MS-65/MS-65+, but the net grade by a TPG has the feel of MS-63+ rather than MS-64, although it could trade raw as a bourse floor 64. I agree that the reverse measles aren't natural. They make it look like it was dried on a paper towel after a quick dip. Nice coin, better than a lot of them out there, and a stronger coin raw than slabbed.

thats whats all about Odee. everyone learns. it never stops. we learn a lot from each other here. there is a lot of experience on this site, so just sort through them to get different opinions on what your coin looks like, and match that to your coin. then make you own call on it.

not everyone gets it right every time. remember grading is very subjective even at the TPG's. the biggest thing I learned over the years was that I never believe the grade on a slab. I always grade the coin based on what I see. we have seen this time and time again where they miss it and the main reason I dont slab. my skills and those one here that have been grading for decades is every bit as good as anyone at a TPG in my opinion.

Hard to see the surfaces with the photo lighting.