I ran into this coin and was wondering why it looks DMPL but the TPG graders balked at giving it neither a PL nor DMPL designation. What do you think?
IN NECESSARIIS UNITAS - IN DUBIIS LIBERTAS - IN OMNIBUS CARITAS THE MAN IN THE ARENA, Theodore Roosevelt at the Sorbonne Paris on April 23, 1910: "It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat." My coin website:https://fairfaxcoins.com
That is what I surmise based on the photos. Seems consistent with how they would look. The other thing it could be is striations from planchet polishing but those tend to disappear with a good strike, which this coin has every indication of having. Since these do not continue on to the devices, it does not appear that they are hairlines from cleaning/wiping.
IN NECESSARIIS UNITAS - IN DUBIIS LIBERTAS - IN OMNIBUS CARITAS THE MAN IN THE ARENA, Theodore Roosevelt at the Sorbonne Paris on April 23, 1910: "It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat." My coin website:https://fairfaxcoins.com
Funny I was looking at that exact same coin yesterday and thought the same thing. I think I was trying to give mine a grade so I was scrolling through PCGS.
I'm not sure if you have to ask for that evaluation and pay an extra fee? I suggested on my submission form that two of the Morgans I just got back from PCGS should be considered for PL/DMPL, but none came back with those designations. I'm sure they are, but nothing was noted on the label. Yours sure looks like it should have at least garnered PL.
"Nummi rari mira sunt, si sumptus ferre potes." - Christophorus filius Scotiae
IN NECESSARIIS UNITAS - IN DUBIIS LIBERTAS - IN OMNIBUS CARITAS THE MAN IN THE ARENA, Theodore Roosevelt at the Sorbonne Paris on April 23, 1910: "It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat." My coin website:https://fairfaxcoins.com
absolutely die polish lines not scratches. without any depth reference its pretty much impossible to call it however, it is not less than PL and possibly DMPL. the cameo is sick. the problem is it should never be resubbed for fear of losing the numeric grade. my guess is that it would put the coin out of sight for value. whats interesting is that its not even listed on PCGS. they only show 2 at MS68 and none at 68+
It definitely looks at least PL, but obviously hard to make that call with photos alone. There is a suggestion of cartwheel effect, so maybe they just didn't see it in hand.
You would really need to see the coin in hand to get an idea of the reflectivity. The Obverse looks there but I think the fresh reverse polish might be inhibiting reflectivity. I would suspect the reason for the plus grade is because the obverse is PL.
I forgot how pale Michael Jackson looked at one point.
pAyKJAtDNCw
IN NECESSARIIS UNITAS - IN DUBIIS LIBERTAS - IN OMNIBUS CARITAS THE MAN IN THE ARENA, Theodore Roosevelt at the Sorbonne Paris on April 23, 1910: "It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat." My coin website:https://fairfaxcoins.com
I have an 1880-S Morgan dollar (who doesn't, right?) with a PL designation, but my coin doesn't look nearly as PL as this one--this one really confuses me.
While there is a very strong Cameo, PL/DMPL is all about reflectivity. The photos sure make it look like it would be PL/DMPL, but I have to assume that in hand it doesn't quite meet the mark. I am also sure this coin has been to PCGS multiple times trying to get one of those designations, as it would add greatly to the value.
Disclaimer: While a tremendous amount of effort goes into ensuring the accuracy of the information contained in this site, Coin Community assumes no liability for errors. Copyright 2005 - 2026 Coin Community Family- all rights reserved worldwide. Use of any images or content on this website without prior written permission of Coin Community or the original lender is strictly prohibited. Contact Us | Advertise Here | Privacy Policy / Terms of Use
Posted 10/07/2025 5:58 pm
