How Do You Visually Grade A Morgan Or Walking Liberty?

Here's a great resource for Walkers.

http://www.stellacoinnews.com/index...nical-grade/

Like anything else, it just takes practice. Over time, you learn what parts of the coin wear first and last. Get a bunch of coins, and put them in order by grade (without grading them). THEN, assign grades to them. Look at slabbed examples at shows, and join heritage (ha.com) where they have a huge selection of photos from prior auctions.

I'm no expert, but here's how I like to start with Morgans...

Does it have cartwheel luster(when you rotate it, it should shine). That's one sign of mint state.

On the obverse (side with Liberty's head) check the hair above her ear for wear, and also look at her cheek and the field to the left of her for contact marks.

On the reverse (side with the eagle) look at the feathers on the eagle's breast for wear. This is the high point on the reverse.

Besides that, the photograde book is great to learn XF vs. AU vs. BU. I have the black and white version, but the colour version is well worth the money.

Best of luck!