WHy only MS 61 by PCGS??

[RI AL]

OK, guys. I need educating. I know that the tpg guys are tough on little coins, but do you agree with me that PCGS was having a bad day when they popped this one into the plastic as an MS 61?

 

RI AL

 

[bsshog40]

Pics are a little small RI AL. From these, it looks to be maybe 63. I'm seeing alot of contacts on the left Obv. Can you enlarge them?

[MikeInFL]

From the photos, no, I don't agree that PCGS messed up this coin....

 

It looks to me like impared luster caused the grade. There may also be hairlines, not showing in the photos, which will sometimes cause the odd 61 grade.

 

Judging solely from the photos it looks to me to be an AU not a MS coin...Mike

[MarkFeld]

Those images do not provide us with a good look at the coin. But, from what I can see, the luster appears to be diminished and Liberty's face is flat, from what looks like light friction. I might have guessed AU58 had you not disclosed the grade.

[MunkyMan95]

I agree with Mark and Mike. Based on the photos, I agree with PCGS's grade of MS61.

[gmarguli]

Looks like an AU coin.

[ibyandsellsmith]

Looks like your lucky she came in at MS at all, granted the pics are a little small to tell but looks like the cheek has some issues.

[RI AL]

Wow, guys. Thanks for the input. I will try later or tomorrow to enlarge. At some point, I have to learn to take the beautiful pictures a lot of you post. There must be a better way than how I'm doing it on Photobucket...but it took me days to get that "right"...sort of.

 

RI AL

[RI AL]

I escaped from kitchen clean-up...but only momentarily. Here are enlarged images of the PCGS 61 1873 dollar. The coloring in my photos just doesn't come out well...color is a lustrous red-gold. May I ask for your opinions again as to grade? THANKS!!

 

RI AL

 

IMG]http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff247/alglasser/golddollar61rev2.jpg[/img]

[RI AL]

[bsshog40]

I don't see luster inthe pics but I do see some sort of spotting or possibly rub on a lot of the high points. I'm not good with gold though.

[physics-fan3.14]

As has been said before, the pictures aren't the greatest. But it looks like an AU-61 to me.

[ibyandsellsmith]

Is that AU to MS61 or just an AU-61 cause that would be tricky.

[MikeInFL]

Al,

 

All things considered, there's little spread between AU and low MS grades. So if the coin appeals to you, I see nothing terribly wrong.

 

However, if someone made this "mistake" in another series -- the downside could be conserable. I am always wary of low MS grades, and when I see them, I ask myself "what's wrong with this coin" as many times they are (to me) overgraded AU coins or really impared MS coins.

 

That said, there is nothing in the new, larger photos changes my opinion -- it still looks to me to be an AU coin.

 

In more detail, I see what appears to be clear rub on the nose, along the bottom of the neck, along the high points of the hair, and the feathers of the headdress on the obverse. On the reverse, the high points of the wreath show what looks to me to be wear. The fields on both sides also look to have impared luster. All these wear and impared areas appear in your photos as slightly darker than the rest of the coin -- that's the feature of the photo that caught my eye and led in large part to the AU grade.

 

It should be mentioned that judging coins from photographs is problematic at best, and the coin, in hand, could look significantly different. The "odd" look to your photos further exacerbates this situation. So please take the above for what they are -- really just (semi-educated) guesses.

 

Respectfully submitted...Mike

 

p.s. As an aside, I suspect you are using a strange type of lighting to photograph your coin. In hopes of improving your photograps, I hope you will excuse my asking a few questions... Are you by chance using a scanner? If not, please describe the lighting you are using. Your photos appear "flat" to my eye.

 

If you have interest in improving your photographs, you might consider reading carefully an article written by, in my opinion, one of the best coin photographer's around, Mark Goodman. Here's a link to the article: http://coinimaging.com/photography.html

 

[James_OldeTowne]

I have to agree that it doesn't appear as a mint state coin. However, the truth is that most of the MS-61s don't! I own about a dozen of these from AU-58 through MS-62, all slabbed, and judging by the erratic grading, I'm really not sure there is a "standard".

[bsshog40]

I agree James. It seems when you have a mint stae coin at 60 or 61, that there is alot of lieniency for condition.