Opinions on this three cent silver?

[RGT]

TDN,

That is an excellent coin and strike, though even that one has some minor weaknesses.

 

chinook,

It may take me a while to tire of it and even when I do I don't think my wife will. She actually enjoys looking at my coins and trimes are one of her favorites.

 

Oldtrader3,

Thanks for posting those pics. That is a nicely struch 1860. It puts mine to shame. That 1853 is nice too, with an above average strike. The second 1853 looks like an 1859 which is good. I still need an 1859. Thanks also for putting pictures in your registry set. I don't bother looking at the sets with no pictures. If you haven't take a look at mine. It can't match yours, but you have a few years on me.

 

I hope no one was offended that I asked for opinions without full disclosure of what NGC had already said. I know grading is difficult from a picture but I was mostly wanting opinions of the color and the "eye appeal".

 

There may be a few more light scuffs on the coin that really show up in the picture, but they are tiny like the coin. I really need a 10X to see most of them. The luster is at least average. I didn't ask for value but I got a range from $250 to $500 anyway. That's good because I paid something in that range.

 

Just for comparison, here's my other 1861 which I've had for a few years. It's also an NGC MS64. This one is quite different with darker grey-brown tone that mutes the luster. It also has much nicer surfaces and it's hard to find any marks anywhere. With better luster this one would be an easy MS65 or higher.

 

The spot near the tip of the lower point on the star is some tiny object in the slab. Probably part of John Maben's lunch. The mark above the AM in America is a die crack, I think. I used a 20X and I'm pretty sure it's a crack, but from one angle it looked like a scratch.

 

[RGT]

Here's the reverse of the other 1861.

 

[Hoot]

The spot near the tip of the lower point on the star is some tiny object in the slab. Probably part of John Maben's lunch.

 

 

Hoot

[EZ_E]

Bottom line is eye-appeal! Right? I think that this trime has loads of it. The hairlines do detract from it some but, of course, are greatly enhanced with the magnification.

 

Every point made in this thread is from seasoned collectors who know what they are talking about but, without the coin in hand, just do not have enough information.

 

My opinion is that it is a MS 63 coin that has been lightly cleaned and hairlined and then retoned very beautifully. I would prefer this coin over a darkly toned, original example.

 

Oldtrader3 is a collector of trimes, Michael is a coin-god in his knowledge of classics, EVP is a master at photographing coins, TDN has the experience with high-grade, awesome material, etc., etc., etc. So all opinions expressed are not rubbish.

 

I do feel that, in general, a hairlined coin should not be rewarded with a 64 grade, IMHO.