Guess the grade- 1884-O Morgan

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by True Money on July 12, 2010 at 12:35pm

Remember this 1885-CC Morgan Dollar that some of you commented on the contact marks? This is what they should look like on an unaltered coin.

This is why these grading discussions are so great. We can all learn something.

-True Money!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Buffalo on July 12, 2010 at 12:46pm

All good points TM. The thing I really wanted to get across here is that some problems are just not easy to see without magnification. This coin was part of a larger lot of very nice coins and was the only one to have a problem. I think I was not critical enough looking at this coin mainly because of the other coins with it. That is another good lesson to look at every coin with "fresh eyes" and not be influenced by others. PCGS normally uses code 92 for improper cleaning and after looking at this one many times since getting it back I still think something was applied to the coin to hide the defects. Either way the result is the same and if I had examined it correctly I would have seen the problems, which was the point in posting it to start with.

PCGS No-Grade Codes (Not available for Secure Plus submissions)
No Grade Description
82 Filed Rims
83 Peeling Lamination
84 Holed and Plugged
90 Not Genuine
91 Questionable Color
92 Cleaning
93 Planchet Flaw
94 Altered Surfaces
95 Scratch / Rim Dent
96 Refund - No Service
97 Environmental Damage
98 Damage
99 PVC Residue

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by True Money on July 12, 2010 at 5:05pm

I agree. Each of us should utilize at least a 10X to 16X loupe. If I have a coin in question, I always view it under my microscope. A microscope is an essential tool for the numismatist.

-True Money!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Lee Grant on July 12, 2010 at 5:30pm

The 1884 O I have is the only coin I have photographed, which I did because I thought I had a near perfect coin. But the photograph made the coin look like it had been driven over in a gravel pit. Is there something about the ability of photos to see things even mild magnification can't see?

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Buffalo on July 12, 2010 at 6:12pm

Photos really do bring out things we overlook a lot of times. Our brains interpret and tell us what we are "seeing" where a camera is just recording information. Cameras are also sometimes recording information that our eyes don't see the same way. Point a remote control at a camcorder and press a button and you can clearly see the flashes it puts out even though our eyes can't register it. Plus with photos we are usually looking at digital images that are enlarged many times on a monitor display so they do tend to enhance marks, etc. The coin I posted was the same way, the surface roughness is next to invisible with the naked eye and any marks appear pretty slight.
The thing that makes all of that dangerous for judging a coin for purchase by a photo is you don't know what the coin looks like to know how accurate the photo is. Really good coin photos are not easy to take and there are a lot of tricks with lighting, angles, and photo-doctoring to hide flaws.