Mint State 66 (Gem Uncirculated):
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Full strike details must be present, as must be full mint luster. Minor imperfections and very light contact marks in the fields or on Liberty’s cheek may be present, as may be insignificant breaks in the original mint luster. Full cartwheel luster should be anticipated on a coin this nice, with lots of very attractive flash. Experience helps determine if the number of contact marks present warrants this grade. |
Mint State 65 (Gem Uncirculated):
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MORGAN SILVER DOLLARS
Please note, this does not take Prooflike surfaces into account. The rating of Prooflike surfaces is separate from the grade established for a coin. Prooflike qualities are explained separately from grading standards for this reason.
A well-struck coin, but with minor detail weakness permitted, especially on the breast area of New Orleans minted Dollars. Contact marks are minor but visible and obscured with detailed design elements so as not to detract from the overall appearance of the coin. The cheek must still be nearly perfectly clear of all but the most minor of disturbances. Original mint luster must still be present, but may not be as pristine as on higher grades. |
Mint State 64 (Choice Uncirculated):
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Hairlines, contact marks, and other minor imperfections will be present, but will still be minor and will not detract from the overall appeal or glow of the surfaces of this coin, especially the obverse fields and cheek area. Contact marks may appear in a prominent area of the coin for the first time. Strike must be sharp, with the exception of the breast area on O-mint coins, without any indications of wear. |
Mint State 63 (Choice Uncirculated):
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Milling marks (more than one mark from contact with the reeded edge of other coins), hairlines, contact marks and other minor imperfections will be present including on the major design elements, and may under close magnification detract from the overall appearance of the coin. Under close examination contact marks of minor significance will be visible on the cheek. This coin must still be fully struck without any indications of wear, with excellent mint luster, although perhaps not as bold as on better Mint State grades. |
Mint State 62 (Uncirculated):
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An average Uncirculated coin, lacking any indications of wear, retaining good mint luster, but with significant contact and milling marks on any place or places on the coin. Strike weakness is acceptable, but must be determined as not originating from wear. Discoloration in these areas constitute wear. Contact marks on the cheek will be especially noticeable. |
Mint State 61 (Uncirculated):
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An average Uncirculated coin, still lacking any wear, retaining some of the original mint glow, but with heavy contact marks appearing on noticeable areas of the coin, particularly on the cheek and likely in the fields on both the obverse and reverse. Strike weakness is acceptable. |
Mint State 60 (Uncirculated):
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Numerous noticeable bag and other contact marks will be visible, but this coin must retain some mint luster, while not displaying any indications of wear whatsoever. |
About Uncirculated 58 (Choice About Uncirculated):
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Slight friction will appear on the hair directly below LIBERTY, the hair above the ear, and on the cheek, making this virtually a “slider” regarding grade. Insignificant wear will also appear on the head of the eagle, the breast, wing tips, legs and high points of the claws. Do not confuse weak breast striking detail with wear. Dull or discolored surfaces are an indication of wear. Some indication of original mint luster should still be present.
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About Uncirculated 55 (Choice About Uncirculated):
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The wear on the hair directly below LIBERTY, the hair above the ear, and on the cheek is a little more obvious, with the wear still being minimal but present on the eagle’s head, breast, wing tips, legs and claws. Some luster should still be present, but this coin is not as borderline Uncirculated as is an AU58 Dollar. |
About Uncirculated 53 (About Uncirculated):
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Friction is now more obvious on the high points, especially in the hair, the high points of the face and front of the neck, with scattered contact marks typically being more prominent. Mint luster may not necessarily have been retained on the high points of detail, with the wear remaining isolated to the same areas as on the upper AU grades. |
About Uncirculated 50 (About Uncirculated):
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Wear is obvious, but not significant on the face, neck, hair and liberty cap, with minor but obvious wear present on the eagle’s breast and wing tips. Friction will appear on half to all of the unprotected higher details on the coin, but are not obvious without close examination. Luster should still be present, but is interrupted. Any AU coin must still have about 98 percent of the original detail present.
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Extremely Fine 45 (Choice Extremely Fine):
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Lower relief or “protected areas” of the coin will still remain unblemished, but all higher points of detail exhibit some wear. There will be some flatness to the hair detail between the cotton balls and the ear, with flat breast detail except at the outline of the body. Wing feathers are still separate, but show signs of friction. Minor original mint luster may still appear in some of the lower recesses. An EF45 coin must still have 95 percent of the original detail present. |
Extremely Fine 40 (Extremely Fine):
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Wear will appear between the ear and cotton balls, but hair detail must still be present in this area. Wear on the cotton balls will begin to be obvious. Below the ear detail is now flat. Little breast feather detail remains, with wing feathers beginning to clump, but with some separation still being obvious. About 90 percent of the original detail must be present. Mint glow no longer needs to appear.
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Very Fine 35:
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Hair detail is blending, with between 60 to 80 percent of overall detail still being present on both the obverse and reverse. Detail on the cotton balls is now all but gone. Hair behind the neck will appear flat, hair detail above the ear is gone, breast feathers are gone or heavily blended, with obvious wear to the outer and upper wing feathers. Lower wing feathers will remain separated. Leg feathers may still be defined, but are no longer sharp. |
Very Fine 30:
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Detail is present, but fading. More of the hair is now blended, with between 50 and 60 percent of the overall detail still visible. Detail of the cotton balls is nearly gone, as is much but not all of the upper area hair detail. All hair above the ear is worn smooth. The lower wing feathers are now beginning to show wear, with much of the outer and upper wing feather detail being gone. Detail to the leg feathers and claws is also gone. Detail is present but fading on the wreath leaves.
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Very Fine 25:
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The lowest profile hair detail remains, but none of the higher profile hair design elements now remain. Significant wear can be seen with the naked eye on the cotton balls, liberty cap, breast, legs, and the leaves at the ends of the wreath. Half of all wing detail fails to show any separation of the feathers.
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Fine 15:
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The only remaining hair detail is below the ear, while the elements of the wreath worn by Liberty are beginning to blend—including not only the cotton balls, but the wheat stalks as well. About 25 to 40 percent of wing detail remains, with minor feather detail being visible at the neck. No breast or leg detail remains.
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Fine 12:
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Little detail remains from the liberty cap or wreath Liberty wears, with minor hair detail in low lying areas remaining. Wing feathers are only retained in the lower areas of the wings, with all higher detail now gone on the wreath.
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Very Good 10:
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Minor hair and head gear detail is all that remains, but some must still be present. Likewise, only the feathers at the lower portions of the wings are visible. The recessed lower profile leaves are all that remain of the wreath detail.
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Very Good 8:
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Rims must remain full and definable on both the obverse and reverse, however only the most minor areas of the lower hair area and head devices have been retained, with nearly all the wing feathers now being fully worn. Some of the remaining wing feathers must still show individuality. |
Good 6:
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Full rim detail with denticles still being defined must appear on both sides of this coin, but the design elements retain little more than their profile and a little detail to the ear and eye, with only slight leaf detail being retained on the wreath.
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Good 4:
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Rims and denticles are still visible, but may have faded away in some areas. Little detail has been retained on the bust or on the eagle, with only the lowest profile leaves remaining on the wreath. |
About Good 3:
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LIBERTY remains readable, but the rims and denticles are no longer definable, with wear now visible into the stars. The ear can still be seen, but the eagle is flat, while the wreath remains only in outline.
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Fair 2:
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The date will be weak, with parts of it near the rim being gone, as will be peripheral detail on both the obverse and reverse. Defined rim detail no longer exists. |
Poor 1:
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Only the top of the date and inner detail of the peripheral designs on both the obverse and reverse remain, with virtually no rim detail present. |
