MORGAN DOLLARS BY THE GRADE
UNITED STATES CURRENCY || UNITED STATES STAMPS
Grade descriptions in italics are from the Mega Red Book, 4th Edition.
See citation at bottom of the table.
UNITED STATES CURRENCY || UNITED STATES STAMPS
Grade descriptions in italics are from the Mega Red Book, 4th Edition.
See citation at bottom of the table.
Grade and Description
MS-66
MS-65
MS-64
MS-63
MS-62
MS-61
MS-60
Choice About Uncirculated-58
AU-58
"Light wear is seen on the cheek and, to a lesser extent, on the hair below the coronet. Generally, the hair details mask friction and wear and it is not as easy to notice as on the cheek and in the fields...PL, DPL, and DMPL coins are not widely desired at these levels, as the marks are too distracting."
At AU-58, the luster is extensive, but incomplete, especially on the higher parts and in the left field."
AU-58
"Light wear is seen on the cheek and, to a lesser extent, on the hair below the coronet. Generally, the hair details mask friction and wear and it is not as easy to notice as on the cheek and in the fields...PL, DPL, and DMPL coins are not widely desired at these levels, as the marks are too distracting."
At AU-58, the luster is extensive, but incomplete, especially on the higher parts and in the left field."
Choice About Uncirculated-55
AU-55
See above for general description on this grade.
AU-55
See above for general description on this grade.
Choice About Uncirculated-53
AU-53
See AU-58 for general description on this grade.
"At AU-50 and 53, luster is less, but still present."
AU-53
See AU-58 for general description on this grade.
"At AU-50 and 53, luster is less, but still present."
About Uncirculated
AU-50
See AU-58 for general description on this grade.
"At AU-50 and 53, luster is less, but still present."
AU-50
See AU-58 for general description on this grade.
"At AU-50 and 53, luster is less, but still present."
Choice Extremely Fine
EF-45
Grading details are similar to the description for Extremely Fine, with slightly more details present yet not enough remaining to qualify for About Uncirculated.
EF-45
Grading details are similar to the description for Extremely Fine, with slightly more details present yet not enough remaining to qualify for About Uncirculated.
Extremely Fine
EF-40
Obverse: "Further wear is seen on the cheek in particular. The hair near the forehead and temple has flatness in areas, most notable above the ear. Some luster can be seen in protected area on many coins, but is not needed to define the EF-40 and 45 grades."
Reverse: "Further wear is seen on the breast of the eagle (most noticeably), the wing tips, and the leaves."
EF-40
Obverse: "Further wear is seen on the cheek in particular. The hair near the forehead and temple has flatness in areas, most notable above the ear. Some luster can be seen in protected area on many coins, but is not needed to define the EF-40 and 45 grades."
Reverse: "Further wear is seen on the breast of the eagle (most noticeably), the wing tips, and the leaves."
Choice Very Fine
VF-30
Grading details are similar to the description for Very Fine, with slightly more details present yet not enough remaining to qualify for Extremely Fine.
VF-30
Grading details are similar to the description for Very Fine, with slightly more details present yet not enough remaining to qualify for Extremely Fine.
Very Fine
VF-20
Obverse:"The head shows more wear, now with most of the detail gone in the areas adjacent to the forehead and temple. The lower area has most hair fused into long strands."
Reverse: "Wear is more extensive on the breast and on the feathers in the upper area of the wings, especially the right wing, and on the legs. The high area of the leaves has no detail."
VF-20
Obverse:"The head shows more wear, now with most of the detail gone in the areas adjacent to the forehead and temple. The lower area has most hair fused into long strands."
Reverse: "Wear is more extensive on the breast and on the feathers in the upper area of the wings, especially the right wing, and on the legs. The high area of the leaves has no detail."
Fine
F-12
Obverse: "The head shows more wear, with most hair detail gone, and with a large flat area above the ear. Less detail is seen in the lower curls."
Reverse: "More wear is seen on the reverse, with the eagle's breast and legs flat and about a third of the feather detail gone, mostly near the tops of the wings."
F-12
Obverse: "The head shows more wear, with most hair detail gone, and with a large flat area above the ear. Less detail is seen in the lower curls."
Reverse: "More wear is seen on the reverse, with the eagle's breast and legs flat and about a third of the feather detail gone, mostly near the tops of the wings."
Very Good
VG-8
Obverse: "More hair details are gone, especially from the area from the top of the head down to the ear. The details of the lower part of the cap are gone. The rim is weak in areas, and some denticles are worn away."
Reverse: "Further wear has smoothed more than half of the feathers in the wing. The leaves are flat except for the lowest areas. The rim is weak in areas."
VG-8
Obverse: "More hair details are gone, especially from the area from the top of the head down to the ear. The details of the lower part of the cap are gone. The rim is weak in areas, and some denticles are worn away."
Reverse: "Further wear has smoothed more than half of the feathers in the wing. The leaves are flat except for the lowest areas. The rim is weak in areas."
Good
G-4
Obverse: "The head is in outline form, with most details gone. LIBERTY is still readable. The eye position and lips are discernible. Most of the rim is worn away."
Reverse: "The eagle shows some feathers near the bottom of the wings, but nearly all others are gone. The leaves are shown in outline form. The rim is mostly worn away. Some letters have details toward the border worn away."
G-4
Obverse: "The head is in outline form, with most details gone. LIBERTY is still readable. The eye position and lips are discernible. Most of the rim is worn away."
Reverse: "The eagle shows some feathers near the bottom of the wings, but nearly all others are gone. The leaves are shown in outline form. The rim is mostly worn away. Some letters have details toward the border worn away."
About Good
AG-3
Obverse: The head is in mostly just an outline, with hints of details and partial letters of LIBERTY remaining, with some letters obliterated by wear. Edge details, such as the stars, motto, and date, are mostly worn away.
Reverse: Similar to the obverse, most of the design elements are outlines with traces of details remaining. The wear along the edge has caused a significant loss of detail in all elements on the border.
Morgan Dollars in this condition usually command higher premiums than some of their higher graded counterparts, mostly due to the scarcity of highly circulated examples.
AG-3
Obverse: The head is in mostly just an outline, with hints of details and partial letters of LIBERTY remaining, with some letters obliterated by wear. Edge details, such as the stars, motto, and date, are mostly worn away.
Reverse: Similar to the obverse, most of the design elements are outlines with traces of details remaining. The wear along the edge has caused a significant loss of detail in all elements on the border.
Morgan Dollars in this condition usually command higher premiums than some of their higher graded counterparts, mostly due to the scarcity of highly circulated examples.
