I won 1878 cc Morgan. Did i make a mistake?

[Mike&DianeF&A]

I won this 1878 cc Morgan in an Ebay auction for $306 i really want one and hoping i did not overpay for it. Also im fairly new to this so i got to ask. Do i have it graded? Its hard to judge the coin i won by the ebay pictures so im hoping its in good condition. I attached these screenshots. I cant post my own pictured of it because it has not arrived yet. Hope i did not make a $306 mistake.

[VegasDan]

With the slight wear in the hair by the ear and on the breast feathers I would say it’s an AU-53 cleaned.Then again I’m not an expert but have looked at thousands of Morgan’s on-line in the last several years.A person with much more expertise will come along and give you better advice.Like you say you can look at it better when it comes in.Congrats on your purchase it’s still a nice looking coin and a CC!

[Mike&DianeF&A]

Thanks VegasDan. I looked up coins in that grade and looks like i may have made out okay. I hope its not cleaned

[muswell65]

Welcome to the community! As VegasDan commented, there are several Morgan experts on this site, so you've come to the right place.

I also must agree that it would likely come back with a Details/Cleaned designation, regardless of its final numeric grade.

Either way - stick with this site, and you will learn so much. Again - welcome!

Best,
Jeff

[Mimic]

When I’m buying Morgan’s people that take pictures with the light shining directly on it I just don’t get it because you can’t tell if it’s cleaned That well unless it’s in your hand in my opinion

[JTCC]

I agree, AU-53 cleaned.
Sheets for about $225 in this grade, so........

[Daniel]

The coin appears to be cleaned and would not benefit from being graded since what you have in it is more than it's worth in this condition. I wish I could give you better news but you never bid on auctions to WIN, you bid on auctions what you're willing to pay for a coin when you know what you're buying and can ID the coin's condition.

[Earle42]

Not sure your level of experience with grading companies, so I am posting something that many have thanked me for sharing with them. I try to let new members see this when they mention coin grading, hopefully to help them save themselves from a bad experience:

If you enjoy losing money, skip reading the following essay

The Insider's Guide to Using Grading Companies
-or-
Thinking of Slabbing? Make sure you understand the Facts...or You Could Lose Money.

Popular mistaken mindset:
1. The grading companies are not a way that the majority of people, even those with a great deal of experience who know what they are doing, are going to be able to use in order to make huge personal profits. Many people start using grading companies thinking they will find a way to finance their hobby, but they learn a hard lesson quickly.

In general, the coin you have found in circulation is NOT going to make huge profits if slabbed. Way too many people pad the pockets of the companies and get nothing in return b/c they THINK (youtube videos!) they have something rare.

Professional predicting not possible:
2. Watch some of Daniel's videos where he gets slabbed coins back from the grading companies. Note even people who live, eat, breath, and deal coins for a living (like Daniel) can accurately predict what grade the companies will give. And...the "fault" (not really a fault) is in a widespread mistaken perception people get from being exposed to all the slabs being sold nowadays:

a. Coin grading companies are a business out to make a profit - this is why they exist. They use a system where allegedly three, but in reality its normally two, graders look at each coin and give an opinion. The company videos showing the process make you believe this is a relaxed and paced process of studying each coin. In fact one PCGS video shows a number of guys sitting around a table discussing what they think a specific coin should be graded as (on youtube somewhere - sorry no link). Uh uh.

b. If you take a PCGS graded coin slabbed as MS64, break it out, and resubmit it to PCGS, you are never guaranteed the same grade again. The slabbed coin might come back MS62 (extreme and a bad day for graders), 63, 64, 65, 66 (extreme and a great day for you!). This is b/c the process is all subjective: No scientific/verifiable standards or methods are used. This subjectivity makes for greater company profits since people resubmit the same coin trying to get a higher (better price when selling) grade. In the 90s the companies, at great expense, created better (their own words) scientific methods not relying upon human opinion. No doubt the large profit from the re-slabbing game fell. The companies abandoned the science and went back to their less accurate systems.

c. It needs be mentioned that the fewer the "money grade" slabs a company assigns, the more prices of said slabs climbs. Thus more business is generated b/c more people pay to slab coins hoping to get that "money grade" slab. And the companies do keep records (accessible online) of how many of the higher graded slabs exist for each coin. While the idea of keeping money grade slabs minimized is speculative, there has been some convincing evidence of this being reality.

But..this is all hearsay without proof. So...
Grading the Coin Graders

Here is another good read from someone there at the start of the grading companies:
Hobby negative impacts from slabbing companies

Error on errors:
3. People also seem to think grading companies will examine a coin to see if they can find an error and then slab it as such. But again, they ONLY GRADE coins. The companies will NOT try to find and ID an error for you. You must FIRST ID the error yourself, CHECK to see if the company you want to use recognizes that specific error, PAY them to verify the error on the label, and then you may or may not actually get what you pay for! The companies have a bad reputation for attributing errors incorrectly.

Link to and read (download if you want it) the pdf link in my signature as an eye opening example. Sadly, the verifiable data presented from the PCGS website shows trusting people have spent thousands of dollars on many slabbed coins that are not what the companies claims/slabbed the coins to be.

Cost concerns:
4. B/c people do not understand the businesses, so very many people end up with spending far more money to slab a coin than the coin is worth. The companies profit greatly with membership fees, submission fees, insurance fees, shipping fees and extra (chosen) fees. ANACs does not have all these fees though.


You don't have to throw in the towel over these companies...but education about the reality of them will put you on the right pathway to dealing with them in a legit way without losing money in the process.


And…if you just like to collect slabbed coins for what they are, which makes losing/making money from slabs irrelevant, then of course enjoy them!"

[Marvic]

I wish I could give you better news but you never bid on auctions to WIN, you bid on auctions what you're willing to pay for a coin when you know what you're buying and can ID the coin's condition.

I like that, you are 100% correct!

[Paul]

I do not collect Morgan or Piece dollars.....
I have read this entire book cover to cover.....

If you intend on purchasing these, I would advise that you purchased this book

[Marvic]

But make sure you get the latest edition..