An email I received conjured up something really important in my coin
education. A uncirculated MS coin does not have to be flawless. It
needs to show no signs of wear. Some "contact marks" are allowed,
depending on the MS grade: an MS 60 might be a dull, unattractive coin
with "dings", but must evidence no signs of wear. I was going to
collect several samples of Morgan Dollars, for grading studies. I was
looking for an MS60:the lowest uncirculated grade. My coin "guide"
said: don
t bother. I would be spending good money for an unattractive coin.
(see grade descriptions in ANA Grading Standards). I ended up with
MS62-65 coins in my sample, to be compared against an AU 58- which
could be a very attractive coin with in some cases, the slighest
incidental wear. As a novice in this area, I've spent a fair amount of
time with AU58s vs MS62 or 63 coins, womderingf "where's the wear?".
In some cases, wear is inferred more than seen. Indian Head cents and
Mercury Dimes have caused me difficulty here. (The latter because even
well struck, UNC leave me questioning whether I'm looking a wear, in
an area that should have some detail- I thought- but doesn't. The
basic design simply doesn't have much detail where I was looking for
it. This only became apparent when I found some really good MS coins
for comparison. A secondary lesson, for me: for expensive mintages, a
High Grade AU might be preferable to a low Grade MS- if my main goal
is getting an attractive coin.