The Mint State 60 grade represents the lowest possible Uncirculated grade and is reserved for coins with no wear but with significant defects, such as a poor strike, many heavy contact marks or hairlines, or well-below average luster. 

Heritage offered an 1884-S Morgan dollar graded MS-60 by Numismatic Guaranty Corp. at its recent Summer Florida United Numismatists auction in Orlando. The cataloger observed, “This well-struck and brilliant semi-key displays few obtrusive abrasions for the grade. Subdued luster in the fields and faint hairlines likely contribute to the assessment,” along with some bag marks on the reverse.  It sold for $7,920. 

Any Mint State 1884-S dollar is a prize, as most entered circulation and there are substantial jumps in price as one moves from About Uncirculated 58 to Mint State; a pleasant representative in AU-58 sold for $1,440 at Stack’s Bowers Galleries’ recent Baltimore auctions. An exceptional 1884-S dollar in PCGS AU-58+ with a green Certified Acceptance Corp. sticker brought $3,407.50 at Legend’s Regency Auction 33 in June, with the firm calling it a “super slider.” 

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