Q. David Bowers
Quality at the Time of Distribution
When 1903-dated Louisiana Purchase Exposition gold dollars were first distributed to collectors, nearly all examples offered as "Uncirculated" were in condition as received from the Philadelphia Mint and were equivalent to what today we would probably call in the range of Ms-64 to MS-65 (pristine and with relatively few handling marks). Gold dollars of this issue are examples of coins handled fairly carefully at the Mint and through the channels of distribution. Today the average Louisiana Purchase Exposition gold dollar in the numismatic marketplace is apt to be MS-63 to MS-64, representing a slightly lower average level than when first issued, due to the effects of storage and handling in the intervening years. Other coins have been cleaned or otherwise treated with indifference, and AU-58 and MS-60 coins are plentiful.
Numerous other examples abound. 1935 Old Spanish Trail, 1936 Norfolk, 1936 York, 1931 Roanoke, and 1938 New Rochelle half dollars, among others, all received above average treatment and handling, and typical coins seen today are in higher grade levels.
By contrast, in other instances the Mint struck commemorative coins carelessly and/or handled them poorly with the result that, when the coins were first sold to collectors, the pieces showed abrasions, contact marks etc, The worst examples of this are the 1946-1951 Booker T. Washington and 1951-1954 Carver-Washington half dollars. The typical Carver-Washington half dollar is a sorry sight to behold from a numismatic quality viewpoint. Such half dollars as the 1921 Alabama and Missouri, the 1922 Grant, 1923-S Monroe, and the 1926 Sesquicentennial of American Independence were either carelessly struck or poorly handled, or both. Typical coins at the time of issue were apt to be in grades that collectors decades later would designate as MS-60 to MS-63.
Back then all of these issues-high quality coins such as 1903-dated Louisiana Purchase Exposition gold dollars and low quality coins such as Carver-Washington, Alabama, etc., half dollars-were all simply sold as "Uncirculated." I do not mean to belabor the point, but grading has always been a sensitive subject (in commemoratives it Isa very important subject), and an understanding of the practices of years ago (before the changes made in 1986) and how they differ from later practices is essential. Today there are large differences in price for small differences in grade, and an understanding of what is going on will be vital to your financial well being.
Refer to notes in the individual coin categories for explanations of specific situations as to which issues were of high quality at the time of release and which were of relatively low quality. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, and at the time of issue there were a few 1903- dated Louisiana Purchase Exposition gold dollars that were scuffed or damaged. Conversely, at the time of release there were a few high quality Carver-Washington half dollars to be found.