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Help Grading My New 1902 O Morgan

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 Posted 04/12/2015  8:25 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Lucky Cuss to your friends list
Welsome. Excellent photos. Fields are pretty much clear and umarred, so I could see it coming in at MS62+, maybe even MS63. But I concur the economics probably dictate that it's not worth submitting for certification.
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 Posted 04/12/2015  8:39 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add panzaldi to your friends list
Hopefully its the lighting but my first impression was that this coin was polished. I hope I'm wrong
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 Posted 04/12/2015  8:52 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add jefframsey to your friends list
Thanks for all of the info. Anything I can learn about it is all bonus for me.

How would I tell if it has been polished?
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 Posted 04/12/2015  9:22 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add edweather to your friends list
MS63
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 Posted 04/12/2015  9:41 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Lucky Cuss to your friends list

Quote:
How would I tell if it has been polished?


No offense meant, but if you're not yet at the point where you can immediately spot an improperly cleaned or polished Morgan, you probably ought to be avoiding buying raw examples until you've developed that "eye".

I don't think yours is an impaired specimen, but in a bin of uncirculated Morgans, a polished one ought to stick out like a sore thumb (unless they all are). One way to check your coin is to compare it with other 1902-O's that have been certified. A polished Morgan will have an unnatural, uniform shininess to it, a distictive lack of any satiny texture, and this will be obvious when compared to one that's truly in mint state.
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 Posted 04/12/2015  10:06 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Imthealphaomega to your friends list
1. Looks like MS62 to me.
2. No point in having it graded....If it was a rare date or a good variety then the potential value would warrant sending it to NGC or PCGS
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 Posted 04/13/2015  12:06 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add IndianGoldEagle to your friends list
MS-63
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 Posted 04/17/2015  02:27 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add jefframsey to your friends list
Can anyone tell me the VAM? And please be descriptive so I can learn about VAMs.
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 Posted 04/17/2015  09:06 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Prethen to your friends list
Looks polished; if so, worth melt.
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 Posted 04/17/2015  09:40 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Cascade to your friends list
@Jefframsey... it appears to be a 2 berry reverse with profile doubling however I personally would need better pics without light bleaching to nail down
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 Posted 04/17/2015  09:46 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add SsuperDdave to your friends list
Here's a good place to start learning about VAMs:

http://www.coincommunity.com/us_mor...is-a-vam.asp

I'm not going to worry about the coin's surfaces yet - there are plenty of ways for the imaging process to impart that look. I have the impression that it's being lit both artificially and by sunlight, and that will completely freak out most cameras. Best to light from one single type of light so the camera can correct for color more easily.

1902-O is a fun year to attribute. Like many VAMs, it will likely boil down to features not even visible in these images - minute doubling on date or letters, things of that sort. It's an exercise in frustration sometimes.
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 Posted 04/26/2015  2:20 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add jefframsey to your friends list
i spent some time working on my iPhone picture taking and I read a bunch of forum posts about photographing coins as well as reading about how to tell if coins have been cleaned or polished. I read that when a coin is polished it might lose it's matte finish in the fields. It also might show more wear than a coin of that condition should otherwise show. it also lose it's cartwheel luster under rays of light. It also may show toning outlines around the design features that the cleaning did not remove.

Based on these clues, my 1902 O does not seem to be polished to me. (Although I am admittedly a newb) My only concern is that it is really bright. What do you think after looking at these more accurate pics?

Help-Grading-My-New-1902-O-Morgan


Help-Grading-My-New-1902-O-Morgan
Edited by jefframsey
04/26/2015 8:16 pm
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 Posted 04/26/2015  7:03 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add panzaldi to your friends list
Looks like it was lighting and/or angle that was leading to the polished comment. It actually has fairly good strike details in the talons and breasted. I think she could make MS63
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 Posted 04/26/2015  8:09 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add SsuperDdave to your friends list
Well, that makes a bit of a difference.

I'm seeing a nice original Morgan here which just_might have been slightly dipped in the past but not enough to have any effect on the quality of the coin. The reason I say so is the impressions what toning is visible are giving me - especially on the reverse near AME - but it's only an impression and does not lessen my liking of the coin. Definitely not what I'd call "cleaned."

MS63 seems about right.
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 Posted 04/26/2015  8:12 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add fenton to your friends list
62 seems like a fair grade for this one.
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