Hey Guy New To The Wonderful Word Of Coins & Need Help

Great CC Morgan

...

Assuming the grade is accurate - something we'll need to verify - it's worth *around* $90. If it's a G4 (lower grade), maybe 83. Doesn't mean a dealer will PAY you that for it, s/he has to make a living so they might pay you half or 60%...

http://www.numismedia.com/fmv/price...ricesp.shtml

As for the grade, if that's a scratch from the N in UNUM to the back of her head, that will affect grade (it's always hard to tell from photos, could just be a little wrinkle in the plastic of the 2x2.

This - http://www.pcgs.com/photograde/#/Morgan/Grades - will give you examples of the grades (slide over left until it shows the G4, G6 and VG8... the photos can be enlarged and zoomed.

Then there is the world of VAMs (named for the two guys who setup the numbering scheme). VAMs are the small little details that tell the knowledgeable which specific pair of dies were used to stamp out your coin. Some are common, some are very rare. And some of the features are overt enough that people can tell even into the G grades like your new friend. You can try here: http://www.vamworld.com/, but that will really take you down the rabbit hole (the differences between collector, numismatist and plain old coin-nut can be pretty small).


So, no, I probably wouldn't pay $20 to have her slabbed, unless somebody tags it as a rare VAM. I would just sit back and enjoy a nice coin.

Nicely bought at that price.

I don't know if it gets a "righteous" grade, though - that gouge on the obverse and what look like brushing marks probably put it in a "Details" slab. I don't believe it's worth your expense to get it slabbed. It's not the coin whose value will increase enough in a slab to justify the cost.

What it is, though, is what we call a "Conditional Rarity." A significant percentage of the total Carson City Morgan issue ended up in Treasury vaults, undistributed, for almost a hundred years. These were then distributed in the 1970's as the "GSA Morgans." Of the total mintage of 1,204,000 1883-CC Morgans, 755,000 became GSA coins in Uncirculated condition. This is why 1883 is a fairly cheap year for Mint State Carson City coins. The flipside is, they're not so common in circulated condition.

This is not a real value-adder for your coin - with Mint State examples so plentiful, that's what collectors want - but it's likely that there are more examples of this coin in MS-64 than in the grade of yours. Kinda fun to think about.

Welcome to the CCF. Enjoy the ride ...

IMHO, this CC $1, is not worth the cost of slabbing; economically speaking, that is.

Lots of good advice posted on this so far, and I much appreciate Denco's take.

Acquire an Album for those and start a collection. No need to start sending things in for grading just now. Best to start collecting.

Nice Carson city Morgan. I've been thinking about getting a CC in the near future.

IMHO, I wouldn't even pay $5 to ANACS or any other grading service to slab this coin. In this low a grade, it is what it is. No need, methinks, to get another opinion, and a slab won't likely enhance the value. Then too, if the coin were to come back in a body bag, you'll be cryin' the blues. Enjoy the coin ... the history and pride of ownership, which needs no slab to enhance.

If you don't plan to put it in an album, and you want a nice plastic holder for it, you can get one at a coin shop for under $5.

P.S. - Relatively few collectors ever assemble a complete Morgan dollar set nowadays, as it's such a costly undertaking. This CC dollar, is a fine start toward a five piece "mini mint set" that's quite affordable. Add to it a 1921-D Morgan and three more Morgans from the Philadelphia, San Francisco and New Orleans mints! That'll make an interesting study and showpiece.