1894 P Morgan Mint Mark Question - Coin Community Forum

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Author	Replies: 11 / Views: 2,124
basicbob101 Pillar of the Community United States 819 Posts	Posted 07/16/2007 10:34 pm I am giving serious thought to buying a high grade 1894 P Morgan dollar (most likely the best AU I can find). I have recently read some posts about re-punched mint marks, but is the removal of a mint mark also a problem? How can I tell if an unslabbed coin has had the mint mark removed to make it appear to be a Philadelphia mint coin? Is this where you should pay the xtra to get a slabbed coin for one of the top 3 grading firms? Report this Post to the Staff

Amazon99 Pillar of the Community United States 2443 Posts	Posted 07/16/2007 10:38 pm Best way is to see it in person, or have some really good high resolution pictures of the area where the mint mark would be, but still seeing in person would be best. Report this Post to the Staff
jdheyne Pillar of the Community United States 772 Posts	Posted 07/17/2007 12:05 pm I don't know about the repunched mintmarks on an 1894 P Morgan, as the have no mintmarks. But removal of mintmarks is definitely a problem. I would be very hesitant to buy an unslabbed 94 Plain on the internet... to high of risk. If you are able to have the raw coin in hand, that is a different story. There are three die characteristics on the 94 plain to look for. 1 on the obverse and two on the reverse. Pictures of these are kind of hard to take. I have taken pictures of 4 or 5 94-P's and have yet to have desirable pictures. On the reverse, the two main things: heavy, straight die gouge in the crook of the Eagle's left claw. And a raised die line that resembles a "Y" when upside-down, I believe in the area of the eagle's right wing. Unfortunatey, those are hard to see with a standard loupe. A microscope is key. I have some pictures somewhere that I can post to show you what to look for, if you buy raw. I rarely look at the mintmark area for these, because it can be so wel done, you wouldn't be able to tell. Or if there are any marks there for any reason, it would throw up a red flag even if it is a good piece. A very good book is the PCGS guide to grading and Counterfeit Detection, first edition. This has good pictures of what to look for. Good luck with whichever route you choose! Jordan Report this Post to the Staff
ziggy29 Valued Member United States 157 Posts	Posted 07/17/2007 12:19 pm quote: A very good book is the PCGS guide to grading and Counterfeit Detection, first edition. This has good pictures of what to look for. Good luck with whichever route you choose! Agreed. This will more than pay for itself the first time you use it -- whether to avoid buying a fake or altered raw coin, or whether it lets you buy a nice, genuine raw example at a discount to the slabbed price. Report this Post to the Staff
dan8402 Valued Member United States 175 Posts	Posted 07/17/2007 1:06 pm I was confused about the premise of the question too, but it looks like it has already been answered. They shouldn't have any mintmark. At the time, Philadelphia didn't put a P mintmark on their coins. Report this Post to the Staff
Amazon99 Pillar of the Community United States 2443 Posts	Posted 07/17/2007 3:47 pm I think he was saying that he was afraid of buying an let's say 1894-O that had the mint mark removed to make it look like an plane 1894. Report this Post to the Staff
basicbob101 Pillar of the Community United States 819 Posts	Posted 07/18/2007 9:47 pm Thanxz for the clarification Amazon, that was indeed the question. Report this Post to the Staff
jdheyne Pillar of the Community United States 772 Posts	Posted 07/31/2007 1:36 pm Here is the main characteristic to look for: Hope it helps! Jordan Report this Post to the Staff
Prethen Pillar of the Community United States 3234 Posts	Posted 07/31/2007 2:38 pm "*" marks the spot! Report this Post to the Staff
basicbob101 Pillar of the Community United States 819 Posts	Posted 07/31/2007 8:23 pm nice mark, is that exclusive to the 94 P only? any explanation as to the cause, origin? thanxz for the help Report this Post to the Staff
jdheyne Pillar of the Community United States 772 Posts	Posted 08/01/2007 1:12 pm The 1894 Philadelphia mint Morgan dollar will be the only one with that X or Y (whatever you want to call it) die scratch. Just something scracthed the die before they started minting these. They only used one reverse and one obverse die for the 94-P Dollar. There is another characteristic in the claw below this die scratch that I have yet to get a good picture of, as well as another on the obverse. Jordan Report this Post to the Staff
SA4H Pillar of the Community United States 2764 Posts	Posted 09/17/2007 04:08 am jdheyne, are you able to get any more detail pictures to illustrate your points on die scratch characteristics. Any help is greatly appreciated since I am very courious about this particular coin. Thanks Report this Post to the Staff
	Replies: 11 / Views: 2,124

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