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 Replies: 6 / Views: 1,951 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1804 Posts |
Morgan, Proof Morgan, Proof like, & DMPL Morgans94 day Newbie here........... Heavy lifters, please weigh in, at your convenience. We all understand a Morgan, and a Proof Morgan. I guess. I may understand what a "Proof like Morgan" is. What is a DMPL Morgan? Was it a special run? Was it a special quirk of new, or very polished die(s) Was it just an accident ... of only real GOOD minting? Were DMPL Morgans minted in all years? Are they considered rare, for any particular year? (1881(S). All I do understand is (if) you own one, it is worth more than a similar (MSxx) Morgan. All opinions will be most welcomed, and Thank you in advance.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1531 Posts |
Before the coins are struck, all dies are polished to a point that makes them look prooflike. When the coins are struck, the first few coins that come off the press are DMPL (deep mirror prooflike). As the polish wears, coins become PL (Prooflike) and as the polish disappears, coins appear normal.
Every year of Morgans has (or had) them. It's not a special issue.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1531 Posts |
DMPL Morgans are worth a substantial amount more than regular-appearing strikes, usually 2-3 times as much.
PL Morgans are worth a portion more than than the regular-appearing strikes.
Rare-date Morgan years and mints are of course very rare in PL and DMPL condition.
Edit: the 1881-S is not particularly rare in DMPL or PL condition.
Edited by Cruisinfusion
05/07/2014 7:22 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
8137 Posts |
Cruis pretty much summed it up.
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Pillar of the Community
968 Posts |
Proof, cameo Morgans are a sight to behold. DMPL's are pretty awesome too, but not quite as amazing. PL's have nice eye appeal, but lack the booming mirrors or DMPL or PR Morgans. I own about half a dozen DMPL's, a dozen or so PL's, but no PR's. In terms of technical merits, NGC and PCGS differ on the standards for PL versus DMPL. The modern standards for DMPL coins are very stringent, since a DMPL typically escalates value by a multiple of 4-5x non-dmpl/pl value. I can tell you that true DMPL's will cost you good money, but they look fantastic. This is a great thread for further reading about PL versus DMPL. http://boards.collectors-society.co...mber=2188520 |
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Moderator
 United States
23522 Posts |
The difference between PL/DMPL is simply the degree of reflectivity - how great a distance a feature is reflected by the fields of the coin. The "standard," to me, is the distance one can clearly read 12pt newspaper type from the surface of the coin. A PL will do this at a distance of 4" or so; a DMPL should clearly reflect readable type at a distance of 8". A true DMPL is a sight to behold for one who has never seen an example - you can use such a coin as a shaving mirror with confidence, and reflected light is too painful to look at directly. They're amazing.
Given that they're a product of fresh dies, PL/DMPL's can occur at any point during a coin's production run as dies are switched out. Sometimes dies fail, leading to the one-sided PL's one frequently encounters with Morgans. Die polishing during a die's lifetime can also lead to PL strikes; this is why one occasionally finds PL/DMPL's with die cracks - the die cracked, and was polished in an attempt to remove the cracking.
I find those particularly interesting.
As a general gauge of rarity for them, I use Heritage Auction results since Heritage's archives are large enough to be considered as a true sample of extant population. Given that they tend to sell higher-end coins, their numbers shouldn't be construed as an actual percentage of existing coins, but as a relative gauge they're invaluable data. If PL/DMPL examples add up to 8-10% of total sales of that year/MM, I consider them "common." "Scarce" PL/DMPL's will be down around 5-6% of total sales.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
1804 Posts |
SsupperDdave................ Quote:
The difference between PL/DMPL is simply the degree of reflectivity - how great a distance a feature is reflected by the fields of the coin. The "standard," to me, is the distance one can clearly read 12pt newspaper type from the surface of the coin. A PL will do this at a distance of 4" or so; a DMPL should clearly reflect readable type at a distance of 8". A true DMPL is a sight to behold for one who has never seen an example - you can use such a coin as a shaving mirror with confidence, and reflected light is too painful to look at directly. They're amazing.
Given that they're a product of fresh dies, PL/DMPL's can occur at any point during a coin's production run as dies are switched out. Sometimes dies fail, leading to the one-sided PL's one frequently encounters with Morgans. Die polishing during a die's lifetime can also lead to PL strikes; this is why one occasionally finds PL/DMPL's with die cracks - the die cracked, and was polished in an attempt to remove the cracking.
I find those particularly interesting.
As a general gauge of rarity for them, I use Heritage Auction results since Heritage's archives are large enough to be considered as a true sample of extant population. Given that they tend to sell higher-end coins, their numbers shouldn't be construed as an actual percentage of existing coins, but as a relative gauge they're invaluable data. If PL/DMPL examples add up to 8-10% of total sales of that year/MM, I consider them "common." "Scarce" PL/DMPL's will be down around 5-6% of total sales. Thank you  |
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Replies: 6 / Views: 1,951 |
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Posted 05/07/2014 7:22 pm
