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Pillar of the Community
United States
4883 Posts |
I was fortunate enough today to get to cherrypick some raw Morgans just purchased by a coin shop. About 50 examples, in three tubes, one marked "UNC" and the other two "AU". This sorting was somewhat haphazard. I found a lot of obvious sliders in the "UNC" tube, even a few that had been cleaned, as well as some that were pretty clearly BU but with a lot of nicks and chatter. In the "AU" tubes, there were some that fell down into the XF range, but on the other hand I found several that in my judgment ought to have been in the "UNC" tube. In any event, I selected five overall with my criterion being relatively unmarred cheeks. I think I did alright here. This may be the worst of the bunch, possibly a slider, but I liked it because it's semi-prooflike.   Colligo ergo sum
Edited by Lucky Cuss
11/18/2014 12:00 pm
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Valued Member
167 Posts |
Once again, images aren't good enough to put a number on it but I see what look to be breaks in the frost, so AU.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2368 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
Puerto Rico
778 Posts |
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Bedrock of the Community
 United States
18663 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
506 Posts |
AU 55. Lots of rim nicks and hits on Lady Liberty and the eagle.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
4883 Posts |
As I mentioned above, I chose mostly on the basis of minimal marks to Liberty's face, which to my mind makes for the most presentable examples, provided the marks aren't there because the coin significantly circulated or was polished. Here's a closeup shot to help you judge if I succeeded (this particular coin being in my opinion the most severely nicked up of the group).  Colligo ergo sum
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Pillar of the Community
United States
8137 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4883 Posts |
This issue is known for weak obverse strikes and as Q. David Bowers notes, "unstaisfactory lustre." Wayne Miller is only slightly kinder in writing, "The typical 1891-P exhibits indifferent luster..." so even though this specimen doesn't dazzle, I'm not quite ready to write it off as AU. However, the hits to the cheek and that deep one on the eagle's breast severly limit its upside even if it was to eke out an MS grade. The "rim nicks" mentioned above actually look to be planchet flaws that didn't fully fill in when the coin was struck, which would be consistent with the weak strike thesis. In fact, the fields are smooth enough that if it had been struck with greater pressure, I think it might've come out truly prooflike instead of just semi-prooflike. In any event, it's a more intriguing and difficult to assess Morgan that you might think at first glance.
Colligo ergo sum
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Pillar of the Community
United States
9792 Posts |
AU53
"Buy the Book Before You Buy the Coin" - Aaron R. Feldman - "And read it" - Me 2013! ANA Life Member #3288 in good standing since 1981, ANS, Early American Coppers Member (EAC), Colonial Coin Collectors Club member (C4), Conder Token Collector Club member (CTCC), Civil War Token Society (CWTS) member, Liberty Seated Collectors Club (LSCC) & Numismatic Bibliomania Society member (NBS), USMex, Member in good standing, 2¢ variety collector. See my want page: http://goccf.com/t/140440 |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
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Replies: 10 / Views: 1,278 |
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Posted 11/17/2014 8:21 pm
