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 Replies: 14 / Views: 1,543 |
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New Member
United States
5 Posts |
Hi all, I'd be grateful for opinions on four Morgan dollars I found recently, stashed away among some old family effects. Well that's not quite true, I found them about eight years ago but only took a closer look at them for the first time yesterday. They've spent at least the previous 40-50 years on a shelf inside an old-fashioned safe that belonged to my grandfather. Based on the mint marks, it seems that two of them are likely worth a respectable amount, the other two not so much but I'm still curious. The images are 1200 DPI color scans. I'm not a collector (and this is my first post here) but I've spent the last few hours hours ogling gorgeous coins on this site and others, and I'm hoping this find doesn't kick off another expensive habit  1890-CC:  1891-CC:  1898:  1899-O:  Thanks! Edited by mdrohn
12/23/2015 05:03 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3210 Posts |
Your $ will be the Carson city 1890 and 1891... Book look uncirculated and very nice. The 1898 and 1899o look to be AU condition and are worth like 25/30 dollars. But beware Carson city coins are highly counterfeit I would suggest sending both to PCGS or NGC for authenticity and a grade. Also wait for others to chime in. But my opinions both Carson city dollars look ms63/64
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Pillar of the Community
United States
814 Posts |
I'm no expert on Morgans, but the CC's look good to me. Nice coins!
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
36638 Posts |
MS-63 on both CC's, AU-55 on the 98 and 99-O.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12057 Posts |
 to CCF :) I don't see any red flags on the CC's. Both appear to be nice MS63 to MS64 coins. In those conditions, you need to have the coins slabbed by a reputable Third Party Grader ( TPG) such as ANACS, PCGS, or NGC. Coin dealers can submit the coins on your behalf. Values on those two would be 1100-1700 on the 1890 and 900-1500 on the 1891, assuming both coins come back as either MS63 or MS64 with no problems. The 1898-P and 1899-O appear to have been cleaned or "dipped" -- if that is the case they are only worth $20-$25; the grades on those would be AU on the 1898 and XF on the 99-O. Nice coins, especially those CC's. Member ANA - EAC - TNA - SSDC - CCT #890 "Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done." -- Louis D. Brandeis |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
509 Posts |
Nice coins!! For a non-collector it looks like you've got a good touch with the camera on capturing the coins.
Edited by CLS12
12/23/2015 12:06 pm
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New Member
 United States
5 Posts |
Wow, thanks for the comments guys, they are quite nice but after comparing them to pictures of a few high-rated CC's I didn't think they're in that class. They do have some areas of nice luster especially in the central fields, and excellent (but not spectacular) detail, but both CC's have substantial areas of discoloration and slight scuffing. I don't know enough the judge whether they are uncirculated or not; it's possible they are. It is rather fortuitous that of the four coins the CC's are in the best shape, which is perhaps an indication that they were collected with some knowledge as to their greater desirability, but it also seems clear they have been stored in less-than-ideal conditions for many years.
They were likely collected by my grandfather or his brother-in-law/business partner some time in the 40's, 50's, or 60's so I think it's unlikely they are forgeries
I was hoping to post the full-res images here but apparently photobucket only passes along a thumbnail. If anyone is interested you can access the full res on photobucket by opening the images in a new browser window..
Edited by mdrohn
12/23/2015 12:09 pm
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New Member
United States
5 Posts |
Quote:
Nice coins!! For a non-collector it looks like you've got a good touch with the camera on capturing the coins. Thanks CLS12, they are from my Canon flatbed scanner, but I work in lighting and photography so I take that stuff seriously |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12057 Posts |
The discoloration is called "toning" and it is an indicator usually of a coin which has original surfaces; toning is not undesirable...
Member ANA - EAC - TNA - SSDC - CCT #890 "Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done." -- Louis D. Brandeis |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4932 Posts |
I don't see the CC's grading anywhere near UNC. Look like honest 55's to me.
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New Member
United States
5 Posts |
Well I will definitely take them in for official appraisal soon. Can anyone recommend a reputable shop in NYC that will responsibly handle coins of this potential worth? FWIW it appears to me the 1890-cc is a VAM-3. Does that affect value, or is it just for additional curiosity level? |
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Rest in Peace
United States
10625 Posts |
I don't believe the VAM-3 is a value added variety. The only one I'm aware of is the VAM-4 Tail Bar. Both CC's are either AU55/58 or MS63/64. What CHD is seeing as circulation wear may be in fact bag rub. Tough call from scanned images but it should be a fairly easy call for someone with the coins in hand. and to CCF and remember - do not clean these. That toning from long term storage is considered desirable.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3210 Posts |
American coin and stamp brokerage in I believe Merrick, Long Island is a decent store. I've dealt him with them online they are great. Or you can come up to Orange County ny and go to dart stamp and coin in Middletown ny
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
1949 Posts |
Quote:
I don't see the CC's grading anywhere near UNC. Look like honest 55's to me. These are UNC all day... Look like certain 63's, one may hit a 64... If you're in the NYC area, the NY International show is coming up beginning of January, PCGS will be there... |
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Pillar of the Community
1153 Posts |
Like others said your big money is the 1890 and 1891. Both look great. The 1890 appears to have some good toning starting on the backside (reverse) around the rim. This is desirable in most cases. The front side (obverse) looks good for the 1890. I would be comfortable grading it as MS-63. IMO the reason it doesn't have high luster is because of the toning. The 1891 is harder to assess. There are bag marks on the back by the eagle, and the swoosh at 11 oclock on the front, like a wiped fingerprint? To me the 1891 has less eye appeal than the 1890, and could be anywhere from AU-58 to MS-63 which isn't an uncommon grade range.
The other 2 are common date silver dollars, still worth some money but not anywhere near the others.
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Replies: 14 / Views: 1,543 |
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Posted 12/23/2015 09:52 am
