1887 "Masterpiece" Morgan Dollar Sells For Insane Figure

Good grief.

Oh, THIS is the one you were talking about!! I was thinking it was a "monster" Morgan I saw on ebay.

The picture doesn't do anything for me, but those colorized pics don't really do justice. I'd love to see it in hand.

Still can't see paying 5 figures for a coin that isn't worth $500.

Talk about a bidding war! I would love to have been the seller on this one....

In genuine curiosity, can you explain?

If I may chime in again, I think what turns me off personally from this coin, or rather it's toning is that its sort of "too much of a good thing". I personally love light peripheral edge toning, I find it has a more defined "character" and "balance", whereas this piece I find too be way more "loud" and bordering on "distracting".

So tho this kind of toning maybe "rarer" then a peripheral even toning, I find it to be far less appealing.

Edit: I have, for a while, been trying to figure out what it is that is that makes a toned coin attractive in the most objective sense (looking for an objective answer to a subjective topic, weird I know).

Toning is, as everyone says, subjective. I'm not much of a fan myself, but really sit on the fence. IT depends on the coin.

I sold an 1879-S/Reverse of 78 Morgan in low MS condition a few years back. The purchaser returned it with a note saying "I'm sorry this is my fault. I just did not understand how brillently toned this coin is; in hand. I prefer my coins blast white".

I'm kind of glad he did. I still have it, but now it sits in my Morgan Collection. I regularly make buying trips to the SF Bay Area ( my nativity) and 7 years ago came across a half roll of these coins. I sold all of them and had not realized till I got the return that it was my last one!

As a dealer I see lots of niche markets. For instance I make a very good living selling fully struck VEDS LWC. Your average collector would not dream of paying more than greysheet for these coins. Yet I sell them for many multiples of grey sheet.

Your "advanced collector", as Mr Bowers likes to call them, usually have a full set of "whatever". To get the blood racing again they try to collect grade rarieties, or toned coins, or full heads, full bands, ect. Trying to complete some of these sets is an extreme challange.

I also preferred minor toned coins like what Numis-Northerner described, almost like someone throw watercolor paint on top and let it dry.