Abc's Of Morgan's

whats the question?

Well, I know the mints, Dates of mints, just not the nuts & bolts of it. I have a 1896 Morgan In great shape, I think, that was my first now I have 7. How do I make sure when I buy a Morgan I'm not getting ripped on the grade?

Thank you. I know I'm all over the map with my questions so as they come to me I'll ask. I'm coin Illiterate so to speak. Thanks.

I understand but until you can grade for yourself there is no way for you to know that the grade is correct unless its graded by a reputable expert, not the person trying to sell the coin to you. The person selling knows if its higher grade it will bring more money so they can say its MS-65 which can be worth thousands in some dates when in fact its AU-50 which is worth 30 or 40 bucks and then tell you I will take a loss at 250 or 500 and you buy it and who got the better deal? you for buying the AU-58 worth 40 bucks or him for selling it for 250-500? You are at the mercy of the seller until you get educated. This is one hobby where the educated will always come out on top in the end

If you are asking how to get that information, I would recommend that you go to the Library and get "The Complete Catalogue and Encyclopedia of Morgan and Peace dollars" (sometimes called the VAM book) written by Van Allen and Mallis.

The first several chapters will give you an enormous amount of information on both Dollars which is imperative to know before you jump in with both feet and start blindly buying silver dollars. I'll never forget one dealer I knew long ago that laughed at me when I bought Morgans from him. Finally after one particularly "interesting" session, he told be to buy this particular book (the VAM book), and not to come back until I read about the coin. Needless to say, I bought my fair share of junk from him and he was glad I did. After reading through the first 10 pages, I knew why he had so much fun with me. He taught me a great deal but unfortunately died before he could finish my "education". I really miss that old coot!

You'll hear throughout the threads of this forum how "Knowledge is King". It is an undeniable truth concerning coins. You'll get a lot of information on this forum but, you need to start your coin education first.

If you only buy one book on coins this year, buy a Red Book. The educational sites on the Net are too numerous to list but I'd start with PCGS (I think their Photo-grade site is free) and Numismedia for prices and grading.

Yes sir it sure does. Ok, I'll head to the library for the book. I would like to learn from ya'll also.

I am not sure the library will have the encyclopedia of VAM's but they may, chances are if they do you will find it to be very overwhelming especially with you just learning. It is a great book and has allot of great information in it and not only about VAM's but about the whole minting process. If you do not find any VAM's in this book it doesn't mean it hasn't been discovered because there are allot of updates since this book has been written and I mean a whole lot (the book would probably double in size now and when you see it you will know that would be a HUGE book if it was doubled)

Well, he's looking for help. The first few chapters give him the understanding of the basic designs, rarities, and how the coin has appreciated through the years. For now, forget the special varieties, concentrate on the fist few chapters on the coin itself.

If the VAM Book is not where you'd send him, suggest something. We all pride ourselves on helping our forum members, give him some guidance! Just to tell him that "I can do twice as much as you can right now" is not consistent with our tenants. He wants some guidance.