what the heck? (Morgan dollar)

You may remember the Morgan dollar which my father bought for me from the LCS, two months ago.

My coin photos aren't the best, but here's how it was then:



And tonight I picked it up, and to my horror, there are rust spots!



I think two months ago there were ever so slight discolorations, but looking at the .dng's under magnification one can see where something was done to hide the rust or remove it. There's also raised spots on the rim, like a tar spill, where the discoloration spills over. Even on the two months ago pics one can see under magnification some raising on the edges where it spills over.

Under magnification the star to the right of the '5' in 1885 on the original dng seems to have some abrasion under it like the rust had been scraped.

The Lucius Verus silver denarius behind it, of lower silver content, is fine. So.... why would something of 90% silver have rust spots? It's from the main LCS in town. Is it a a fake?

Wow, do I have bad luck in U.S. coins or what? From disappearing in the mail to mysterious spots appearing. The ancients haven't been affected.

After the Great BD outbreak of 2000 I am very careful about handling coins with anything other than gloves or dry hands. I haven't handled it a lot.

I've handled a lot of toned ancient silver but this doesn't seem like toning. Toning also doesn't have raised surfaces. Bronze disease does, but this isn't green.

 

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You can see something going on in teh beading of the star to the right of the 5 in the original pic.

Between a lost coin and this it makes me want to throw in the towel, or at least delay getting any more of the U.S. series. I have great luck with ancients but apparently not so much with American coins.

Perhaps the gunk isn't rust but it's some kind of discoloration. I've seen it a long time ago on some junk box Gordian III Antoninianii but I read that was how a hoard in Dorset was found. I seriously doubt the Morgan's been buried.

 

Oh man! I would not be happy, can you return it? It's not even the same coin, I think? Just a theory but maybe it was a rusty staple??

 

It's the same coin. My coin photography isn't the best. The coin was just better situated under the light this time. Those are way better than my coin pics used to be, believe it or not.

My father would probably be very upset and I don't want to bother him about what was a gift.

I have some ancient coins I want to buy so any U.S. buy will be put on hold for a while, and with my exceptionally bad luck with them, perhaps indefinitely.

Perhaps this hidden defect was why this coin remained in a raw state.

 

I agree, it's tough because it was a gift. Maybe someone has an idea how to resolve this defect??

 

I think a rusty staple is the culprit.

 

Agreed

 

How do the pros fix that? I know they can, how is the question.

 

To me this looks like a dip that went bad. The dip was not done in the proper way.

 

Yes, the dip solution is not properly rinsed from coin, you will get discoloration like this. I have a couple silver coins that show this problem.

 

Take a closer look at the flip. Are there tiny holes in the plastic right where the marks are? I'm willing to bet there are, because I had also purchased one with this issue. I forget which year without checking in my album, but it was a CC Morgan.

Tiny little holes allow air and other stuff into the immediate area which may get trapped, causing the small portion of discoloration. Maybe I'm wrong on this, but I'm willing to bet I'm not. Looks like I see a tiny hole on the 2nd star up to the right of the year.

 

She's got an angry eyebrow now, which is where the largest of the holes was. Lol!

 

I do as well. The only way I know how to fix it is to dip the coin again but the luster may suffer.

 

A cotton swab with the dip and just touch the area.

The two marks match almost identical with the length of a staple. It is very reasonable that this would be the cause. I think I can see two areas of damage about where the stains are. And they seem to match with the back of a staple.[/QUOTE]

 

The staples look really new to me. I'm not seeing any rust on them. I have never done well trying to spot dip a coin. I would worry that more spots are going to start showing in the future.

 

Don't forget the raised stuff on the rim, like tar or something had been spilled. It's raised, like a buildup.

I just looked at the coin under light and magnification. There doesn't seem to be any obvious holes in the plastic.

The piece could have very well been in an older flip before whatever happened.

I've heard the term 'the dip' before, but I come from an ancients background. We prefer toned coins. I have no idea what the dip is.

Would this be something which would benefit from NGC conservation? Would the gunk just reappear after it was slabbed?

I hate these style flips. I don't know why they didn't use a regular flip. Would this fit in a conventional flip? It would size-wise, but I dont' know about the thickness.

This piece might just get tossed in the basket, where unliked coins go, joining a junky Claudius II Ant and a Leo nummus.

 

The staples on the 2 X 2 the coins are in would not be the source. It would have had to have contact with another 2 X 2. All of these responses are just speculation based on past experience.

 

I concured with the staple theory. Looking at the image when you received it, the stain in those spots became accentuated in the recent image. So, I'm thinking the shop owner had this coin in another flip, stored in a box made for 2x2's which was pressed against another (of a different demonination? A smaller coin would relocate the staple placement.) with a rusty staple. It was then reholder and sold. These 2x2's are not air tight, so the darkening only got worse. This is why I only use adhesive style flips or capsules. Lastly, flat your staples!

 

I think the coin was dipped incorrectly, then sold. I also think the best way to correct this is to dip the coin and do it properly. It’s needs to be rinsed throughly after it’s dipped, if you dip it again. After the coin is dry it should be sealed to keep air from getting to it.
Another dip may remove some of the remaining luster but if done quickly and correctly, dried 100% and then sealed or placed into a PVC free flip it should be fine. Don’t delay as what you see will continue to grow worse.