Why would my Grandfather hold on to this Morgan Dollar?

look closely, it looks like it has copper under the scratches

 

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Certainly does, doesn't it ??
Silver plated fake
You can see it on the hit on the chin too.

 

This was my Grandfather's pocket piece. He passed in 1976 when I was only 5.

 

If the other Morgans are real, maybe he hung onto that one to help him identify fakes.

 

I sort of don’t agree with that. All the low lying areas of this Morgan seem to be affected with this reddish sort of haze/grime. Back when her grandfather was carrying this one I don’t believe the counterfeiters were doing counterfeit work of this quality. And certainly not on a 1921 Morgan. I may be all wet but I rather get the feeling this is what remains of jewelers rouge from a very old cleaning.

 

I have to agree with that now - jewelers rouge.

I have bunches of it downstairs. but I'm apparently much better at cleaning up after use on anything than that coin.

It's amazing how many infinite possibilities of PMD exist.

I've rarely used red rouge as it's a heavy cutter. I'm 99.9% white rouge since. Thinking back, the first time I used red I left the object a mess and was told to clean it up and make it look as brand new. Took me a long time and was a big lesson in buffing.

 

ROUGE?

All of my grandfather's coins have been in little boxes since he passed away in 1980, and nothing has been added to them. (Were they counterfeiting coins back then? Unless they were, I certainly prefer to believe that you are only seeing Liberty's rouge. )

I realize now why, out of 24 Morgan Dollars he kept, 17 of them are from 1921. I read the Wikipedia article on the Morgan Dollar!

 

What is a "pocket piece"?

If you read my first post, you may remember that I cleaned a Franklin Half-dollar because, well, I didn't know you shouldn't, and I just wanted to see what it might've looked like when it was brand new. (Has anyone done a poll here to see how many "accidentally" cleaned an old coin before they knew better?) Anyway, if I carried that cleaned up half-dollar around with me for a long time, would it go back to its more "rustic" state and regain some of its value?

Thanks.

 

Pocket piece means simply carried around in your pocket.

 

Rouge.
Basically for polishing
You start with a buffing wheel
then as the wheel is spinning you press the polishing compound (rouge) against the buffing wheel (which is cotton, etc). The polishing compound comes in different grits like sandpaper but much finer.
Then you hold the item you want to polish against the spinning buffing wheel. It cuts (or removes) stuff on the surface and polishes the surface.

here's some rouge's.

 

The OP's 21 Peace doesn't look polished, especially not with a buffing wheel.

 

You can use a cloth too. It’s not polished properly either. Maybe used a cloth and buffing compound but determined scratches too deep and just left it dusty.

FYI. It’s a 21 Morgan

 

agreed, but I agree because it is a Morgan, not a Peace

 

Haha, said piece came out peace..

 

You'd make a good detective.

 

It seems strange to me that people are told not to wash a coin, not even with soap and water only, or with a silver cleaning cloth (that real soft, blue cloth, kind of like flannel), but it's OK to use a mechanical device with a fast spinning wheel and a gritty substance that removes stuff on the surface. I will have to research this 'cos it seems illogical to me.

Thanks to all of you for taking a look at my grandfather's 1921 PIECE and speculating on his motive for holding onto it!

 

If it is rouge, would an acetone bath remove the residue?

 

I think this is a great idea. Yes if you carry it for a long time it will eventually remove the tiny scratches the cleaning left behind. Plus you will always have something to remember your grandfather with you.

I have been carrying around a 1921 Morgan myself for a couple of years now. I found an AU cleaned one in a junk silver bin and made it a pocket piece. I think it looks better now than when I purchased it. However I don't believe it will ever be worth more than around $20 no matter how long I carry it for. That it unless silver sky rockets, but I don't see that happening.

Welcome to CT!!!
Mont.

 

Oh heavens no!!!! It is not OK to polish a coin with a buffing wheel!!! Thing is, the current view of coin conservation is miles apart from that of our numismatic ancestors. A hundred years ago if a fellow wanted his prize coin bright and shiny he didn't give a second thought to polishing that baby up. Current thinking is any rubbing of the surfaces at all is detrimental to the conservation of the coin.

 

For numismatic purposes coins are never to be touched by any material that can cause any form of etching or cleaning to the surface by any level of abrasive methods. This is as simple as a napkin, towel, buffing wheel, polishing cloth, finger, etc. Even skin oils can harm surfaces over time.

"cleaning" coins is a type of "art form" (or science) that requires knowledge and experience in order to prevent any further damage to the coin while removing any substance on the coin. Prime examples of coins contain a surface luster that when "cleaned" would not be harmed by the experienced numismatic conservationist (say that 10 times fast).