I have several coins—not all of them Morgans—that look like this. I don't know what was done to them, but it appears to me as if this coin might have been painted with automotive clear coat. It has a liquid appearance to it and quite obviously futzed with tremendously. No need to show the reverse, it looks just as bad as this.
Here's a link to a description of the practice: https://www.ngccoin.com/boards/topic/113887-whizzing-for-dummies/
Harshly polished. It doesn't look whizzed, which refers a specific type of polishing, because there's no "artifical luster" on it, just a sheen. Not sure if it's been coated with anything. I'd have to poke it with a stick or some solvent.
I wanted to get some more info on whizzing and found this good thread in our midst: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/what-is-a-whizzed-coin.196059/page-2 If the fellows above say this ones not a whiz job, I have to believe them. But certainly the coin in question has been cleaned harshly.
Whizzing creates a very shiny finish, but no natural luster. This coin looks harshly cleaned, and in my opinion, mechanically buffed and polished. Kind of like shining a pair of shoes—the finish has sheen, but does not look like new luster.
Thanks. As I mentioned earlier, I have several that have this appearance, but as I searched for other examples, I actually found only one Peace Dollar, a 1922, that has this same grossly polished appearance. Most of my other Peace Dollars are just worn from use in circulation. I bought them at bargain prices decades ago, as was the Morgan above. A few of those have been cleaned, too, so I have some replacing to do. I have just begun collecting the Morgans in earnest, and have decided to take the tortoise's approach, showing a lot more deliberation and spending more for each one I buy. I still prefer raw to slabbed coins despite several admonishments here, and have averaged a little over $100 each for the five I have bought since the beginning of the year. I may choose to opt for certified, slabbed Morgans on the ones that are not so common.
Wrong thread. My bad. I have no idea how I managed it. But here we are. And here I am still gumming up your feeds while I stumble around here. Dont mind me. I mean well.