1886-P Morgan... tooled?

Discussion in 'US Coins Forum' started by Seattlite86, Feb 16, 2020.

  1. Seattlite86

    Seattlite86 Outspoken Member

    I am in the process of cataloging my collection and stumbled upon this Morgan dollar. The eagle seems rather strange. Is this tooling perhaps?
    20200216_205236.jpg 20200216_205311.jpg 20200216_205202.jpg 20200216_205220.jpg 20200216_205122.jpg
     
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  3. Pickin and Grinin

    Pickin and Grinin Well-Known Member

    Looks good for an 86' upload_2020-2-16_22-7-23.png
    upload_2020-2-16_22-8-57.png
     
  4. Seattlite86

    Seattlite86 Outspoken Member

  5. Pickin and Grinin

    Pickin and Grinin Well-Known Member

    The inner tail feathers above the branch and arrows also looks weak.
    Mine was an ANACS 62 yellow label.
     
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  6. ldhair

    ldhair Clean Supporter

  7. Seattlite86

    Seattlite86 Outspoken Member

    Those were my thoughts as well.
     
  8. Mountain Man

    Mountain Man Supporter! Supporter

    At first glance, my thought was it is a fake. The stars and other devices just don't look right to my eye, but if it was worked on and polished, that could be the cause. JMO
     
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  9. Clawcoins

    Clawcoins Damaging Coins Daily

    I always like to look at the beak, eyes, head & feathers .. but this one I can't really tell due to the angle, focus, lighting and being in a 2x2 flip with the plastic covering it.
     
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  10. Seattlite86

    Seattlite86 Outspoken Member

    This could be attributed to it being in a 2x2. I haven't found my stapler yet, so I had to take the photo in the 2x2.
     
  11. Santinidollar

    Santinidollar Supporter! Supporter

    The eagle’s breast shows some signs of monkey business, IMO.
     
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  12. C-B-D

    C-B-D Well-Known Member

    Looks like the reeding from another Morgan, where it transferred over. Perhaps it took a hard hit from another coin?
     
  13. TypeCoin971793

    TypeCoin971793 Just a random guy on the internet

    This is exactly what happened.
     
  14. Seattlite86

    Seattlite86 Outspoken Member

    If it weren't on both sides of the "sternum", I'd say it was plausible.
     
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  15. physics-fan3.14

    physics-fan3.14 You got any more of them.... prooflikes?

    It looks more like the grips on a pair of pliers. Not sure why pliers would be applied to a coin, but usually "tooling" means some deliberate attempt to strengthen the details in an area, to make it look better than it was.

    This just looks like damage, in my opinion.
     
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  16. TypeCoin971793

    TypeCoin971793 Just a random guy on the internet

    I’d say it is perfectly plausible that it happened to be hit twice. I’ve seen weirder things happen.
     
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  17. Seattlite86

    Seattlite86 Outspoken Member

    It appears that there was some attempt to make it look like ribs. It very well could just be damage, but without any significant damage on the obverse, it gave me the impression that someone intentionally did this... for whatever reason.

    Well, you've already determined that to be "exactly" what happened, so I guess we don't need to discuss any further. Case closed.
     
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  18. TypeCoin971793

    TypeCoin971793 Just a random guy on the internet

    The simplest answer is usually the correct one. Occam’s razor.

    The damage has the appearance of reeding. Dollars were stored in bags, making them prone to contact marks. Many show severe contact marks. The coin in question shows that the thing that caused the damage came from two different angles, and the difference in depth indicates two different levels of force, all consistent with being in an ever-shifting bag of coins. Plus, there is an additional contact mark that crosses the right area of damage, which indicates that it happened after the damage occurred.

    Sure, go ahead and create an elaborate story where a collector tried to “enhance” his dollar by adding “ribs” that are completely inconsistent with the type. And then it magically returns into circulation where it picks up more significant damage before it gets to where it is now.

    Or we could just say the coin was beat up in a bag, circulated, then was cleaned and has at best a nominal value over melt. One story seems far more believable to me. Of course, I cannot be right because I am not trying to make a case that this coin is tooled.
     
  19. TypeCoin971793

    TypeCoin971793 Just a random guy on the internet

    Check out the temple and the cheek right under the eye. You are clearly seeing what you want to see
     
  20. C-B-D

    C-B-D Well-Known Member

    Interesting thread, anyway. More focused pics, if possible, could put all this to rest.
     
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  21. Seattlite86

    Seattlite86 Outspoken Member

    I'll get better photos tonight.
     
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