Hello all! A friend of mine sent me this picture this morning asking about this Morgan. Since I know very little about Morgan's and all their variations, VAM's, grade, etc... posting it to CoinTalk was the 1st thing I thought of. This is her father's coin and it was given to him by his grandfather, so I'm pretty sure its not fake. However, I'm asking you to check, just to make sure, then I need to know about anything else I can about the coin, including its worth, so I can let her know. Thanks greatly! Jim
Thanks potty dollar, I wasn't sure about the color either, but its been in her family for 60 or 70 years, that's why I asked. We will see what others think.
Yes, weigh, ping, magnet test. It looks like it was artificially darkened/toned, and then brightened back up in certain locations, like they do with some poorer quality Chinese fakes.
I think it’s genuine. It grades around F15 and is probably a melter at around $20. I’d just hang onto it.
Personally, I'm suspicious of any silver dollar with that much oxidation on the surface. I doubt it would look like that if it were a pocket piece...or just sitting in a drawer. What gives me pause is the "6". The 1886-O has two styles of 6s: open or closed, but both ending in a knob, not flat like that. I'm not a Morgan expert; that's just my impression. Everything else appears as it should.
...the denticles are uniform on both sides, so I say it’s authentic. I recently graded a ‘84-O...it was F15 at PCGS Photograde (you can do this too)...your ‘86 has more wear so I think it’s no better than F12...go check for yourself. Unfortunately, the advanced wear makes it really hard to find VAM attributes and die markers, but you could go to VAM World to find out...jmho...Spark
Everybody grades a little different. But when the lines in the cotton bolls are this clear, I say it's gotta be at least F15. MHO.
No worries. I was just trying to find out any info I can about it. All my friend cares about is if its real and if it has any value more than melt. I might go check out VAM World just out of curiosity. Thanks Spark!
Hey everyone!! Just finished talking with my friend. It turns out that since the 70's, she and her family have tried numerous times to (are you ready for this?) clean the "tarnish" off of the coin!! So, that explains the the places where the where the toning has been rubbed off. When I was able to breathe again, after she told me about the attempted cleanings, I made sure to tell her that it is not a good idea to attempt to clean coins if you don't know what you are doing and to never use a cleaning cloth on them.
At least they have the coin, and it's history with the family. That's where the real value is in my opinion!
Yep! I agree. And they are never going to sell it, so it doesn't matter what kind of condition its in. I'm just glad I was able to deter them from cleaning anymore coins. Her 10 year old son is showing an interest in coin collecting and I am doing everything I can do to encourage the habit!
I agree, F-15 for the grade. The 1886-O is one of the more common Morgan dollars. In that grade, about $30 to $40. It looks real to me, but I agree with the others here about the toning. I'm glad you discouraged them from attempting to clean any more coins!