1878 CC Morgan with Radial Die Cracks

I picked up this beauty based on some semi-decent pics from the seller and was surprised to find beautiful radial die cracks running about 75% of the circumference. I love die cracks (especially when they don't destroy design features) as they are a sign of just how quickly these Morgans were produced, often with shoddy dies & overpressure resulting in amazing depth.

What do you make of this? The cracks seems to start between the N & I of "United" & runs clockwise all the way to the A & R of "Dollar"! There's another die crack on the obverse from the 1 of the date to the first star left of Liberty's neck.

 

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http://www.vamworld.com/wiki/1878-CC_VAMs
take a look

 

Nice cracks! Too bad the coin isn't in better condition... looks like an old harsh cleaning

 

I did. Can't find the variety, yet.

 

We may not be looking at the same coin.

The holder it's in has some scruffiness that my camera is picking up, but this is in at least ms63 grade or I'm losing my touch.

 

I hate it when the holder gets scuffed .It Makes it harder to take Pics. and is a poor presentation. I know it's not your fault . It just sucks when it happens and that's why :

 

Mayve i can check later

 

Most amusing to me is that the Vam-1 is listed as "likely does not exist"!

I'm seeing this as a long-nock, centered (or even slightly low) mintmark without chips. Not seeing a corresponding VAM though.

 

Oh, Okay, I took a closer look and I can tell now it is the holder that has all the scuff marks on it, my bad!

 

It's all good. This is just a temporary slab (not even branded - it's just to protect it until I get it slabbed). And, I don't often slab either. But I am planning on taking advantage of ANACs dollar & cents special.

I drove this (& 17 other Trade, Morgan, & Peace dollars) down to Austin last weekend, only to find that the show with ANACs in attendance was over an hour away from my AirBnB cabin in Dripping Springs. Since it was an anniversary trip, I recognized that spending the time with my wife at various breweries and distilleries was less likely to get me buried in a shallow grave.

 

It's a long nock reverse so that narrows the choices. That radial die crack from the denticle to second left star is unique and likely makes it an LDS example of this VAM. Hope this helps. I didn't want to spoil your search by just saying its' VAM-xx...

 

You are correct. The coin is 100% improperly cleaned! Also, 100% ANACS "detail" grade. The scuffs on the holder run diagonally from the mouth.

Can anyone tell the us the characteristic caused by the cleaning hairlines that is visible on the coin's surface?

Hint: H--- Effect

 

I have to agree.

 

I think I'm getting the hang of this -- I thought the same thing.

Also, wouldn't a crack running around the circumference be circumferential, whereas a radial crack would be perpendicular to the rim?

 

jeffB, posted: "I think I'm getting the hang of this -- I thought the same thing."

Also, wouldn't a crack running around the circumference be circumferential, whereas a radial crack would be perpendicular to the rim?

Yes, radial radiates from the center. DC's are very common on Morgan's.

Now, can anyone tell us what we call the characteristic appearance of the surface caused by the improper cleaning?

 

Interest cracks. Made me wonder that if they continued to use that die until completed failure, would the outer rim of the coin just fall off? Rhetorical question of course.

 

Presumably there'd be a cud section first that would lead to the dies retirement.

 

Correct. These are common peripheral die cracks.

Not necessarily. Simply having too many cracks is one reason to pull the die. The cracks can even be present when a die is new. Don't try to attribute a 78-CC from the cracks. The pictures on VAMWorld for 78-CC are mostly limited to those that are needed for a quick attribution. Start on the "Sort by Reverse Design" page.