Here are some pics of my new baby . Looks better in person, although I'm sort of confused to why it wasn't graded PL...Oh well..
What I've noticed is that NGC will give a star to a morgan that is Proof like or DMPL on one side, where as a full PL or DMPL designation would be reserved for a morgan that has those traits on both sides. From my experience, if a blast white morgan has a star, it's because one of the sides is PL/DMPL. Has anyone else noticed this?
Yep, it's in their guidelines for the star designation. NGC's Star Designation It could also mean both sides are semi-prooflike, or one side is PL and the other side is DMPL, or, like you said, only one side of the coin has PL/DMPL surfaces. In this coin it looks like both obverse and reverse are semi-prooflike, and that's why it received the star.
That is a nice coin. My guess is that NGC felt the coin just missed a prooflike designation because of inadequate reflectivity in either the obverse or reverse fields. As a result, they awarded the coin the coveted star designation for coming close and having exceptional eye appeal. I bet that your coin looks a lot like this one auctioned by Heritage last July. http://coins.ha.com/common/view_item.php?Sale_No=1127&Lot_No=8219 From what I can see, these have been selling for $275-$325 depending on the eye appeal of the individual coin. I have an 1880-S NGC MS65* which has a DMPL obverse with a brilliant reverse. I paid MS66 money for it. I love how the DMPL contrast accentuates the strike of the coin. Superb!
I needed a coin without toning to compare my other coins against. That was the excuse I gave the members of the TCCS when they found out I bought a coin with no toning. All agreed with my logic!
