I have proveb myself to be totally inept at judging high grade coins and/or toners. I would like to ask for comments (Grade?, VAM?, Tone?) on the best Morgan of 15 that I have. I'm posting axial images for toning and detail so the surfaces are very muted from in hand. If I should blow up any area of the coin, let me know since all these images are 1.2M and should take blowups well. I turned the coin for different lighting direction. Thanks, Marshall .
I too am no grading expert ... but here is a 1900-O Morgan graded MS65 by PCGS for comparitive purposes. Yours look very nice. I will let others chime in on a grading guess.
1900-O is a date with a large number of VAMS, Check this page if you haven't yet, and try to narrow down to a few you suspect ( it is much easier with the coin in hand) and you would know what landmarks to photograph. This issue can be sorted by date position or reverse, to help make ID easier. This site is a necessity for anyone determining VAMs. Looks original toning. http://www.vamworld.com/1900-O+VAMs Jim
The VAM 40 looks like a good match. I thought the prominent die break connecting the tops of UNITED and STAT would help, but it hasn't. There is also a break in an arc in the inner wreath below N (UNITED) and a verticle break from the bottom of the n (In God...) to the eagles wing. On the right side below the eagles wing is either a break or a clash to the second cluster of leaves.
Die cracks aren't usually mentioned in the VAM listings unless they contribute significantly to a particular die state. That isn't a break inside the lefthand wreath. It is the bridge of Liberty's nose from a die clash. If you look above it, you will see her chin also along the inside of the lefthand wreath. Also clashed is Liberty's neckline which you see extending vertically from the "n" of IGWT to the edge of the eagle's right wing (viewer's left) and the "cap vee" of the Phrygian cap inside the righthand wreath. All of these clashes are fairly common and aren't usually mentioned in VAM descriptions. The only clashes of any significance are letter transfers. Chris
Yes. Strangely enough, I found silver much easier than copper and gold almost impossible. Unfortunately, I still can't get both detail AND normal reflectivity in the same shot. The coin in hand looks almost blast white, but I lose all the detail if I try to capture it.
I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually. I'm the same in regards to copper, and unfortunately, I don't have any gold to photograph, haha. Regarding the coin, I'd grade it MS62 or so because of that nasty mark on the nose. Still a really nice coin though.
