I do not collect or know Morgans, really. This could be a lighting issue. But these things stood out to me: (First two are PCGS, third is yours) Curled hair looks odd Hair behind the ear doesn't seem to blend in with the metal behind it Your dot(s) look flat. Dentrils look different
I am pretty sure it is counterfeit. The coin seems devoid of luster from the picture, and has that dead look of mixed metals being cast. The date appears crude to me, and so do the stars and the wreath. If it is genuine (unlikely), I would say low level MS---there are some major scratches on the field on the obverse to the left of Liberty. I don't think it looks genuine at all. This is an education in not buying raw Morgans as I have said 10,000 times.
You have a fair amount of wear running through the hair across the ear and down into the curls. It's got nice eye appeal and very few bag marks, but if authentic, it might just make high AU on the wear alone. IMHO. But take heart, I'm a stickler on grades and I usually under grade, never over grade.
Coins have been counterfeited for hundreds of years. It's just the advent of the internet that has made them more apparent. It's a good fake though. I would put it in a 2x2 and use it to educate people on fakes.
thanks for the reply @Morgandude what is the biggest way they made an impact? Would you say it was more in the way of pushing for widespread use and/or acceptance of the Sheldon grading scale, or of condition (leading to market price establishment of coins graded on that scale (as opposed to its predecessor, the adjectival scale), or authentication/counterfeit detection? I guess I'm asking what was the most immediate and apparent impact tpg's made on or for the market?
on the positive side it is no 1879-CC or any other key date counterfeit. Things could always be worse. inspect every raw coin before you buy.(nowadays inspect any coin there are counterfeit slabs now)
Something doesn't add up? In 1984 you were -5? I am not a Morgan expert, though I do play one on internet coin message forums, but the coin just does not look right to me. I can't put my finger on what's wrong with it, but my gut tells me something is wrong with this one. I could be wrong, as I have been many times before and will be many times again. I hope that it is isn't a fake for you.
Maybe just maybe he had purchased the coin when he was still a sperm cell. What a marvelous feat that must have been.
So the original price in 1984 was $800 but the dealer was nice and sold it to you for $400? The story is that the dealer had originally bought this coin slabbed by a lesser known TPG - -INTERNATIONAL NUMISMATIC BUREAU graded MS66 and sold it to you for MS65 price?
I know he said pic , but could it be a scan , I'm thinking it's real . But we're all judging this coin on a pic . And that is no way to judge a coin , at least saying 100 % unless you can point out something wrong with the diagnostics . If it's fake I doubt it's cast as I do see luster that a cast coin wouldn't have .
http://www.coincommunity.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=172667&whichpage=1 http://www.coincommunity.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=172257&whichpage=1
Thanks for the links. I didn't see anyone in those threads that questioned if it's real. Interesting coin.
Oh my, I sure you turn out ok on this one. I looked at thought something strange but wasn't thinking fake. I hope it was the lighting..