I'm a newbie. Can anyone tell me about the mint mark on this 1892-s Morgan silver dollar? Thx. It appears to be altered or defective. Grade? XF details-cleaned?
Welcome to CT James. Hope you have fun here. The mint mark is just worn, not altered or damaged. Looks like it might have been cleaned. Other than that, I'd say it would grade a solid VG-8, maybe a F-12.
I'm not sure, it sort of resembles VAM-4, but I don't think that it is. Any someone took a Brillo pad to it.
Emphasis on the might. I see no evidence of brushing - just a few incidental scratches from circulation contact - or whizzing. Probably cleaned, but not mechanically or not recently. The mint mark could be filled. It's a place where the die has tiny projections, and they can break off under striking pressure, leading to that sort of look. I wouldn't expect an altered mint mark for this one.
