I won this piece for $60 in a recent auction. I found $45 lying on the ground in a parking lot and then got a notification this auction was closing soon. High bid was $55, so I went in at a $70 max just to take a shot. Fully expected to not win. From these pics, not mine, looks like it could be EF. Red book price for EF and lower grades is quite a bit higher than $60.
Nice snag! I'd say the only way you could lose is if it turns out to be fake, and I don't see any of the obvious signs in these photos.
Yeah, I didn’t see anything that would have stood out as ‘fake’ to me, but I am by no means an expert in that regard.
Yeah, judging by the pictures I'd rate it a solid EF. I really don't see anything that screams counterfeit - if that's a fake, it is a *really* good one. The black spot above her ear and eyebrow looks like it should be able to come off easily enough (try some acetone). I'm concerned about the scrape on her cheek, but it isn't bad enough for details. Judging by Ebay past sales, assuming it isn't counterfeit, that's a $400 coin all day long.
I wasn’t too concerned about that scrape or the black spots. I’ll take some better pics before and after an acetone bath and we’ll see how it looks. Thanks for your opinions!
Yes, I would try soap and water first with NO friction (rubbing) first and then acetone. Third, I would try rubbing alcohol (with that would heat it up and then soak the coin in and then GENTLY tamp the surface with Q-tip. More is possible but do these first. But don't do any of this if you are not comfortable.
Thanks for making that clear. I have done a number of small cent ‘repairs’ using verdi care after soaks in distilled water and then acetone. I have an old post of two with some results. So I should be fine doing some basic ‘cleaning’ here. Never worked on a Morgan though…
Verdi care is quite acidic which IMHO should NOT be used on silver. Just start gently as per above if you are going to. I like the coin and think you don't want to spoil it. PCGS will "conserve" but will cost you quite a bit...
I don't think it's acidic. Copper is more sensitive to acid than silver is. But I also don't think it's effective against most silver discoloration.
Sorry, alkaline is the correct answer. Think lye....Regardless, potentially dangerous to a surface such as that on your coin that appears to have some lustre.
I wasn’t trying to imply that I was intending to necessarily use that product on this coin, but just that I am familiar with some basic, at-home coin remedies.
Got it in hand now and the light direction really changes how that cheek looks in the pics. I did not do any type of cleaning attempt on it yet. Here’s some pics:
Yes, that is unfortunately the sign of either a fairly deep scrape, or a fairly recent scrape. The wound has not had time to "tone over", or, develop a patina over the freshly scraped metal. It appears a bit worse than your original pictures indicate, but not the end of the world. It will detract a bit from the price.
Time heals all wounds I guess. But not like the time needed to fix the neck on this one I keep in my pocket. Poor girl:
That's a lot nicer than the one I picked up last month for about 150. Don't remember if I posted it or not. You got a great deal! I looked a long time to find something even in this lessor grade that wasn't a wallet buster.
Here’s what it looks like after a soapy water soak followed by an acetone soak. It took some tooth pick tapping to take care of that black spot by the ear, but I do think it came out nicely overall. Any final thoughts?
