1899-o Morgan

What would you put say a $20,000 1855 type 2 gold $1 coin in? a plastic flip? or a slab?

 

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I'm afraid of the plastic scuffing the coin either on the way into or out of the flip. They aren't responsible for accidental damage to my coin. The disclaimers these places use it's a wonder anyone sends them a coin worth more than $100.

 

This has all the trademarks of a Rare-tim thread.

 

If you have a $20k coin, I am sure you could afford to pay any fee they would charge extra to remove it from any kind of holder of your choice.


My most expensive gold coins are worth $3k or less.

 

Rare Tim. AWESOME! I was absolutely thinking of asking them if they'd take $5 each to pull them out of slabs. They do crossovers so what's the big deal right?

 

Crossovers= removal from a slab for free. Hope they'll ship my slabs back with the coins.

 

These are the BEST I can do with bad lighting. Hope you can tell I'm not a rare Timothy.

 

Same two pics by accident looking more like tim every sec. Frustrated and going to bed.

 

I love how new members try to convince a Morgan dollar expert like @SuperDave, just what they have, always a riot. Lol

 

Here are two better pics, as well as the 1855 T2. The cheek smudge is an optical illusion I promise. Obv that would disqualify it from the MS category.

 

Check out the better pics. I thought he was just joshing me. those pics were so fuzzy you could barely tell it was a real morgan. The strike is so weak I can barely tell it's a real Morgan. the second 9 looks like an overdate of a 3, although I know it isn't, the bottom inside of the 9 has a curved raised line within it. The stars are very shallow as you get closer to the date. Are those hallmarks of VAM 6? I can't tell from the VAM pics I have seen.

 

I *will* say these new pics are a lot more encouraging. Not conclusive, but the date position looks much better and the mint mark begins to resemble the proper shape and orientation for VAM-6. The problem is, though, VAMming is not an inexact science, and the details used to define a certain variety must exactly match those known. These images don't have that degree of precision.

The strike is terrible (but not out of the realm of possibility), and the indications seem to point towards strike rather than wear. By the time "normal wear" makes the ear and nearby hair blend that completely together, the rest of the coin is into VG territory, and it's not. The same can be said for the flatness of everything on the vertical line from the eagle's neck to the bow - if that's all wear, the outside top of the wings should show visible wear, and they don't. It's not enough to say unequivocally that it's a Mint State coin, but I'm willing to stipulate it's no worse than a decent AU and probably better. The surfaces are still not depicted in sufficient detail for intelligent opinion.

So, @180IQ, it's on you. Here's the VAM-6 detail page:

http://www.vamworld.com/1899-O+VAM-6

The most important things to my mind for confirming the variety are the location of the date, the location and far right tilt of the mint mark, and the lines noted in the wing and between neck and wing (images from VAMworld):




You'll also note doubling mentioned. It's possible for the weak strike to have a bearing on how visible that is, and although the presence of it helps to confirm, the lack of it isn't necessarily proof that it's not VAM-6 as a result. I expect the details I mentioned to have the greatest likelihood of clearly surviving a weak strike, and will be enough in and of themselves to confirm the attribution.


Now, onto the Gold Dollar. This is a major rarity above MS64, and it needs to be MS65 or better in order to have the value you suggest. The only appropriate container for such a coin is the slab of a major TPG so the grade can be clearly confirmed. It would require truly professional-level images of the coin for anyone here to hope to offer an informed opinion of the grade, especially knowing the value triples between MS64 and MS65.

 

I always assume my coins are the absolute highest value possible until they are graded, if I didn't, there would be potato chip grease on the morgan. I don't know that the 1855 is MS 65, but it's very pretty, and I KNOW if it got scuffed by a stupid plastic coin flip that it would NOT be. That's my dilemma. Monday I'll ask them if they mind giving coins special attention for free, if not, then for a fee. I am somewhat of a rare Tim in that I posted hoping someone who knew morgans better than I did would say the same thing I was thinking. The first time I saw the coin I thought damn is that fake? Then I looked at all the condition pics on PCGS and thought wow all the high points besides the cheek and eagles chest have NO wear, and even mint lustre or mirror finish. I hope it's MS obviously. Everyone wants to score the diamond in the rough right? Also even if it isn't MS it could come back graded MS, a lot of coins graded MS look like someone took a belt sander to them. Have you seen the pictures I'm talking about? Coins graded MS that look literally belt sanded? On their website.

 

These are the best pics I'm going to be able to get. You can see the VAM line between the eagles neck and wing. You have to zoom in a lot. Much clearer pics.

 

Better pics of the obv. Also does having laser beam eyes make it more valuable?

 

Now that everyone can see the coin more clearly what's it worth? I guess I was more asking if it's worth less than any other coin in the same condition because of the abhorrently weak strike? If it got graded MS 64 is it worth the 50k that people are shelling out? Or more like 40? Is it worth more than 50k in MS 64 because the date is a little too far to the left? That kind of thing. Personally I don't believe a coin with a less than average strike deserves MS 65 MS 64 unless it's flawless otherwise, but the grading companies disagree, so good for the seller.

 

I've been self grading coins for 16 years, I've never submitted one, not a morgan guy because I like to collect MS sets, and my income won't sustain that set. I appreciate that the Morgan $ is extremely hard to grade in these states. Thanks for your time everyone.