1896 Morgan Silver Dollar Hi, what do you think of my first morgan? What would you grade it? And what do you think it's value is?
Cleaned, AU details, net XF Thread says 1886, but sho' 'nuff looks like an 1896 to me. In either case, both are common date. $18-$20.
That bad huh? I hate cleaned coins, so I didn't know. How could you tell? Such a shame...... I payed 20.50, was that too much then?
Red Book says about $22 in that grade of course knock a few off for being cleaned. Melt value is $13.21 with the current price of silver being $17.08/oz. I thought it was clean simply by the brightness. There is wear on it and it's mint bright. I'm more into cents, nickels and dimes so I'll let one of the other guys explain it better.
No, that's fine. It's hard to get much cheaper than that on a Morgan, since they have more than 3/4ths of an ounce of silver. I would just enjoy it and, as Hobo mentioned, study and learn. Look closely. Why would someone say it's cleaned ? Why would someone say it's circulated ? Compare it to other Morgans. What's the difference between a cleaned AU50, an MS63, and an MS66 ? If you like Morgans, try reading "Encyclopedia of Morgan and Peace Dollars" by Van Allen / Mallis; it has more info on more topics than I would have dreamed possible. It's not possible to study coins and study ONLY coins ! Lots of interesting history. Enjoy !
It has no mint luster. It's dull. Compare to the so-called "blast white" Morgans. When you move them in the light, there is an unmistakable "cartwheel" effect.
So when I get the coin, and if it is shiny, then it wasn't cleaned. Someone said it was too shiny, someone said it was dull, which one is it?
That's oversimplifying. Some "shiny" coins are worse than cleaned - they're polished. Not all "non-shiny" coins are cleaned. There is a distinctive look to original mint luster.
I think the coin is probably AU, and you paid about the right price for an AU coin. If it has been dipped in the past, it probably hasn't hurt the value too much, and eventually it will retone. It's tough to tell from the picture whether there is any mint luster left. I've seen other AU common date white morgans sell for $20 if they have pretty clean surfaces and few marks. Your's looks pretty decent.
hi! a convenient way to see a few thousand pics of morgan dollars w/ good ohotos is to go to heritage auction galleries. the archives are loaded w/ high quality pics. before delving too deep, i strongly urge you to buy david bowers' book on morgan dollars as well as experts guide to collecting and investing in rare coins. there is an adage which says buy the book before the coin. it is well advised. read and look at a lot of coins. if you can, go to a coin show or coin club meeting. take your time and gain knowledge, then consider your purchases. at $20 you didn't get hurt w/ silver at $17, but before buying more, i highly advise studying and asking questions so you can be an educated buyer. very best wishes.....steve
