I have the opportunity to buy this, but want to see if it's real. Don't have a scale to weigh but I was able to check diameter and thickness with my caliper. The diameter is a little off but not by much. The thickness however is another story. Would love to know what you guys think. Thanks in advance.
1) How much are they asking for it? 2) Who is selling it? It looks legit to me, but wait for the experts to chime in.
It looks real. It's not very valuable. And if it has been cleaned, even less. People will clean them and try to pass them off at a higher grade. I wouldn't go over $25 on this. And probably $20.
It's someone I know and $20. He got it from a friend of his and that's where my concern comes in to play.
This coin will not appreciate in value. So if you want to buy it, buy it. Unless you feel there are untold antics in the previous acquisition. But when you go to sell it, unless silver goes sky high again, you will break even or lose money.
Nice AU-Unc dollar with a few hairlines. $20 is fair and it looks real to me. And don't use metal calipers or rulers on a coin!
Thank you all for your input. I went ahead and bought the coin. It's my first Morgan and my first from the 1800's.
It is definitely real. What it is is a common date, cleaned, lightly circulated Morgan. Condition is AU, details (not gradeable, because of the cleaning). I agree with the $25 value.
If I may ask, what are the indicators of it being cleaned? I'm still pretty new to coin collecting so I have no clue what I'm looking for. All I know is that it looks really good for being 120 years old!
Of course it looks good for its age, it was cleaned. You can see hairline scratches from the cleaning, it lacks Mint luster and around the high spots like the stars you can see the original dark color before the cleaning. Hope that helps.
Don’t get overly hung up on the idea that a 120 year old Morgan Dollar looks good. These coins were made in by millions when very few people wanted them. They ended up in government vaults for decades and emerged in Mint State, often Choice or Gem Mint State (MS-63 to 65). There tens of thousands of Morgan Dollars that are older than this one that are far nicer.
