Hi all. Saw a U.S. Mint Facebook ad that stated that a higher silver content in a coin enhances its details and I was wondering why. Appreciate your explanation if you know. And is this true for most precious metals? Thanks all.
Well, .999 fine silver is going to be a little softer than the original .900 silver alloy. So, in theory more details are going to be easier to achieve. But, the images I have seen (granted they are digital renderings not the actual coins) have disappointing eye appeal in my opinion.
I consider these to be commemoratives and I stopped collecting them about 3 years ago. And, I am also disappointed with the eye appeal.
I wish I could have both (a 2021 and a "genuine" one) side by side to examine and compare. I think the Peace Dollar goes on sale tomorrow at noon.
Copper is a harder metal than silver. If you add copper to silver (which is what they do with .900 silver) it increases the hardness of the silver. By how much I don’t know.
.999 silver means it will wear down faster. I'd love to have a PO01 graded 2021 morgan. I wonder how realistic it will look in worn grades.
Wow, that much? I was Googling to try to find out the hardness difference but couldn't get a quantitative answer. When your 2021 Morgan arrives, please post side-by-side pics if you can . Thanks.
Dunno about your question, but I have a random observation: Until seeing this thread, I had no idea that the Mint was issuing 2021 Morgans (and Peace dollars, too, you say?) Interesting. Boy, I sure am hopelessly out of touch with modern issues (as always).
Gold is softer still - and the US mint managed to mess up striking FSL on the gold Mercs back in 2016. I have low MS Mercs from the ‘40’s that have better strike characteristics than my 2016 Merc. Don’t count on the US mint to prioritize quality over costs.
To each their own, but think some are asking/looking for too much. Nothing but NOTHING will ever be the same/exact as the original...not this, not a corvette remake even if by the same or "better" maker using the same or "better" parts (ALL have changed...nothing is the same). And yes, this indeed is a commemorative...a replica...based on/after the one and only original...not a circulating clone/issue. It...anything, really, after so many years...is impossible to duplicate...too much has changed, including time passed. The intent was to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the last Morgan...arguably (one of) the greatest, most handsome, popular and collected coins ever produced...and that of the first Peace dollar...the only true high relief issue and similar in its own right/place in numismatic history, plus capitalize on today's silver trends (.999 v .900). It was not to try and duplicate in every detail, the Morgan and Peace dollars of 1921. I would love to have one of each...and specifically to show, display and enjoy side by side...it diminishes nothing for me...but rather only enhances the originals, as it should be.
The softer the silver, the more they are prone to damage. Secure them properly and enjoy their beauty. Great post, thanks.
Meh, who knows. it's marketing anyways. Gonna have to wait for october or so to find out in person. LOL
Softer or harder, I doubt any of them will see circulation at the prices the Mint and after market sellers are asking.
I've been trying to set up coins that have a silver content and a gold content, i.e., the 2016 gold Mercury. I haven't found a silver one that was nice as the gold one. The same goes for the 2016 Gold Standing Liberty Quarter and the 2016 Walking Liberty Half Dollar. I have collected all of the silver FDR Dimes. I am still working on completing the silver Mercury Dimes and the Washington Silver Quarters. I am trying to do my collecting in an orderly manner and break my bank account.
This sounds vaguely familiar, but I can’t quite remember the details. However, this article goes through how alloying elements can affect the hardness and ductility of silver: https://www.riogrande.com/article?name=MetalHardnessSilver The article includes the following graph of hardness versus copper content (taken from Silver: Economics, Metallurgy and Use): They mention that this is hardness for annealed silver, so it may not be a perfect approximation for a coin (since the striking process would introduce some work hardening), but the .900 fine silver is around 80 HV while pure silver (essentially .999 fine) is around 35 HV.
