This is an example of several Morgans that I have found with various dates from 1880 to 1921. They are all in very good condition, but being new to this, I really dont know what condition that is. How would you grade this coin? Value? All replies are very much appreciated.
my grade will be like your pic- ha upside down I am just learning too but I will share my processing : no seriously, look at the eagle's chest and the ends of the left wing tip. do you see wear areas? ok so it can't be uncirculated right? that drops it to some grade below ms 60. so now, is it about unc/ is it "almost uncirculated"? me no tink so well then what? is it AU 50 ? can't be because we already said it isn't au50 Now here is where I leave you or leave it to the morgan guys value... I will give it a price of $14 to $17 depending who you sell it to. Thanks. I would keep the coin and that is evidenced by the fact that I have one just like it. In fact I brought it to work last night and everyone liked it. They are not coin people but a coin like that amazes the publis if they hold it. One thing about mine is maybe it was never cleaned. maybe, just maybe yours is uncleaned. edited: well i looked more closely and the wing tips are pretty nice. but the eagles chest is worn...hmmm. how about EF extra fine.
Victor - Thanks very much for your comments. Sorry for the upside-down pic...I am still playing with my scanner. This Morgan, along with several others, was found in a shoebox. This is one of the most worn specimens. Since they were not in flips (other coins were), I assume that they are all circulated coins. Based on the grading tutorials I have looked at, I am assuming they range from VG to XF, but I really have no clue as to the numerical grade. As far as I know, I dont have any rare mint marks (no CC), or rare dates, but maybe I will get lucky and someone will notice an interesting feature or strike quality. I will post more as I go through them. Thanks again for your comments.
Please excuse my rough grading exercise. Do you have any books to go by? I believe one of the recent issues of Coin Values or Coin World has an article on grading this very series. I am too lazy to get up and find it. However I do have a redbook right here. The redbook says for XF 40 [also called EF meaning extra fine] "eagle's feathers all plain but with slight wear on breast and wing tips". So looking at your coin I would say that the eagle's breast has more than just "slight" wear. Not looking at anything else mind you, I would venture your coin is not of EF/XF quality. The next grade down is vf 35. Not saying it is a 35. What throws me off about the reverse is that the wing tips look decent. You also have to consider the obverse. What I am thinking here is this coin may end up with a composite/net grade.
###### Righto. You may have run into the term VAM. I have heard that ALL Morgans are vams. There is a top 50 list and a top 100 list for vams. There are whole websites about VAMs.
I agree with Victor, I would say it's worth around $15. As for the grade, I would say VF details. Here's a good site for grading: How To Grade Morgan Dollars
I mainly said details because of the area on the reverse around UNUM, looks like some type of corrosion/environmental damage.
