I have recently started the coin hobby and I have decided to focus on collecting Morgan Dollars. I am starting off slow. Nothing expensive. I just recently purchased an 1886 Morgan Dollar with no mint mark. This coin was MS-64 graded by NGC. I also have an 1897-S morgan dollar which was AU-53 graded by PCGS. I recently looked at the reverse side under 10X and 20X magnification and the lettering on the 1886 coin appears flat (i.e. less height between the surface of the letter "D" in "DOLLAR" and the surface of the coin) when compared to the 1897 coin. It almost looks as if the letters on the 1886 coin have less "height" to them. Is this caused by a weak strike or die wear?
Probaly a little bit of both. You'll find with morgans (and many other coins) strike varies from date to date and mint. for example New Orleans issues are very weakly struck most times, this often cause new collestors to grade a coin lower because they rely on books that say to be unc the coin must show a whisp of hair but if its weakly struck said wisp of hair will be missing. Hope this helps a bit -Russ
Welcome to the forum! 1886 was a busy year for the Philly mint, they put out almost 20 million Morgans (Which I believe is in the top 5 highest mintage years). What you see on a lot of the 1886 P Morgans are pretty strong strikes in the high points (Liberty's hair and the Eagle's breast), but relatively weak strikes on the outer portions of the die (Date, Stars, and Letters). And most of these coins will show strong flow lines on the outer portions of the coin that move towards the rim, here's a good example: 1886 $1 MS62 PCGS. This is generally attributed to too much strike force. The strike force was probably increased to keep the details strong, as the dies wore out.
I've seen Morgans that were in MS and you would swear someone filed the letters and stars down , next time I'd wait for a all around well struck coin . It may take awhile but you'll be better off in the longrun . Remember all MS-64s are not equal . rzage P.S. Welcome to CT .
