Questions on Possible Proof?

I agree that your no new commer to coins Chris
And I too was not trying to be short tempered and I don't really think any of us were. I just didn't want NorthGuy to feel like we were beating up on his purchase.
It's all good with me and I hope your recovery is still doing well.
BTW Had they even made Morgans yet in 1957...sheez

 

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Without question. You did well!

 

Never seen polish cause a cameo appearance.

 

I was utilizing rule of thumb for novice collectors that proof coinage prior to 1968 came from the Mint in Philadelphia. I'm sure there are exceptions to the rule as that thread has revealed.

I do have a question...did any of the branch mints have medallic presses in the 1800's that could strike a coin twice with more than normal pressures?

 

One has to remember when these dies were created. They were not the super chrome plated high grade steel dies in use today.

Dies of yesteryear were pressed, annealed, pressed again and again to raise the features. They were then pickled in a acid, basin polished one last time which created the frosted appearances on the first few hundred coins off the die.

These are the only coins where you are certain were "early strikes"

Happy Collecting

 

never mind....

 

That looks pretty high relief to me. Nice medal.

 

That looks to be a very nice coin to me Northguy and I would'nt expect any dealers to let it go any cheaper than 30 bucks. You got a good deal IMO.

 

That's a good question!

I do know that Morgan dollars were single-struck with a force of 150-160 tons per square inch, and proof Morgans were double-struck with higher than normal pressures. According to the VAM "Bible", the branch mints did produce a very limited number of proof Morgans to commemorate special events, so the capability of the machinery at the branch mints to double-strike medals was certainly possible.

I doubt that any of the mint facilities in those days, including Philadelphia, maintained specialized equipment solely for the production of medals, but that is just a guess. It would seem that only minor modifications of the coining chamber would be necessary for the striking of medals.

Below, are photos of a medal that was struck by the Mint for the 1876 Philadelphia Exhibition. In sheer volume, it is the largest U.S. medal in my collection. It is 76mm in diameter, 9mm thick and weighs a whopping 9.9 ozs.

Chris

 

Thanks all! I actually saw the dealer I bought this coin from pick it up at another dealers shop I was at a year ago. I saw that he still had it so I thought I'd take a gamble on it and it seemed reasonably priced comparably to other Morgans I own. I also felt it was undergraded. I will hopefully be able to get some better pictures up soon, just got back from university so its gonna take some time to setup everything.

P.S. no harm done Chris. I knew I was taking a gamble when I got this coin as I didnt know much about it. I'm usually more informed when making purchases and this was mainly an impulse buy.

 

I'm sorry that I was so hard on you. I'm really PO'ed that I got the flu while at the damn doctor's office.

Chris

 

No problems man. Sucks about the flu, also about that it's from Florida, I go to university there and Florida sicknesses are the worst and last the longest.

 

I have the flu too.

Anyone wanna fight?

 

I understand that I think he was referring to somebody polishing the coin.