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<p>[QUOTE="jtlee321, post: 5276275, member: 73983"]So I picked up this very interesting Morgan Dollar today. It's a common date 1885-O with a far less common PL/DMPL surface. But what really made me interested in it, is the pitting all over the mirrored fields. My first thought was a very rusty die that had been polished up. But that did not fit, as the marking on the surface is pitted and not raised. Had the die been rusty with pits it would have left raised areas on the coin. So I really started looking at the coins devices, thinking it was possibly PMD. That did not match, as the pitting was not appearing on Liberty or the Eagle or any of the other devices. In fact, close examination reveals that the pitting actually seams to go under the devices in some areas.</p><p><br /></p><p>My conclusion is it has to be some sort of debris that was either on the dies surface or clinging to the planchet prior to striking. Now I'm trying to figure out what it could have been. My guess is dirt and grease or possibly wood particles of some sort.</p><p><br /></p><p>The bummer part about this coin is that a previous owner thought they could possibly remove the marks in the field with a jewelers cloth or something. As it is cleaned and you can see the light wipe marks when they run perpendicular to the light source. It's not bad enough for me to have passed on it, but it will preclude it from straight grading. Which is unfortunate as the fields have a clear reflectivity out between 8 and 10 inches. But for the price I paid, It will find a new home with a collector that will appreciate it for it's uniqueness.</p><p><br /></p><p>Below are very high resolution images of the coin for those who would like to really look at these extremely interesting surfaces.</p><p><br /></p><p>On a side note, this 1885-O is a VAM-25 which is found in PL in early die states. It's the result of a die that had clashed and then was polished up to try and remove the evidence of the clashing. The later die states of this VAM, the VAM-25a is a tough to find coin, with really nice die breaks and a displaced field break.</p><p><br /></p><p>Any thoughts or comments are always welcome. I'd love to hear others opinions on what this pitting could be the result of.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://www.wildlightphotoworkshops.com/CoinTalk/1885-O-Morgan-Dollar-Obverse-JLNP-Max.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p><img src="http://www.wildlightphotoworkshops.com/CoinTalk/1885-O-Morgan-Dollar-Reverse-JLNP-Max.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="jtlee321, post: 5276275, member: 73983"]So I picked up this very interesting Morgan Dollar today. It's a common date 1885-O with a far less common PL/DMPL surface. But what really made me interested in it, is the pitting all over the mirrored fields. My first thought was a very rusty die that had been polished up. But that did not fit, as the marking on the surface is pitted and not raised. Had the die been rusty with pits it would have left raised areas on the coin. So I really started looking at the coins devices, thinking it was possibly PMD. That did not match, as the pitting was not appearing on Liberty or the Eagle or any of the other devices. In fact, close examination reveals that the pitting actually seams to go under the devices in some areas. My conclusion is it has to be some sort of debris that was either on the dies surface or clinging to the planchet prior to striking. Now I'm trying to figure out what it could have been. My guess is dirt and grease or possibly wood particles of some sort. The bummer part about this coin is that a previous owner thought they could possibly remove the marks in the field with a jewelers cloth or something. As it is cleaned and you can see the light wipe marks when they run perpendicular to the light source. It's not bad enough for me to have passed on it, but it will preclude it from straight grading. Which is unfortunate as the fields have a clear reflectivity out between 8 and 10 inches. But for the price I paid, It will find a new home with a collector that will appreciate it for it's uniqueness. Below are very high resolution images of the coin for those who would like to really look at these extremely interesting surfaces. On a side note, this 1885-O is a VAM-25 which is found in PL in early die states. It's the result of a die that had clashed and then was polished up to try and remove the evidence of the clashing. The later die states of this VAM, the VAM-25a is a tough to find coin, with really nice die breaks and a displaced field break. Any thoughts or comments are always welcome. I'd love to hear others opinions on what this pitting could be the result of. [IMG]http://www.wildlightphotoworkshops.com/CoinTalk/1885-O-Morgan-Dollar-Obverse-JLNP-Max.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://www.wildlightphotoworkshops.com/CoinTalk/1885-O-Morgan-Dollar-Reverse-JLNP-Max.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE]
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1885-O with a very interesting surface... (Warning Large Images)
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