1921-S Zerbe Proof Identification

Yeah i see what you're saying. Up close it has a lot of the same die scratches, breaks etc. That are still there though. I just know that doesn't necessarily make it the Zerbe

 

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Care to point some of them out? I'm not sure how you'd make out die scratches and breaks on a coin that's been this abused. I suspect you're seeing damage. With the number of marks on this coin, you could probably find something that looks "sort of like" any marker.

 

I have more but these are the ones I have on my phone right now

 

Here's a couple more

 

The 21-S "Zerbe" proofs had bad detail, and mirrored, but dingy surfaces. Wayne Miller believes it is possible that a business strike die was pulled from production after already having worn from striking many coin, polished up, and used to strike the 24 documented proofs. There are no more than 5 known as of the early 80s when Miller wrote his book. He pictures a coin that sold in 1981 for $10K that Breen attributed as a proof in the 70s. The OP's coin does not have any characteristics of a Zerbe proof 21-S. The fields show heavy die wear. Note cracks at the date and deep flow line erosion between peripheral lettering and the rim (e.g., "horns" on the M in UNUM).

The "Red Book" of Morgan dollars doesn't mention these at all, other than to cast doubt on the existence of any branch mint proof Morgan in a couple paragraphs. Indeed, Breen being heavily involved in attributing these calls them all into question, even though it's known that some special strikes were made for 79-O, 83-O, 93-CC, and 21-S.

 

Thanks for that. This coin has lines all throughout it, especially around and through all the letters on both sides, even though its a lot more prevalent on the reverse. Not expecting it to actually be one, I just learned about the Zerbe Proofs recently and took a deep dive into this one I already had and noticed it had a lot of similar characteristics and it made me curious