I found a 1921 Morgan in a local antique shop today. They had a pile of Morgans and this one caught my eye because it has mirror-like surfaces and I could see the reflection of my eye in Ms. Liberty's cheek. Anyway, it seemed like a reasonable risk for $10. Any ideas about what it might be worth? The strike is weak and there are a number of contact marks. I also wanted to practice posting a scan on this forum. Hopefully it will work.
Are there any distinct characteristics about the coin? There are a few 21-P VAMs that have a slight premium over the common value. Some have pitted dies, die gouges, cracks, etc. Is there any chance the coin has been polished? My eyes are tired, but the scan looked a little funny. Rob Joyce has nice photos of some 21-P's on his site. The ashmore site has lots of descriptions and photos. I've picked up a couple of infrequently reeded (wide reeding) 21-P's over the last month. If you have other Morgans, compare the reeded edge.
I have a funny feeling about this coin...looks too shiny...and around the letters and stars you can see "durt" or what looks to be something...I'd let someone else guess before you go with mine 100% but I would say its cleaned...but then I look for cleaning on every coin I look for...I don't know why...I just do! Speedy
When I first saw the coin I thought it probably was cleaned because I never see Morgans that look like this. But I don't see any evidence that it was whizzed or cleaned with any abrasive. I don't know enough about cleaning to be able to identify a dipped coin. Would that produce a mirror finish? Maybe if I had better photos to compare this to a dipped coin I could figure it out. The coin looks a little different around the letters and stars in that the surface is still bright, but not mirror-like. I almost passed up the coin, but figured I'd better buy it "just in case." I don't see any die cracks or evidence of VAMS, but I'm probably not qualified for this anyway. The coin isn't particularly clean in the sense that it is dust or dirt free and it wasn't being stored properly. I don't know if that might contribute to the condition. I wish I could have scanned it better. The obverse scan is pretty good. The reverse didn't come out as well.
There were some proof dies used on the 21-P Morgans ("Zerbe" proof). You can find a list of die markers on this link. However, the flatness on the ear and in the hair make me think it was polished.
I think I'll consider it 'probably cleaned' or polished for now, but someone did a great job of it. I'm just not good enough to tell for certain. Next time I visit a coin dealer, I'll see what he thinks. It would almost be worth it to have a cleaned Morgan and to know how it was done just for the knowledge and to have an example for future reference. I can read about cleaning all day and it doesn't get me any closer to being able to identify a cleaned coin in real life. My only other Morgans consist of about a dozen that I received from my grandfather. I know he didn't clean them because he wouldn't have bothered.
I've been collected different types of cleaned coins, but it hasn't necessarily been on purpose. Here's a photo of one of my wide reeded 21-P's. Wide reeded on left, normal reeding on right. It might be worth checking your coin.
I compared the reeding to another 21-P that I have and they appear identical in size. After comparing it to my other morgans, I think it's polished, but I'm not sure what was used because there are no lines. It's brilliant, but the light doesn't reflect off of the coin the way it does the others.
