Exploring the toned Morgan market - Part 2 - (via Legend Auction 8/20/23 vs prior sales at GC, etc)

You may recall a thread from last month where I did a dive into a subset of toned Morgans (see thread linked below). Well Legend had another auction that inspired me to do a part 2. This was not a Regency Sale; it was a Sunday night event. However, Legend put some more advertising into this one, even giving it the “TONER PALOOZA” nickname. And there was a distinct focus on toners with 146 total lots. Just like last time, I saw a handful of familiar coins. I chased a few (unsuccessfully) and watched others to see where the market stood. While there were plenty of results that ranged from subpar to great, I have decided to focus on ten coins because they had a clear connection to prior sales (and so make for a better comparison than those that I can’t find prior history on). There was also an 11th coin that I already made a standalone post for (the 1904-O MS 64 that I was most intent on winning but did not succeed).

Prior auction thread:
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/a-...tion-7-27-23-vs-prior-sales-at-gc-etc.406831/

1904-O thread:
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1094734/a-good-night-at-legend-for-toners-i-got-blown-out

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1)
We will start with an 1884-O MS 64+ that was highly rated (9+ toning score) and came from the Aurora Borealis Collection (not noted on the label though). This coin has made at least four appearances at auction over the last year and that might be impacting its recent value (not as fresh and some might wonder why it is being sold so often). I like the colors but from the one video I’ve seen, I would personally not stretch as high as any of the results. We see somewhat of a seesaw with the pricing and the final Legend result just beat out the previous low it reached at GC (not necessarily a win for the consigner though if accounting for the fee).

GC (Sept 2022): 3,487.50
David Lawrence (Jan 2023): 3,910
GC (May 2023): 2,933.74
Legend (Aug 2023): 3,055.00

https://www.greatcollections.com/Coin/1226523/1884-O-Morgan-Silver-Dollar-PCGS-MS-64-CAC-Green-Toned
https://www.pcgs.com/cert/03633498
https://www.greatcollections.com/Coin/1355565/1884-O-Morgan-Silver-Dollar-PCGS-MS-64-CAC-Green-Toned
https://legendauctions.hibid.com/lot/165719992/-1-1884-o-pcgs-ms64--cac

2)
Next up is one of two coins on this list that did not sell. This 1885-O was in an NGC holder without CAC (which tend to be two factors that steer many seasoned Legend buyers away). It did have a star, came from the Aurora Borealis Collection, and looked to be quite nice. What held me back was the reverse (I consider the toning there to be a negative), the fact that I could not tell what the coin would actually look like (GC photo, Legend photo, and video posted on Instagram were all different enough from each other to prevent me from forming a solid opinion), and that it was one of the early lots (I-and maybe others-were saving their funds for the nicer options later in the auction). I’m guessing it will show up again in a future auction and should sell (might not hurt to drop the starting bid $50-$100 from the $650 that Legend had).

GC (Apr 2023): 653.49
Legend (Aug 2023): unsold….650 starting bid, meaning 763.75 with the fee

https://www.greatcollections.com/Coin/1348614/1885-O-Morgan-Silver-Dollar-NGC-MS-63-226-152-133-Toned
https://legendauctions.hibid.com/lot/165719994/-1-1885-o-ngc-ms63

3)
Now we have a minor surprise; this 1881-S PCGS MS 64 reverse toner beat my expectations and did better at Legend than GC. The colors were nice but the breaks in the toning are clear enough to be distracting (in my opinion). Sometimes breaks can blend in with the toning and not hurt too much but this looks like a case where one would see those breaks each time, making it harder to reach the typical high toner premiums.

GC (Feb 2022): 465.75
Legend (Aug 2023): 675.63

https://www.greatcollections.com/Coin/1120225/1881-S-Morgan-Silver-Dollar-PCGS-MS-64-Toned
https://legendauctions.hibid.com/lot/165720021/-1-1881-s-pcgs-ms64

4)
The second of the unsold lots had a similar theme to the first: NGC slabbed without CAC. The starting bid of $900 wasn’t unreasonable for a 67 star toner but it just must not have caught the attention of the bidders (colors are decent but not quite enough to be considered high end). The coin used to reside in a PCGS OGH 66 (with CAC) and whoever cracked it seems to have made a mistake as the coin did not make a profit from its first auction appearance and now has gone unsold.

GC (Jun 2022): 990 (was a PCGS MS 66 CAC)
GC (Aug 2022): 1,111.50 (became an NGC MS 67 Star)
Legend (Aug 2023): unsold….900 starting bid, meaning 1,057.50 with the fee

https://www.greatcollections.com/Coin/1166769/1881-S-Morgan-Silver-Dollar-PCGS-MS-66-CAC-Green-OGH-Toned
https://www.greatcollections.com/Coin/1214679/1881-S-Morgan-Silver-Dollar-NGC-MS-67-226-152-133-Toned
https://legendauctions.hibid.com/lot/165720026/-1-1881-s-ngc-ms67

5)
An earlier example I mentioned being surprised that a break in the toning did not stop a stronger result. Well with this 1882-S MS 65+ we have another reverse toner with a break. However, here it seems to blend better. The color palette is different and part of the coin might be considered too dark (although I think it is not). This one did not surprise me as it sold for about the same rate (not great for the consigner, especially since they also spent money to reholder it to face reverse forward at some point after it sold at GC).

GC (Jul 2022): 718.12
Legend (Aug 2023): 734.38

https://www.greatcollections.com/Coin/1138259/1882-S-Morgan-Silver-Dollar-PCGS-MS-65-Toned
https://legendauctions.hibid.com/lot/165720032/-1-1882-s-pcgs-ms65-

6)
We arrive at the only coin that I somewhat regret not bidding more, an 1883-O MS 65. This coin has an unusually cool pattern (almost like the Eagle is wrapped in a ribbon). I was the direct underbidder and only stopped because I wanted to focus on the 1904-O mentioned in the intro. It sold for a significant discount to a recent GC sale but at about the same rate as an earlier GC sale. I think the $675 level is more appropriate than the $1k+ result.

GC (Feb 2021): 674.99
GC (Jun 2022): 1,041.96
Legend (Aug 2023): 675.63

https://www.greatcollections.com/Coin/947259/1883-O-Morgan-Silver-Dollar-PCGS-MS-65-Toned
https://www.greatcollections.com/Coin/1180916/1883-O-Morgan-Silver-Dollar-PCGS-MS-65-Toned
https://legendauctions.hibid.com/lot/165720042/-1-1883-o-pcgs-ms65

7)
And now the sole coin that I have previously owned, an 1884-O MS 64 end roll toner. The pattern is distinct and the color is solid. I originally bought this coin from a bad eBay photo for only 105 back in 2016. Later that year, I sold it for 275 (a much nicer return than I’m typically used to). The coin has since gained a CAC sticker and did fairly well for a reverse toner, closing just under 500.

eBay auction with bad photo (2016): 105
eBay buy-it-now with better photo (2016): 275
Legend (Aug 2023): 499.38

https://legendauctions.hibid.com/lot/165720047/-1-1884-o-pcgs-ms64-cac

8)
Not all upgrades are successful-let me present this 1884-O MS 65. It is a nice full coverage obverse toner that sold in 2021 as part of the Lava Skylight Collection on GC. I don’t know who that collector was but they had many nice toners that sold over the course of several GC auctions. Most of the coins were in older holders (mid 2000s and earlier) and were not maxed out. I have seen a handful over the years end up in higher graded holders. This was another such coin that went from an older PCGS blue holder 64 to a new 65. It sold for less as a 65. It did sell for more as a 65 than when it appeared a second time in the 64 holder but considering auction plus grading fees, the result was probably a break even (if it was the same person selling).

GC (Oct 2021): 1,773.66 (as a PCGS 64 CAC)
GC (Apr 2022): 1,240.88 (as a PCGS 64 CAC)
Legend (Aug 2023): 1,586.25 (as a PCGS 65)

https://www.greatcollections.com/Coin/1002459/1884-O-Morgan-Silver-Dollar-PCGS-MS-64-CAC-Green-Toned
https://www.greatcollections.com/Coin/1144535/1884-O-Morgan-Silver-Dollar-PCGS-MS-64-CAC-Green-Toned
https://legendauctions.hibid.com/lot/165720048/-1-1884-o-pcgs-ms65

9)
Another example of upgrades not always paying off was the 1885-O MS 65+ reverse toner. However, this is a more curious case. The coin was in a new PCGS 65 holder and not only added the plus but it also gained a TrueView photo. Still it sold for slightly more at GC in 2021 than it did at Legend in 2023. If we add in the grading and auction fees, it’s an even worse result than the raw numbers suggest. Despite the nice colors, maybe the max value for this coin is around $800 unless it somehow finds its way into a 66 or 67 holder.

GC (Oct 2021): 815.61 (as a PCGS 65)
Legend (Aug 2023): 793.13 (as a PCGS 65+)

https://www.greatcollections.com/Coin/1068984/1885-O-Morgan-Silver-Dollar-PCGS-MS-65-Toned
https://legendauctions.hibid.com/lot/165720056/-1-1885-o-pcgs-ms65-

10)
Finally we end with one of the biggest duds of the night, an 1896 obverse crescent toner. This coin brought over $3,400 in February of this year and then shed around $1,400 by August, selling for a hair under $2k. The Legend photo from February appears more vivid and my guess is that the coin might be darker in person than what the photo suggests. So it’s possible that someone was overly optimistic the first time around (maybe they did not see the coin in person) and with the previous high bidder out of the auction, it landed much lower (and if the coin is truly dark, then even the $2k could be too high).

Legend (Feb 2023): 3,407.50
Legend (Aug 2023): 1,997.50

https://legendauctions.hibid.com/lot/145103460
https://legendauctions.hibid.com/lot/165720067/-1-1896-pcgs-ms65-cac

 

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Photos added here in the same order as in the post above

 

WOW! SAAAAAAAWEEEEEET! Absolutely Succulent Coinage!!!!!

 

Yep lots of cool coins (and they are still cool even if I didn't win any ).

 

I was on the right track with my thinking on coin #10 per one of the people that bid on it (he posted the below comment on the PCGS forum).