Guess the Grade: 1887 Morgan

This coin flew in yesterday. The color is way more vivid IRL. How much is this coin worth?

 

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A Morgan with half obverse coverage with one progression of rainbow toning will usually sell for 3-4X price guide as long as the luster is good and the grade is accurate. So between $175-$250

 

I'm rich! I'm rich!

 

Cartwheel luster on both sides!

 

Move to Beverly....

Hills that is....

 

When the luster is muted by the toning, it will often destroy any premium in value. It is the combination of luster and color that creates the premium price.

Just curious, why do you have this coin? Are you coming out of the closet?

 

I was never against toned coins. I have always love original toners (not dark) but I am not gonna fight to pay a big premium for toned coins.

 

Here is what I don't understand about that philosophy. We talk about a premium for toned coins as if they were artificially inflated. The fact is that the demand for attractively toned coins makes them more valuable than their untoned counterparts. And contrary to the naysayers and haters, toning is not a fad, it has been a stable market for well over a decade. The prices for untoned coins listed in price guides are in large part determined by auction prices. Likewise, the prices of toned coins are also based on auction prices. So you are not paying a premium to what you think the coin should be worth sans toning, you are simply paying the market value of that coin.

I stated earlier that your Morgan was worth 3-4X price guide with that type of toning. Here are some other MS64 1887 Morgans with similar toning patterns.

1887 Morgan Dollar PCGS MS64 $199.75 (11/2013)




1887 Morgan Dollar NGC MS64* $230.00 (7/2011)



Morgan Dollar NGC MS64* $200 E-Bay (4/2012)



Now obviously, some of these were sold a few years back when silver was priced higher and the base price would be higher, but mostly they are in the range of 3-4X price guide. I think your coin is a little less dramatically toned than these but you stated that the colors were vivid so I gave you the benefit of the doubt.

You stated that you don't pay premiums for toned coins, but you are showing us a new addition which is toned. Are you telling us that you obtained this coin for price guide or near price guide?

 

$65 bucks.. I'll pay a little extra for a nice toner but not 3X greysheet. I'll let you guys fight over them

 

I haven't set up at a coin show for like 20 yrs, but back then I buy sell toners for the same price as a nice white coin.

 

The guy who sold you that coin for $65 was foolish. And 3x price guide is nothing. I have seen monster toners sell for more than 50x price guide.

 

20 years ago, the Internet was in its infancy and people were still using film for photography. Most collectors were unaware that rainbow toned coins even existed, which is the primary reason the preferred blast white coins. Back then, if collectors saw toning it was usually unattractive or neutral.

Rainbow toned coins gained popularity once digital photography made it easy for anyone to photograph their coins and share them on the Internet. And once that Pandora's box was opened, the toned coin market was created. The fact is that rainbow toned coins are attractive, and eye appeal doesn't go out of style.

If you don't accept the reason why rainbow toned coins are more valuable now than they were 20 years ago then all you have accomplished is to prove that you are incapable of adapting to change. That said, there are plenty of pitfalls within the toned coin market: artificial toning, photographic juicing, misrepresentation of the word rainbow etc. But paying a premium price is only a pitfall if you don't possess the requisite experience to make a proper evaluation.

 

Maybe, but one can also say the same about the guy who paid 4X greysheet for a toner.

 

These type of trends come and go.

 

Not if he can sell it for 5X

 

Trends don't last decades!

 

Wish I can take back all the toners that I sold 20 yrs ago. I didn't need to pay extra premiums for toners back then.

 

Seriously though, how long have you been calling the toned coin market a trend? How many years have you been telling guys like me that premiums for toned coins are going to disappear? More importantly, what events do you predict that will take place that will cause the end of price premiums for toned coins. I gave you the reasons for the start, the least you could do is give us the reason for the decline.

 

Oh yes. Good pickup, too, I like it.

 

Oh that's a lovely one. Technical MS65. Subtle rainbow through her hair. This is a woman with class.