Let's see your newest acquisitions!

While I don't know a lot about the CBH series, one thing I do know is that I'd like a whole set to look just WL's gorgeous 1830.

 

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Two pages back (page 92), I posted a purple-toned 1884-O Morgan (that I had just bought) with images from the seller. That sparked a controversy as to whether the sellers images had been saturation-enhanced (i.e. "photoshopped"). I then posted another image with the saturation reduced by 30% just to see what that looked like (as an experiment).

I promised to post an image of this coin as soon as I got it. Well, it just arrived a few minutes ago ... and I have to say I LOVE IT. It's even better in hand than i was expecting.

I tried to shoot it with my iphone in dim indirect sunlight (it's dark and rainy here today) ... so excuse my poor hand held iphone photo.

I think the answer is, it's possible the sellers images were saturation enhanced, however it's also possible that with some really nice bright light and a better camera (and a more skilled photographer) this coin might approach the sellers photo? It's kind of hard for me to say for certain.

In any case, this coin is definitely a keeper ... I absolutely LOVE IT. I think this might be the best toned Morgan, purely in terms of color, of about 20 that I own (including an MS67STAR coin).

This was the sellers original photo on ebay


This was my attempt to reduce the color saturation of the sellers orig photos by 30% (as an experiment)


This is a photo of the coin I just shot with my iPhone (hand held) in somewhat dark indirect sunlight (it's dark, cloudy, and pouring rain here today) no additional lighting at all. This was shot below 2 opaqued skylights in my family room addition, which is where the glare on the slab is coming from. This is even better in hand as my poor iPhone photo really doesn't do this coin justice.


So as a final effort, I took the sellers nice sharp and focused photos and then color-corrected and saturation-corrected them so they look more like the coin in hand. Posted below is that effort. This is pretty much how the coin looks live. I ended up changing my nick-name of the coin to "Grapes of Wrath" because the color of the coin actually reminds me of purple grapes.

 

Congrats WingedLiberty. I'm glad the coin looks great in hand. I like your renaming, as it's definitely darker than the original pics. But, it's definitely a keeper! :thumb:

Just out of curiosity, but do you have a Registry set of your beautiful toned Morgans on NGC? It's a nice place to post pics of all of your toners (if they are graded by NGC and/or PCGS). Just a thought.

Cheers,
-Brandon

 

Thanks brg! Hey that's a good idea. I never got into the registry game, but it might be a fun project to set up something like that. I am sure most of the registry set players blow my little effort out of the water, but it's fun to show stuff off anyway.

 

While there are a few sets composed of coins bought by hyper-competitive millionaires who found that the only place they could be competitive in life was to spend thousands of dollars on little plastic holders with large numbers (grades) on them, there are a lot more really nicely thought out and composed sets. You have some of the prettiest coins I have seen in a long time, and I for one would love to peruse your set pictures and descriptions. Just a thought.

 

Your post made me laugh, Brandon. "Hyper-competitive millionaires, buying plastic holders with larges numbers on them" ... that's great ... may we all be that lucky someday! (and thank you!) I will check out the registry stuff this weekend, if I get something up, I will ping you. In the meantime I have some of my stuff posted here ... https://mindstar.com/coins ... however I havent updated it with new acquisitions in months.

 

OK, now that's cool! I had never been to your website before, but that's really amazing. Great stuff, and amazing set of coins!

 

If you ever need a website built, WL is the man to see. He did an awesome job with his.

 

Half dollars abound.

This first one came out of a Brinks roll last night, as I was searching some halves.

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Next is a 1936 WLH which arrived today, purchased at melt (Well...it was melt then *smirk*) for the 7070.

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And finally, a nice stroke of luck with a 1958 proof set purchased from the same seller with the hope of finding a nice Franklin Half to upgrade that spot in the 7070. Worked out well, I think...​

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To stick with the Half Dollar theme, I will post something lesser known. It is a half-dollar "commemorative" medal privately issued in 1961. When the US Mint stopped making commemoratives in 1954, Robert McNamara stepped in and begun issuing medals (namely those known today as the Heraldic Art Medals) of the same size and weight of the U.S. Half Dollar, but in 92.5% silver (Sterling) instead of the 90% silver of U.S. Mint releases. Eventually, the weight was slightly increased because the U.S. Treasury was alerted to this effort and was worried that the medals not be able to be passed as half dollars in machines.

This medal has special meaning to me as Kansas is the state where I was born and spent the first 24 years of my life. My great grandfather originally settled in Kansas at the age of 26 in 1878, and my parents still live in the house he built in 1883. I purchased this medal as an addition to my horse-themed collection of medals, tokens, and coins from around the world. There are a few other designs from this series included in my horses themed set, and this is a great addition and very high grade (MS68) example. The strike is superb, and the semi-cameo devices are quite stunning. Most of these medals were struck in small numbers, with mintages around 6,000 pieces or fewer.

 

That is extremely cool ... I have never seen those.
(Wow, you have roots there going way back ... Kansas always reminds me of the Wizard of Oz.)

 

This one came in the mail today. I got it for a steal. I can't rub out those darned slab scratches though! It has some nice color on the obverse.

 

As promised, here is my newest obsession that I won on Listia, an 1864 Large Motto (FREE FREE.... FREE)... I posted my 1865 (fancy 5) that I won from the same seller for LostDutchman's contest and won this the same day. I had no idea about the toning on it when I bid beause the pics were shot through the 2x2 and there was a lot of reflection. Imagine my surprise when I got it today and opened the holder briefly to take pics

 

I AM SO JEALOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Beautiful coin collection you have.

 

Illini, you have some lovely 1909 VDB brownies. I love copper coins whether they are red, red/brown or brown. They are just so appealing.

 

Excellent choice Winged Victory. I am particularly partial to Capped Bust Half Dollars and wouldn't hesitate to add that beauty to my collection.

 

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Just picked up today for a nice price.. believe it will go FSB.. not the best photos...The luster is way better in hand..

 

Working on acquiring my first 1932-D OR 1932-S Washington. Which ever I can afford first I will buy. Should be soon, and I will have the pics up here ASAP! I am hoping to get something VG or better. I don't have a ton to spend.