Congrats on your 1st CC!! Cheek looks fairly clean, fields a little scuffy consistant with MS62-63. Nice and white, a pretty coin!
I'm not into Morgans much (maybe its because my sister is named Morgan) but I do have one of the common dates...1882CC...it would only grade VG+...I don't think it would get to Fine. Yours looks nice....I think I see a good many hair lines and bag marks and would only grade this MS61 at the most...maybe 62 if I saw it in person...It also looks like a VAM--it looks like some DieCracks on the word STATE on the back of the coin.... Speedy
Back in the 1960's, when attending college, I used to go to the bank and pick up BU Morgans for $1 each. I did manage to keep a few. Have probably 10 Carson City, as well as NO, D, and P. One of these days I'll post some pictures, and maybe our experts can tell me what value the coins have. Value, of course, isn't that important to me in that my coins will go to our kids. I have never sold a coin in 49 years of collecting.
You`re probably closer with an MS61, Speedy. I agree, fields on both obv and rev are scuffy enough for MS61. I tend to overgrade MS Morgans by a half grade to the plus side, whether it is your coin or mine. My grading on circ US coins is a little harsher, tending to undergrade. Hmmm..... Someday I will achieve a better balance in my grading skills.
I have tried to grade better...a few months ago I went and pulled out about 20 slabbs and tried to grade them with a piece of paper over the grade on the holder...(note..they were gold coins (they were not mine) and I'm not too good with them...that is why I used them) and I undergraded them all by about 1 point...I hit about 5 of them on the head...but most of them I would take down a point because of so many bag marks...but I should have rememberd that gold coins get a lot of bag marks...duh!!! I'm with you...on circ coins I'm better...I can almost do them all and get to the right grade...BU and PF coins are what I need to work at now!! Speedy
Whoopig, I think you should carefully examine the obverse for traces of doubling because there are some rare varieties of 1878 CC's with doubling. You have a nice example of the 2nd reverse in any case. My opinion of the grade (at this distance) is MS 63.
My VAM book says all are 2nd Rev (parallel TF) Short and Long Nock arrow are equally available. There are varieties with minor doubling on the obverse. Close, Medium and Wide CC on the reverse. All are either R3 or R4. None have a premium.
I like the looks. It has a B1 reverse. The B1 has the parallel tail feathers with the long nock. The B2 has the short nock. There are 17 1878-CC VAMs with a B1 reverse (16 in the 4th edition VAM book and 1 in the updates). That die crack over STATES looks pretty cool, but I favor die cracks! They don't give VAM designations for die cracks however. It has to be a die "break". Sometimes die cracks are listed as an additional diagnostic. Is it wide enough to be a break anywhere? My eyes are really bad and the photo is a little blurry. Is that some heavy clashing on the reverse? There is one rare VAM listed that is clashed (VAM 7A). There is supposed to be a clashed ST in the hairvee. Here's the photo from the ashmore site. Do you see clashing on yours? What does the mint mark look like? Any strange with the CC? What else do you see?
No vams on this one. I already checked it out. It does have some pretty good die cracks in the reverse but these type of cracks are very common. I have 3 or 4 other morgans with the same type of cracks. But I was just going by the ashmore site. I dont have a vam bookto look at all the vams. Here are more picsto look at and if you see anything please let me know. Any info is always greatly appreciated. Whatdo you think a fair price is for this coin? I am not interested in selling just trying to see how good a deal I got?
Die cracks are more a diagnostic, No? nesvt? Die cracks usually LDS, obviously, although some VAMS seem to have a particular diecrack throughout that die pair, due to a well used die being paired breifly with it`s opposite newer die.
Ha. I'm a newbie. I just started collecting coins last year. I tried 40 years ago during my Cub Scout days, but our house got robbed and I never started again. I've managed to get one of my kids and my nephew interested. I'm trying to focus on one type (Morgans) because I have so much to learn in general about numismatics.... which is why I come here. It looks like there is a die chip inside the first C on the mint mark. I can't tell if there is one in the second C. With the spacing of the C's, the long nock, and the die chip(s)... .you're going to be narrowed down to two or three VAMs. Chips in either or both of the C's?
Itis hard to tell if the center of the C's are die chips. Looks raised but could me light playing tricks on me. What else should I look for to VAM check?
I don't know what it is but I would like to know what is up with the MM...my dad has one just like it...I thought it might be a O/CC but that doesn't sound right. Speedy
