So, I’m very new to this coin buying thing. I just received two Morgans in the mail. An 1888-O and a 1921-P. I was given a beautiful 1882-O/S that really puts the two new coins to shame in comparison, but my real question is about the 1921. When I opened it up, I was immediately struck by how different from my 1882 it looked and felt. I thought I’d been sold a fake. After a bit of research, I understand that there are significant differences between the 1921 and previous years. I no longer think it’s a fake. I do have a question about the finish, though. It has a fairly matte look to it, and even feels a bit rough to the touch, which is quite unlike the 1882 and 1888. I saw someone mention somewhere that the dies were prepared differently for the ‘21s. Could that be the cause of this roughness? Or is it more likely that this coin has been cleaned at some point? It does have a bit of patina around the features, but not a whole lot. Here are the seller’s photos:
Did you check it out? Diameter and thickness? Weight and metal content? Movement with a strong magnet? Color Looks Suspect....purchased from where?
Diameter looks ok. Thickness might be just slightly thicker than my other Morgans. It’s not magnetic. I don’t have a scale precise enough to check the weight. Ping test sounds ok. I bought it on eBay. Even if it’s somehow real, it just doesn’t look good and would fall into the “misrepresented item” category. I’ll be sending it back. It’s just weird that such a common year would be faked and faked so poorly.
I looked at this yesterday and withheld my feeling.... When I see toning around the edges and devices that has something of a perfect or sprayed on appearance, it raises a red flag to me.... The abundance of phony coins in our hobby is so disheartening to me. It’s as though near everything is suspect anymore.
The photo is too far out of focus for me to make a definitive call on this one - especially the reverse. With that said it looks like a scruffy, circulated, albeit authentic 1921 Morgan to my eye. One thing i do see, is the presence of polyvinyl cloride on the cheek and down the neck. That might be a clue here, maybe someone used some sort of chemical cleaning agent to remove it. The pvc itself also could've caused this rough surface on it possibly. An old, worn out die, could also be a culprit here.
I’ll try to take a few of my own pictures before I pack it back up to return. I’m definitely curious about it.
1921 Morgans are the closest thing to a fake coin the Mint has ever made. The original models were gone at the time they had to quickly resume mass production of these, so they had to make new models by copying a coin. The design is low relief, sloppy, and generally unattractive compared to the earlier Morgans. Nothing about the OP coin looks fake to me, just typical for 1921.
Good point - almost every fake Morgan I have seen has had the black around the edges. Seems to be something the Chinese like to add.
I took some of my own pictures. These give a better look at the texture: I also received another 1921 in the mail today for comparison. It doesn’t have much of a patina on it, but I think it illustrates the differences. The coin in question is on the left:
Nice pictures, looks more like a circulated coin now. After you determine whether or not it's correct, use it as a test piece to verify the next questionable Morgan. Still if your buying coins, you should have the basic tools to check out what your buying. A few basic tools can determine whether or not it is a copy so your Not returning a legit coin and arguing with the seller. I have a good known 1921 that I use as a quick reference piece. The 1883 and 1885 pictured above are FAKE china.
I can't tell for sure, but it looks like the one on the left may have been whizzed, the surface texture is just, off.
I got a refund without any hassle. After going to a coin shop where the guy showed me a few Morgans that had been cleaned, I now believe that (and maybe some artificial aging) is what gave the coin such a rough finish to it. Some of the cleaned coins had a similar finish, though none were quite so bad.
