Visiting family back home this week. I have lit a young numismatic fire in my grandson. Some years ago I gave him a very, very worn Morgan when he was very young. And over the years he has added some coins and I was proud to see the fires burning this week. Here's my problem. I bought him a Redbook yesterday and showed him how mintages related to the value of a coin. He has studied on the old worn Morgan I gave him.... And I apologize up front that I failed to photograph the coin. The rim is worn well into the date and only the upper half of the digits are readable. The date could be 1888, 1889, 1898 or 1899. The old Morgan has an "S" mint..... Well, an 1888-S Morgan is a very good date to have and my grandson desperately wants to believe that's what he has. I would like to help make that dream a reality for him. Now, I am fully aware that in the shape that old Morgan is in, it is a cull coin and no more. But I would sure like to help fuel his fire and help him confirm he has an 1888-S.... Particularly if it helps to keep his young mind on something positive like numismatics. I will make sure to get a photo tomorrow if that helps, but are there any other identifiers that could help dial this worn date in?
Sorry I can't help Randy but I want to say I think it's great what you did for him and are continuing to do. Keep it up!
Tried to interest my 17 year old in the aspects of what makes one coin worth more than another of the same type and year. His only response was "I wonder who originally sat around looking at the minute difference of coins". He shrugged and went back to gaming. I guess I was like that too. Think I'll put a clause in my will to force him to hold them until he's 50.
Oh I already did that. When I saw his interest I picked up this MS62 common date Morgan. I think the boy slept with it last night.
Regarding the heavily worn coin, all of those dates are good ones to have with an S mint mark. It very well may be possible to tell which date he has based on the shape of the top half of the digits, since the top half of an 8 is shaped differently from the top half of a 9.
If you take a step back and look at it, it is a remarkably silly pursuit. But get enough people competing to throw money at a silly pursuit, and suddenly it's a market, and Serious Business.
No matter the condition of the coin, the way you went about it is the right way. Introducing him to the Red Book and correlating it with a coin teaches not just the coin, but how to use the book to learn more. You did good. AND you started with a Morgan!
