By Rob Lehmann – www.reedededge.com

There are many dates of Morgan Dollars which are collected as the semi-keys and keys. Carson City rarities, such as the 1879-CC, 1889-CC and 1893-CC have always been at the top of most collectors want lists. New Orleans, which produced both rare and deficient quality coins has their notable run of “toughies” between 1893 and 1897.
No single group of collective dates in the entire series is as rare as the key-date San Francisco Morgans.

All of these dates are scarce in mint state, and the 1895-O in particular, is downright rare. Even Philadelphia contributes the conditionally rare 1901-P as well as the proof-only 1895-P. Despite the aforementioned coins, no single group of collective dates in the entire series is as rare as the key-date San Francisco Morgans. There are eight dates in particular, and we’ll take an in-depth look at each in detail; 1883-S, 1884-S, 1892-S, 1893-S, 1895-S, 1896-S, 1903-S and finally the 1904-S.

1883-S …………………………………………………………………..

Most uncirculated 1883-S Morgan Dollars came out of a handful of bags, several of which can be attributed to the LaVere Redfield hoard. Most 1883 Morgans produced in San Francisco found their way into circulation. This is a fairly common date in circulated grades, and is very available in grades up to AU. However, in mint state the 1883-S becomes scarce and in GEM BU (MS-65 and above) it is very rare. 1883-S dollars tend to be very frosty, and for the most part, are well struck. What plagues them, and this is especially true with the Redfield pieces, is a proliferation of bag marks. Finding a mark-free GEM with full, original blazing luster is a rare proposition. Although 1883-S dollars are known to exhibit semi-PL surfaces, and even some one-sided DMPL pieces are known, truly PL and DMPL two-sided pieces are rare. The most amazing example that this author has ever seen was the Clapp-Eliasberg specimen which graded MS-67PL at PCGS, and sold in the Eliasberg sale for $143,000.00. It was a truly GEM specimen, void of any mentionable contact marks and exhibited even satiny PL surfaces on both the obverse and the reverse. Overall, this is a greatly underrated date in GEM BU, and the current greysheet MS-65 price of $16,000.00 does not reflect its true scarcity.

1884-S …………………………………………………………………..

The 1884-S Morgan is one of the great anomalies in the Morgan Dollar series. Coming from a seemingly high mintage of 3.2 million pieces, this date is plentiful in grades up to AU and is downright common in grades of VG-VF. Mint state coins are a whole different matter. From a population standpoint, the 1884-S ranks as the 4th rarest Morgan Dollar in mint state behind only the 1892-S, 1893-S and 1895-O. This is a date which before the advent of third party grading was neither considered rare or particularly desirable. This was due to an abundance of AU and slider coins which got passed off as uncirculated. Today, most of the known truly uncirculated coins fall into the MS-60 through MS-62 grades. Most of these pieces are well struck with nice satiny luster and an abundance of contact marks. There are a few semi-PL pieces also known, which may exhibit minor to major striking weakness. I have never seen a truly cartwheel, frosty 1884-S Morgan. Equally as rare are truly PL and DMPL coins. Choice MS-63 pieces are very scarce. MS-64 pieces are RARE. And any coins meriting MS-65 and above grades are prohibitively rare, surpassed only at this grade level by the 1893-S, 1896-O and 1901-P. The few gems that are known are absolutely magnificent., with the astounding George Bodway-Jack Lee PCGS MS-68 being the finest. These GEM pieces exhibit thick, satiny luster (much like the known GEM 1892-S survivors), with an almost total absence of bag marks. The appearance in the market of a GEM 1884-S Morgan is a rare instance indeed. Furthermore, the Redfield hoard did not yield any of this date. (more…)

By SCOTT A. TRAVERS

With the advent of independent third-party certification, many coin buyers and sellers thought all their grading worries were over.

No longer would they have to scrutinize each coin they bought and sold to determine its level of preservation. No longer would they need to concern themselves with grading pointers, grading tips, grading advice–these mattered now only to the experts at the leading certification services.

From now on, all Mint State-65 coins would be created equal, as long as they got those grades from the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS), the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation of America (NGC) or ANACS.

In short, buyers and sellers no longer would need to think for themselves and exercise their own common sense. This is not entirely true.

Certification services have made–and are continuing to make–tremendous contributions to standardizing and stabilizing coin-grading standards. In the process, they have dramatically reduced the risk that buyers might suffer significant financial loss because they purchased coins that were overgraded.

But certification services aren’t infallible. And though they strive mightily for consistency, they–like the coins they grade–inevitably fall short of total perfection. Some coins graded Mint State-65 by PCGS, NGC or ANACS are indeed better than others; some might even qualify as Mint State-66. Others, by contrast, might get a lower grade if broken out of their holders and resubmitted.

Over a period of time, subtle shifts in standards or in their application can result in the existence of whole groups of coins that are undergraded or overgraded relative to the rest of the coins from a given grading service.

For example, in 1994, David Hall, founder and president of PCGS, admitted on my radio program–a weekly talk show called One-Hour Coin Expert–that during its early years, his company was reluctant to assign the grade of Mint State- or Proof-68. He candidly agreed that a number of the coins graded Mint State- or Proof-67 by PCGS during that early period might well receive a grade of 68 if submitted today. And that could increase their current market value by many thousands of dollars.

Just because a coin is in a holder and just because that holder carries a grade assigned by a certification service, there’s no reason why you–as a buyer or seller–can’t and shouldn’t resubmit that coin to your own personal grading service … your own common sense and your own store of knowledge … and render an expert judgment of your own.

Knowledge is more than power; in the case of rare coins, it also can mean enormous profit.

With that in mind, here’s my personal list of the top 10 coin-grading tips of all time:

(1) Check the high points for wear.

Even if a grading service certifies a coin as Mint State-63, that doesn’t mean it won’t come back with a lower grade–possibly even AU-58–if you resubmit it. A coin should stand on its own merits; you should buy it for itself and not for the plastic.

Look at the very highest points of the coin. If they’re lighter in color than the rest of the coin, or if you see friction, the coin may not be mint-state; it may be about uncirculated.

Telltale signs of wear are indicated by the color of the high points. On coins made of copper, the high points after friction are dark brown. On coins made of nickel, the high- point color after friction is dark gray. On coins made of silver, the color is dull gray. And on coins made of gold, the high-point color after friction is dull, dark gold. (more…)

Japan’s money economy began earlier than textbooks have described when archaeologists unveiled 33 bronze coins from the late seventh century unearthed in the village of Asuka, Nara Prefecture in 1998.

Now ten years latter, Nine Fuhonsen coins, which are thought to be the nation’s oldest form of minted currency, unearthed at a former site of Fujiwarakyu, the ancient capital from 694 to 710, in Kashihara, Nara Prefecture, differ slightly from previously discovered Fuhonsen coins, the Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties

The finding suggests there may have been another mint in addtion to one discovered at Asukaike ruin in Asukamura.

Minor differences were found in the kanji character “Fu” used on the surface of the coins and a thicker frame surrounding a square hole in the center of the coins. The materials of four of the coins included arsenic and bismuth, and very pure copper.

The coins discovered in August 1998 at the Asukaike Ruins in Asuka, are older than the Wado Kaichin coins first minted in 708, thus bumping them from the archaeological record books as the nation’s first circulated money.

The bronze coins, whose existence has been known for some time, are called Fuhonsen, the name of a charm believed used during the Nara Period (710-784). (more…)