'89 Morgan Is this actually uncirculated, cleaned?

Treynok · July 16, 2020 11:04AM

I bought this '89 Morgan unseen, was listed as UC. I am new to coins but believe it has been cleaned / looks like it has a polish ring not sure if it shows up to well on photos. It also seems to have a bit of surface / edge damage. Thoughts? I am not experienced at detecting cleaned coins and not sure exactly what to look for. Coin tests as silver, weighing 26.75g. I also don't own any other morgan's to compare with.

Smudge · July 16, 2020 11:17AM

Not UC. Looks polished.

vplite99 · July 16, 2020 11:20AM

Definitely NOT Uncirculated. Banged up, surfaces are unnatural.

Welcome!

MFeld · July 16, 2020 11:22AM

@Treynok said:
I bought this '89 Morgan unseen, was listed as UC. I am new to coins but believe it has been cleaned / looks like it has a polish ring not sure if it shows up to well on photos. It also seems to have a bit of surface / edge damage. Thoughts? I am not experienced at detecting cleaned coins and not sure exactly what to look for. Coin tests as silver, weighing 26.75g. I also don't own any other morgan's to compare with.

What do you mean by "UC"?

Treynok · July 16, 2020 11:25AM

It was listed in a grab bag lot as uncirculated, I can tell it is definitely not. But I am more irritated about the polish / clean ring

MFeld · July 16, 2020 11:35AM

@Treynok said:
It was listed in a grab bag lot as uncirculated, I can tell it is definitely not. But I am more irritated about the polish / clean ring

"UC" doesn't stand for uncirculated.

In the top photos, the coin looks AU (almost uncirculated), but not necessarily polished. It does, however, look cleaned or polished in the other images. Depending upon how it looks in hand, it's probably worth somewhere in the range of $20 to $25.

AUandAG · July 16, 2020 11:57AM

I agree with @MFeld . I saw AU at first and then a possible cleaning in lower pics. Whatever it is it is not Uncirculated/unmolested.

bob

Smudge · July 16, 2020 12:13PM

UC doesn’t mean ultra cam on this one.

Treynok · July 16, 2020 12:16PM

@MFeld Sorry Mark, didn't realize. I will try and use correct terminology from now on, but yeah I was figuring about $25 max since they left their coin store sales sticker on the plastic flip, unfortunately they were selling it as uncirculated on ebay for twice the price. Luckily I can return it free of charge, already printed the label.

ChrisH821 · July 16, 2020 12:17PM

I wouldn't buy anything else from that source. That's not even a slider.

Treynok · July 16, 2020 12:19PM

The top 2 were pretty much naked eye / cell phone, the bottom / rest were usb microscope, and thanks @ChrisH821 definitely taking the advice, odd thing is how long they have been around and the amount of positives they have to try and pull something like that. I'm very novice but still saw a lot of flags that made me want a second opinion.

Also thank you everyone for your opinion / time.

ChrisH821 · July 16, 2020 12:27PM

There are a lot of sellers with a 99+% feedback who many would consider less than scrupulous, they will sell obvious AU or cleaned coins as problem-free BU.

Treynok · July 16, 2020 12:33PM

I was over-excited to get my first morgan and needed to research more, would you guys recommend buying graded, slabbed ms64+ only or just be more frugal with loose coins figuring if they were that nice they would have been graded by now. At least for ones I can't see in person.

coinbuf · July 16, 2020 12:40PM

Buying a graded example is a good way to have one for reference, but keep in mind that not all MS64's are alike.

Treynok · July 16, 2020 1:02PM

@coinbuf good point, I've been meaning to check out a nearby coin shop as I'm new to the hobby. Would be best to buy my first one from there for sure as I can browse in person, just wish I wasn't such an introvert. lol

coinbuf · July 16, 2020 1:13PM

Take your time and study as many on-line photos as you can. Look at the registry sets with MS64 coins that have photos both here and ATS, and coinfacts. The more you look at the better your eye will be so you can spot that nice for the grade 64 from the pile.

MFeld · July 16, 2020 1:15PM

@coinbuf said:
Take your time and study as many on-line photos as you can. Look at the registry sets with MS64 coins that have photos both here and ATS, and coinfacts. The more you look at the better your eye will be so you can spot that nice for the grade 64 from the pile.

Since he’s new to the hobby... “ATS” stands for “across the street”, which stands for the NGC coin forum.😉

JBK · July 16, 2020 1:21PM

You can get graded unc Morgans for not very much more than that one. I'd pick up one or two that you like the looks of.

ricko · July 17, 2020 8:10AM

Definitely spend time looking at sets and grading pictures.... Probably best to stick to purchases of slabs to begin with...Costs a little extra, but so would submitting them if purchased raw. Good luck.... Cheers, RickO

Treynok · July 17, 2020 8:14AM

Thanks, I have been browsing non-stop practically, had eye-strain/gave myself a headache yesterday between being on the computer so much and looking through coins.

Mgarmy · July 17, 2020 8:55AM

Trey- if it has not been brought up...I have had half a dozen very successful buys from the BST forum. High quality people that I have dealt with who are honest in pics, assessment and price.

Namvet69 · July 17, 2020 9:02AM

Do yourself a favor and start reading vamworld.com Save the site for future study. Also the D. Bowers book on Morgans is a good reference. You can pick up a used copy for cheap. Have fun. Save your money for the good stuff. Peace Roy

Treynok · July 17, 2020 11:14AM

@Mgarmy said:
Trey- if it has not been brought up...I have had half a dozen very successful buys from the BST forum. High quality people that I have dealt with who are honest in pics, assessment and price.

Thanks, I'll most likely check it out once I'm here a bit longer / get settled.

@Namvet69 said:
Do yourself a favor and start reading vamworld.com Save the site for future study. Also the D. Bowers book on Morgans is a good reference. You can pick up a used copy for cheap. Have fun. Save your money for the good stuff. Peace Roy

Thanks, bookmarked. I'll check it out. I did get a 2021 red book yesterday I have been combing through but am always looking for more reading material. I work on computers a lot in a day... I enjoy getting away from looking at a backlit screen.