The time Laura's head exploded!
Zoins
Posts: 34,117 ✭✭✭✭✭
1880-S Morgan Dollar - PCGS MS68+ CAC - Ex. Sunnywood, Northern Lights
"The ultimate toned Morgan-ever!" per Laura.
Laura purchased this coin twice, once for Sunnywood and once for Northern Lights. The Northern Lights collector wanted this so bad, he told Laura "pay what it takes!"!
- Lot: https://legendauctions.hibid.com/lot/32715368/-1-1880-s-pcgs-ms68--cac-northern-lights/
- Cert: https://www.pcgs.com/cert/06666320
Laura wrote:
"THE GRANDE DAME---MY HEAD EXPLODED"THE ULTIMATE TONED MORGAN-EVER
Here is the description from our Sunnywood Auction October 2014:
"One of the highlights of Sunnywood's "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" toned Morgan dollar collection; an extraordinary and record-setting example of an otherwise common date; this technically superb monster features an intensely toned obverse with blues, pinks, and true gold, miraculously paired with lustrous classic vertically banded rainbow toning on the reverse. The left-to-right toning progression on both sides corresponds perfectly directionally, indicating that the two-sided toning likely formed simultaneously during decades of Mint bag storage. The obverse occupies a narrower band of the color progression than the reverse, showing that the air flow characteristic across the surface was different for the two sides. Perhaps the reverse lay facing up in the Mint bag, but the coin was propped up at the rim, thus allowing limited air flow across the obverse as well. The coin had the exact same appearance when it was sold at auction in 1983, proving that the toning is highly stable and formed naturally over a long period. Ex RARCOA, Auction '83 (7/83:1182); held in one collection for 23 years; ANR, New York Connoisseur's Collection Sale (3/14/06:1147). Legend Numismatics represented Sunnywood on this acquisition, and paid $23,000.00 in 2006. Even if you don’t plan to bid on this incredible coin, you simply have to see it. Good luck!"
The Northern Lights Collector had to have this coin. We can tell you waiting for the sale got him totally stressed as he wanted it that badly--just like Sunnywood instructed Legend, the Northern Lights collector said "pay what it takes!" He paid $35,250.00. We can only hope this coins next home will cherish and appreciate this unbelievable GEM as much as its previous owner who clearly were connoisseurs of the very finest toners! Good luck. We do expect a record to be set on this piece.
Out of respect for the entire Northern Lights Collection-this piece, the unquestioned FINEST in the set was chosen by us to be fitting ending to one of the greatest groups of toners ever sold. We will miss this coin and all the Northern Light pieces.
Comments
Good reminder of the importance of holders for protection. If anyone's head explodes you don't get bits on your coin.
I’ll have to settle on a copy of the photo.
Beautiful coin. Coins like these inspire me to want to dabble in Morgan dollars but coins like these also deflate my enthusiasm for Morgan dollars because I'd never spend 35k on a coin. It's the good, the bad, and the beautiful.
"A dog breaks your heart only one time and that is when they pass on". Unknown
Incredibly nice coin! I wonder if it would have fetched more if it was in its original holder? I would also like to know the history behind the grading of this coin, as in how many resubmittals it took to obtain MS68+.
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The picture doesn’t do it justice. And the last time around it fetched $62k
There is no doubt this is one to own. If I announced I was going to spend 35k on a coin, my living conditions would probably become the next episode of Snapped.
"A dog breaks your heart only one time and that is when they pass on". Unknown
Just tell yourself you're spending $15K for each side of the TrueView, or $31K for each side in this latest round
Just because you put syrup on something doesn't make them pancakes.
peacockcoins
Hey @ricko
This one's for you!
Pete
@BuffaloIronTail .... Well... If your buying....
Cheers, RickO
Did she grow a new one or just use gorilla glue?
In the end it is just another pretty but common date Morgan.
I can apricate the beauty of that Morgan.
Common date
Uncommon color
Uncommon condition
Nice coin indeed but I like my Christmas tree Morgan even more! i also bought it from Laura and it was also from the Sunnywood collection. But also a much lower grade and cost as well.
Laura has seen so many of these wonderfully toned Morgans that I wonder how she can remember them all.
My head also exploded when I got my hands on this coin. It is simply stunning. Nicest Morgan I have ever seen. Actually like it better than "the Moose" owned by Aurora.
If this coin were to show up on TV news, millions would flock to numismatics overnight! She is a true expert and connoisseur of coins.
The Sirna Moose and the Grand Dame are both top notch coins.
What do you like about The Grand Dame better? Would love to compare them in hand!
That is high praise knowing some of your super rainbow Morgan’s…I was concerned there may be some in-hand visible marks on the cheek, which might not fit with a 68+ grade…but they could also be toning spots. Better than The Moose?? Wowsa I like to see this one in-hand too. ⭐️
Here's the Sirna Moose for comparison owned by AB.
@AuroraBorealis What a great coin you have! Have you seen and are you able to compare this with The Grand Dame?
Another set of photos from Brandon @poorguy .
Tossing in my 18881 in Proof 67+ just to keep those other's company.
On the Oreville theme, I prefer two-sided US (roughly same era) toned coins that cost 1/30th the price!
Wondercoin
I believe the Moose has more noise on liberty's cheek and a scuff or some kind of mark on the obverse at three o'clock. The reverse has better toning on the Dame and even though the toning on the Moose is awesome, it is very difficult.to find the pumpkin orange color on the Dame in such consistency and that vibrant. Let's be clear, both coins are spectacular either in True View or in hand, but for the above reasons I like the Dame.
Glad I wasn't there.
Thanks for the response and it makes sense. I've always been fascinated by the multiple colors on the Moose, but pumpkin would be a great color to see.
That is a wonderful coin and I do like it a lot, but I wouldn't tend to compare them. Notably, it is smaller (more akin to a half dollar) and the colors are more standard. What makes Morgans special is that colors on these coins don't often show up on other types. I have seen some Pesos with more unusual colors that I would compare more. For example, Justin had a toned Peso that was like a sea green that I liked a lot.
The prices for this is coin is pretty incredible going from $23,000 in 2006, to $35,250, and $61,688 in 2017.
Does this place it in the top 1% of coins with increasing values?
is anyone else getting a DNS error for legendauctions?
Yep I also got an email from Legend saying they were working on fixing it.
They sent the above email yesterday (website has been down since some point Saturday).
=
I may be in the minority here, but I do not like the look of many of the "Northern Light" Morgans.
Read into that as you will.
The one referenced above is hardly what I would consider "The Ultimate Toned".
The obverse is blue and brown. A wise dealer once told me to avoid "blue and brown", and I have ever since.
The obverse doesn’t look blue and “brown” to me.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
While not "brown" technically, it's multiple ambiguous shades of orange and yellow that verge on brown.
Which are generally less appealing (in my opinion) than a true rainbow toner.
Just my opinion
Edit: Interestingly enough, several coins matching my "blue and brown" description were posted as replies since the OP.
Had a very colorful Morgan that my LCS guy thought somebody took a blow torch to it.
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/u-s-coins/quarters/PCGS-2020-quarter-quest/album/247091
Zoins. Here is Justin’s First Year Peso (pop 1/0). It is a great color coin to be sure (and nearly identical size to a Morgan $1).
Wondercoin
You’re making me want to start a set of Philippine/U.S. coins.
I wouldn’t liken it to blue/brown AT pattern, but I’m inclined to agree that it is not that attractive.
Just goes to show when you start a thread on a $60k coin, you never know what to expect!
LOL.
That was a tongue in cheek response to the post right above mine mentioning blue and brown and the subsequent deluge
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/u-s-coins/quarters/PCGS-2020-quarter-quest/album/247091
That one looks ok to me from the photo, but could be very nice in hand.
I wonder if Justin knows the sea green Peso I'm talking about. It would be great to have his pics of it.
Having held the coin in my hand, you’re completely out to lunch…
I'm sure its nice, but its not the ultimate toner as described by OP. I would expect full spectrum toning, like the Sirna moose posted later on, but thanks for the unnecessary cheapshot.
Which is, of course, the entire point. It can be very difficult to evaluate a coin, especially toning, from online images.
I don't like a lot of these "super toned" Morgans. That one I do like.
Also note the leading zero of the cert number- That coin used to be in a rattler or OGH.
Collector, occasional seller
Which is why some auction houses have been adding videos which is nice!
I believe this to be the prettiest Morgan ever. Or at very least, top 5...
My YouTube Channel
The Sirna Moose has an 8 digit number now, but it also had a 7 digit number before as listed above. I've seen 4 different cert numbers for the coin.
For $200, I think I got a lot of coin and toning for my money:
My YouTube Channel
Great price and a lot of nice color on that one!
Nice old holder too! You should get a 7 digit TrueView through the holder
I've considered it, A true view would be fitting for it, that shot is on the seat in my car in indirect natural light.
But I would definitely leave it in the old 1989 holder. The holder is absolutely flawless.
My YouTube Channel