My Morgan Collection Part 17 (1898 - 1899-O)

david3142

Starting on the 5th box! Man this is a big set.

1898 Morgans are similar to 1888 Morgans, seemingly common but actually quite a bit harder to locate than their New Orleans neighbors. This is especially true for toned examples but also mirrored ones. Coincidentally, I picked up both of these dates in the same grade within a few weeks of each other. I like the MS65PL grade a lot. You can get a great coin for usually a pretty good value and most better dates get much more expensive in 66PL.

1898 MS65PL

1898-O Morgans are now very common but were once considered key dates, more so than even the 89-CC! Due to the release of perhaps 1000 mint bags in 1962-4 these coins are available in gem all day. Mirrored coins are fairly common but toned examples are still elusive. Mine is super clean with a lot of flash and borderline DMPL. The fields are completely free of haze, which is really hard to find for mirrored coins. Like my 97-S it has started to tone a little since I bought it.

1898-O MS65PL

1898-S is a tough date and mirrored coins are quite scarce yet there is very little premium for them. In fact, the PCGS guide for 63 and 63PL are the same! I think it’s mostly because PLs trade infrequently and I expect prices will catch up when there are more recorded sales. I had a 64PL in this spot but I replaced it with a beautiful rainbow toned example. Toned coins for this date are basically unknown. Have a look through CoinFacts images. Only one coin has any noticeable toning at all. Even the Sunnywood coin was toned but not anything anyone would call a rainbow. I’m not aware of any others either.

1898-S MS64

1899 is a better date but not as tough as the 98-S in this group. This and the rest of the Philly mints in the series (except 1921) are all probably harder thank you might think, although you may know about the legendary condition rarity of the 1901. For 1899, I do not know of any nicely toned examples and DMPL coins command solid premiums. My coin has a little haze but the mirrors are solid and the coin has excellent cameo and a very clean cheek.

1899 MS64DMPL

1899-O is very common but you don’t often see nicely toned examples or mirrored ones as those are reasonably scarce. My coin is special because it was a college graduation gift from my parents and my first toned coin. It is also my first slabbed Morgan. It has beautiful two-sided color but unfortunately the reverse has the most clearly defined fingerprint I’ve ever seen. I bet the FBI could scan this thing and find out who left it! I won’t ever sell it but for my set I would upgrade it. I just haven’t found a suitable replacement yet.

1899-O MS64

Thanks as always for reading. Comments welcome and feel free to show your own Morgans from this range.

Walkerfan

Great set!! I have a 98 O in an old green holder with really nice toning but I don’t have a good picture of it. So, I will just post my 1899 64 CAC.

gumby1234

Very nice although I don't like the large fingerprints on the 99 O.

david3142

@Walkerfan said:
Great set!! I have a 98 O in an old green holder with really nice toning but I don’t have a good picture of it. So, I will just post my 1899 64 CAC.

Beautiful 1899! I especially like the reverse on that one.

@gumby1234 I agree with you. The fingerprints are massively distracting. This is probably next on my list for upgrading. I haven’t looked too hard before since, as I mentioned, the coin is special to me for other reasons.

giorgio11

I'm enjoying your commentary on your Morgan dollars very much! I thought you might enjoy seeing this 1899 Morgan, beautifully toned, MS66+ PCGS with CAC sticker that I had for a while—by far the nicest purchase I made at the Dalton show a couple of years back. The coin in-hand looks pretty much like this, except the luster is (of course) flashier.

Kind regards,

George

WAYNEAS

I am still intrigued by your coins.
I feel like a youngster in a candy store trying to see which sweet thing I like best.
I like reading the added notes for each coin.
Looking forward to the next installment.
Thanks for sharing.
Wayne

Tibor

The 99-P is a beauty. Thanks for sharing.

david3142

@giorgio11 said:
I'm enjoying your commentary on your Morgan dollars very much! I thought you might enjoy seeing this 1899 Morgan, beautifully toned, MS66+ PCGS with CAC sticker that I had for a while—by far the nicest purchase I made at the Dalton show a couple of years back. The coin in-hand looks pretty much like this, except the luster is (of course) flashier.

Kind regards,

George

Thank you and @WAYNEAS for the kind words. That is a beautiful 1899! I think I remember seeing it on your Instagram page.

ricko

@david3142... Another great installment of your Morgan collection. Great commentary and excellent pictures. Thank you for your posts. Cheers, RickO

littlebear

Thank you for sharing. Always look forward to your presentations!

ElmerFusterpuck

Nice coins! My tape toned 1898-O is one of the highlights in my collection. I also managed to pick up a nicely toned 1899-O at a local show. Like you said, I've rarely seen that date toned up nice.

1898-O (obverse is white):

1899-O (two sided toner):

david3142

@ElmerFusterpuck said:
Nice coins! My tape toned 1898-O is one of the highlights in my collection. I also managed to pick up a nicely toned 1899-O at a local show. Like you said, I've rarely seen that date toned up nice.

1898-O (obverse is white):

1899-O (two sided toner):

Beautiful coins! The obverses of our 99-Os are very similar. I like the way there’s an extra line of rainbow on each side before the white midsection.