Morgan Dollars minted in New Orleans
Pontilhaze
Posts: 33 ✭
I am new to coin collecting. I am working on a short set of Walkers in MS 65, just lack a few more coins. I live in Mississippi, and have been reading about the New Orleans mint. I want to put together a series of Morgan’s that was minted from New Orleans, and wanted to get the forums thoughts, opinions, do’s and don’t on collecting Morgan’s from NOLA. Thank you for your time.
Chris
2
Comments
While not universal for all dates, New Orleans Morgan dollars tend to have weakly struck centers. Seeking out specimens with fully articulated eagle's breast feathers and well-defined hair above Liberty's ear (and the ear itself) can present a challenge. Accumulating such pieces will make for a distinctively superior presenting set. Of course, also work for correct or better than typical for the grade also applies, as for any coins.
Thank you
The best advice I can give is to devise a budget that you want to spend on putting together the coins, look at the coins you need to complete the series and decide on a grade level that fits your budget. Second spend time to read and understand the coins you want to buy so that you know what you need to look for and the pitfalls, knowledge before spending.
Finding fully struck examples for some Morgan dollars from the New Orleans mint can be quite challenging and you may need to adjust either the budget or your expectations in some cases. A very fun collecting goal and I wish you well on the quest.
My Collection of Old Holders
Never a slave to one plastic brand will I ever be.
Thank you > @coinbuf said:
Thank you, beautiful coin
"NOLA"?
Blown NOLA budget, who cares! YOLO the NOLA!
NOLA: New Orleans, LA.
Being from MS, I spent a lot of time in NOLA, growing up. If I had all the money back that I blew back then, I could have a really nice collection of O Morgan’s!!
First off, Welcome !
Your question is fairly broad, but some excellent answers so far.
There are so many ways to collect Morgans, some like the "cameo appearance" of well worn examples for an album, some want the most eye appealing well struck examples for a mint state set.
I recently picked up a few slabbed O mint Morgans with pedigrees (Binion hoard, Bass, Fitzgerald collection) and thought it would be cool to have a date set all with different pedigrees.
However you decide to collect, its important (to me) to have fun with it, and don't beat yourself up for making mistakes - the forum can be a great source of information to avoid pitfalls.
I'm a Louisiana Native (born in New Orleans) and have family in Miss - there is a coin show in Biloxi coming up I'm gonna try to go... (as you may know the shows around here are few and far in-between!)
Good Luck!
It's all about what the people want...
Thank you
This sounds like a fun project! The New Orleans mint made Morgan dollars every year except the first and last so you will have a nearly complete date set as well. There are super-common coins (1883-85), some surprisingly tough ones (1897-O), major condition rarities (1886-O, 1895-O) and everything in between. There are O-mint Morgans with gorgeous colors and those with very deep mirrors. If you aren’t going for a high grade MS set there are no stoppers. As @coinbuf mentioned, many New Orleans issues are plagued by central strike weakness. This is commonly seen on 83-85 but also 90-92. The first few are common enough that it will not be hard to locate a well-struck example but you will have to search a bit for the other three. Fortunately, examples of all dates can be found with bright satiny luster. If you have any questions on particular dates, I will refer you to the series I have created here detailing my own Morgan collection. Just search my profile for “Discussions” and you’ll see them.
Good luck!
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spend a little time learning counterfeit detection, especially if you are buying high-dollar coins.
Morgan dollars are fun to collect and offer lot of variety. I collect all the 1878 tale feather varieties in PL high grades and I have CC date set mostly completed but contains circulated and uncirculated coins. But instead of sticking to Morgan’s I made the poor decision a few years back to move on to gem or near gem Liberty Peace dollars - which has costs me both financially and mentally ... they don’t PL, they tone horribly and have ugly spots and here I am trying to collect blast white examples. Two coin shows last 6 months and plenty of good Morgan’s but zero “good” peace dollars -
I like your O Morgan idea. I be seen some Os that have that soft sterling silver color that I really like.
Good luck and share your finds as you get them. Take your time - coins that you work hard to cherry pick are more rewarding so it’s worth going slow - cheers
Mr Grapes
Thank you everyone for the great feedback!!
Welcome, and nice choice of collecting goal! Here's a breakdown of what to expect:
79-O: Tend to be well struck and lustrous, but prone to lots of little ticks and scuffs. This is reflected in the price jumps at MS63. There's a neat O/O mint mark on the VAM 4 and 28. VAM 4 is not rare, and usually comes AU58.
80-O: Same quality and price curve as 79-O. Two different mint mark sizes, one isn't any rarer than the other. There are a few 8/7 overdates, with VAM 4 and 5 being the most pronounced.
81-O: Quality is better than 79-O and 80-O, and the price doesn't jump until MS65. VAM 5 is a popular O/O and can be found PL, VAM 27 has a nice doubled ear.
82-O: Strike quality not as good. Common to MS64. The O/S mint mark varieties (3 die pairs) are tougher above MS62.
83-O, 84-O, 85-O: Three of the most common dates. These can be found at every extreme of quality, from well struck to pancake, DMPL to frosty, colorfully toned to white. Pops are huge, so cherrypick for quality in a given grade. Each has some minor O/O mint marks available. Other popular VAMs are some clashed die varieties.
86-O: Not as common, especially nice. Luster is typically not great, but strike is usually good. They start getting pricy at AU58. PL is rare with these. There is a heavy die clash with an E under the feathers that is interesting (VAM 1A), and a scarce O/O (VAM 7).
87-O: This starts the "pancake years" of O dollars, as strike is not the greatest. Luster is OK, but surfaces tend to be banged up. They get expensive after MS64, sort of like 81-O. The 7/6 (VAM 3) is a popular variety best bought in AU58 if you can't cherrypick one.
88-O: A really cool year for Morgans. Bad strikes again, but there are well-struck PL coins available. Some neat varieties include the strongest doubled die of any US coin, the VAM 4 "Hot Lips" with a doubled portrait, which isn't expensive in circulated grades and almost unknown uncirculated. The VAM 1B "Scarface" has a huge die break across the obverse and is also very popular.
89-O: Typically not attractive and poorly struck. Not rare in uncirculated grades, so be choosy. There's a clashed E available like for 86-O, which is scarce.
90-O: Same quality issues as 89-O. Lots of coins have mushy details from worn dies.
91-O: Some good strikes, many bad. Good strikes are often from worn dies, so you may have to choose between quality strike and crispness of strike. There's a very strong clashed E available, VAM 1A, which isn't rare in VF, but pricy in AU and higher.
92-O: This starts the "pancakes that are tough in MS and very rare PL" years of O dollars that runs through 97-O. A few die pairs for 92-O are known with sharp detail, including one with a doubled ear (VAM 5), so you can cherrypick AU coins for quality and get a really nice 92-O.
93-O: If you're on a typical collector budget, you're not going to be approaching a MS coin for your collection. These are scarce in all grades, so pick a price point your comfortable with and get a high quality coin in that grade.
94-O: Scarce in MS, but unlike 93-O it is common circulated. A nice AU is a small fraction of the cost of an MS one. Look for one with a mediocre strike, because they're almost never well-struck.
95-O: Scarce in general, like the 93-O. Get one that matches your 93-O.
96-O: Same rules as 94-O. Look for a mediocre strike with mediocre luster in AU.
97-O: Comparable to 94-O and 96-O. Chances are these 3 coins will look the same in your set.
98-O: If you're doing a circulated set, this will be your stopper. This was ultra rare until 1962. Now it's common and can be easily found in MS66 with a good strike or PL surfaces. Don't settle for a poorly struck coin.
99-O: Common date with good luster and wide range of strike. The micro O mint mark (VAMs 4, 5, 6, 31, 32) is scarce in AU and higher, not so much in circulated grades.
00-O, 01-O, 02-O: Common dates, but typically poorly struck. Better strikes are available, especially on PL coins. The 1900-O/CC is a popular variety with 6 different die pairs, and is not hard to find in MS.
03-O: This has a very flat pricing curve, along with 99-P. An MS61 costs almost as much as a 64. Cherrypick for quality, as there are well-struck specimens.
04-O: Once rare like the 98-O and 03-O, this is now a common coin. Luster is usually quite good and PL coins aren't rare, but don't have cameo appearances. Good strikes are available, but you'll have to look for one among the pancakes.
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This is probably the best and most complete answer one could have imagined. Possibly the most useful answer to any question ever asked on this forum!
This is a major reason why I love Morgans! There is so much variety and to me it's very interesting!
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Thank you to everyone for the GREAT feedback, I do really appreciate it!! God Bless!!
One thing I might add to what @messydesk wrote is that if you like toners, 1904-O is an excellent date to find them in. They range from dull and uninspiring to absolutely fabulous. Can usually pick them up with little or no premium for the color. Many are prooflike and interesting VAMs as well.
1904-O is the easiest date in the 20th century for toners but there are many more nicely toned 83, 84, and 85-Os. Of these, I would say 85-O is the easiest. I think you might be setting up the OP for disappointment by saying he can pick up beautiful toners for little or no premium. Do you have an example of the type of color that can be bought as such?
I have a couple of O mint Morgans... I was not collecting them, just picked them up because of the O mint mark and it is the first letter of my last name.... Not a great reason, but I thought it was a good idea back in the early nineties.... Cheers, RickO
I am going on the experience of selling (often losing $$$) selling toned 1904-O Morgans (scores of them). Of course, toners are apparently hot right now, with someone on another thread saying people are paying stupid money for them. The market tides do shift. 1904-O does have a pretty decent percentage that are toned, unlike adjacent dates.
Thank you to everyone who has posted. What is the going range for a toned 83,84,85,1904O Morgan? I see eBay prices are everywhere.
It’s hard to judge from eBay because people can ask absolutely insane prices. Look through a Legend auction and search for realized prices of common dates. Pretty much all of them are going to be very nice (because that's Legend's business, and big public auctions are usually reserved for pricier material) so they'll be at least $500 (and all the way into five figures).
I recently sold some pretty toners in the $200 range but those are MS63 coins with small, but nice crescents. This coin was $2350 but would likely be more in the current market.
It takes a LOT of practice to learn how to estimate prices for toned coins. One complicating factor is that luster can make a huge difference and that can be hard to tell from pictures.
Thank you for the feedback, beautiful coin!!