Newp: 1886-O Morgan DMPL

ProofCollection

Picked up this coin in the latest Heritage auction that I'm a little excited about and thought would be a fun analysis for the forum. I've been working on my PL/DMPL Morgan set for over 10 years and recently got motivated to put some money and effort into upgrading the set closer to my goal grades, as I am now of the opinion that rare coins are about to have "their day" and prices will only continue to rise. This is a big purchase for me, but I'm at the point where I need to start buying the tough ones when the opportunity arises. Sale price with premium was $7200.

Greysheet Retail: $8120
Greysheet Whls: $6500
PCGS Guide: $4500

On one hand, I think I got a great deal, but on the other, I know I paid market value because this a fair open auction and the market set the price I paid. I was surprised it didn't go higher in this coin environment. But is this date and grade a "sleeper" due for some real appreciation? Or is a 61 DMPL perhaps just too gnarly for most collectors (who may avoid coins in the low 60's)? In my case, it's about the best 86-O DMPL coin I could ever hope to afford.

I'm curious on thoughts about the lines in the field on the reverse. Die polish lines or scrapes? They aren't that visible in the slab pic.

Auction Description:
The 1886-O is a better date in Uncirculated condition, and it is famously one of the rarest dates in the Morgan dollar series with Prooflike or Deep Mirror Prooflike surfaces. This example displays brilliant luster with scattered abrasions pursuant to the grade, but the level of stark contrast produces ample eye appeal. A touch of central strike softness reminds the viewer that this is a New Orleans production.

Registry Set:
The 2 Morgan Prooflike registry sets do NOT require PL or DMPL for 1886-O. I wonder how much if any this hurts the value?

Condition Rarity:
Overall, this coin is rare in MS states as almost all coins were placed into circulation.

_Pop Report: _
Only 15 DMPL and 9 PL!

Auction History:
Only 3 DMPLs auctioned in the past 10 years. If you ever find one, you HAVE to grab it...
DMPL

And only 2 PL's:

Enhancements:
This one was Gold-Shield graded before TrueView was included so there is no TV. Grade is accurate IMO.
Anyone have any opinions on whether it would CAC?

PS... I will be selling my 1886-O MS61 (non-PL) soon. Let me know if interested.

lilolme

The lines on the reverse in the pic without the holder look like they might be planchet 'roller' marks (very straight). Not uncommon on Morgans. Here are a couple a 93 O and 84 cc on the jaw. If not, then die polish. They look to be raised in the photo so not 'scrapes' if raised.

As far as cac - they are fairly tough on dmpl's, my guess is not.

jughead1893

Congrats ! I would guess its already been to cac.61 morgans are always going to have have issues.I think the main thing will be if you can deal with the overall look of it.Did you see it in hand? Rare coin!

ShaunBC5

Congrats on the win! That’s a tough coin many of us could only hope to ever own. I can’t imagine it hasn’t been to CAC (since it came from Heritage). I don’t see a ton of 61s so I don’t have an opinion on if it should have stickered.

ricko

Congratulations on your acquisition.... Not an easy coin to find. I would bet it has been to CAC, though cannot confirm that. You could send it... Cheers, RickO

david3142

There is a Trueview for the coin. It looks pretty much like the Heritage slab photos except the cheek looks cleaner in the TV. I don’t love the coin because of the disturbance in the left field which impacts the mirrored appearance. That said, there are only 24 of these (at most) in PCGS holders so you really can’t be too picky unless you are willing to wait (possibly) a very long time and pay quite a bit more. Even a 62DMPL would likely cost $12K (or more for a nice one).

Huge caveats to the below since I have not seen the coin in hand:
I don’t pretend to know what CAC might think (although I would guess they’ve already seen it) but if I had a stickering service I suspect I would not bean the coin. I think it’s fairly graded as a 61 and the clean cheek is a bonus but the left field and hairlines would disqualify it. Overall I think you did fine for the money. The conundrum with a series that pushes your budget and has major conditional rarities is that you may have to pay a lot of money for coins that aren’t as visually appealing as others in your set. But if the rarity means a lot to you then I’m sure you will enjoy the fact that you own one.

ProofCollection

Yeah, you can't be choosy if you want one of these in PL or DMPL. With only one selling every 2-3 years the strategy would be to buy one and then upgrade later if you find a better one.

For some reason when I pulled it up I didn't see the TV. Thanks for pointing that out. I'm guessing this is recently slabbed and I think you're right, I bet CAC has seen it.

sweetwilliet

Congrats on your pick up. I have seen a few rare pls and dmpls for sale lately, and they seem to have gone for a little lower than I would have thought. On the other hand, I am seeing gem dmpl cc’s go for strong money at most auctions, and they are readily available for the common dates. So, I can’t make a lot of sense from the market, except maybe higher grade dmpls are hot, and lower grade dmpls, even if rare, are not as hot. Any 86-O in pl or dmpl is a special coin, coming from another pl and dmpl collector. I just bought a similarly rare pl and will post after I receive it.

LanceNewmanOCC

the TV looks pretty great! thanks for posting it.

i hesitate to turn this into a pelican brief thread but the surfaces ALMOST look like someone intentionally put something on them to make the marks NOT appear so bad. just a loose opinion and if it were mine, i probably would have dipped it in 50/50 ezest/water prior to subbing for concern it would bodybag for surface contaminants. NOT saying that is the case but looks sus, albeit wonderfully sus.

edited to add IF anything were done, which is probably not the case, also it coulda been done to help this coin move over the line from super-slider.