The 1921 Morgan dollar is ugly... a Newp
anablep
Posts: 5,140 ✭✭✭✭✭
Aside from its gemmy grade of MS66 and the lovely pastel toning along the rims, every single 1921 Morgan dollar, including this Philadelphia issued one, is quite disappointing. I don't think anything can be done, grade-wise or toning-wise, to improve its status as the black sheep of the Morgan dollar family. Between the flattened relief of Liberty and the chicken eyed eagle, I don't know what's worse, the obverse or the reverse. At least the mint couldn't ruin the third side to this coin. I have a 1921-S graded MS64 by PCGS that looks AU50 on any other Morgan in the series.
Post your best ugliest 1921 Morgans here and I'll try to post my 1921-D and 1921-S as well...
P.S. Even the 2021's are better looking than these. It's almost a shame the 1921's need to be included to complete the Morgan series...
"Bongo hurtles along the rain soaked highway of life on underinflated bald retread tires."
~Wayne
Comments
Here's my 1921-D in PCGS MS65, which suffers from a micro D...
"Bongo hurtles along the rain soaked highway of life on underinflated bald retread tires."
~Wayne
It’s not quite that bad.
Nice die crack at the top of STATES on the reverse.
Pete
And the 1921-S in PCGS MS64
"Bongo hurtles along the rain soaked highway of life on underinflated bald retread tires."
~Wayne
I refuse to believe that’s not a low AU
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Type collector, mainly into Seated. -formerly Ownerofawheatiehorde. Good BST transactions with: mirabela, OKCC, MICHAELDIXON, Gerard
I like them better than the 2021s
I like to say they didn't make Morgans in 1921. What an abomination. Pittman Act Commemorative Dollars.
"It's like God, Family, Country, except Sticker, Plastic, Coin."
While they have some problems, some have strong luster. This one I upgraded and it became Dup. But I liked it and kept it and still have it even though the one is the set was sold sometime back. It is in an OGH. This is a very old slab photo that I just now cropped.
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https://youtube.com/watch?v=D0FPxuQv2ns - Ruby Starr (from 'Go Jim Dandy') Maybe I'm Amazed
RLJ 1958 - 2023
I like the 21s that have Thorns in Liberty’s head
Mr_Spud
Not the best photo but here is my trilogy of terror:
That is a very nice looking 1921 Morgan!
Tonedeaf is a nickname given to me in reference to my guitar playing ability.
Gotta say, since the OP brought it up, the whole Morgan series looks flat and token-like to me.
The dirtier the better.
I’m a little more than halfway through putting together a DATE set of Morgan’s, as only 28 coins are needed. Here’s my one and only 1921. Yes, I know it’s been dipped, but apparently gently enough that CAC still applied their sticker. (Will @ricko add his coveted BW sticker? I think it merits it):
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@winesteven .... Hi Steve, that Morgan certainly is a beauty. Cheers, RickO
@anablep i think your 1921 is a beautiful coin! I don’t mind the detail changes they made that year so much and even though the quality of production generally wasn’t great, there are enough out there that nice ones can still be found. Yours and @winesteven’s coin both look great to me. My own 1921s are among the weakest in my set and I need to keep looking. The 21-S is especially tough.
Why own coins you don't like? I won't ever own a 1922 "no 'D'" Lincoln cent even though there's a hole in my Whitman album for one. I just don't like 'em.
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.-Albert Einstein
Your hobby is supposed to be your therapy, not the reason you need it.
I think the obv changes weren't so bad, but the reverse could have been much better. With 85MM coins made, nice ones can be found. Luster and strike can be pretty good. Agree the 21S is the most difficult to find nice. And if you like vams, the 21's can keep you busy, lol. Here's my P & D, bot raw 15+ years ago on EBAY for about $15 each.
They tried, though. There was one collar die where they came up about 30 reeds short.
The ugliness of the 1921 Morgan is due in part the fact that the models no longer existed when they needed to make new ones, so they copied a coin and lowered the relief. Here are some favorites that I have.
1921-S, by far the ugliest issue of the Morgan series, usually struck with mushed out dies, rarest of all Morgans in PL, unknown in DMPL. You'd swear this was a frosty, sharply detailed 21-P until you saw the mint mark.
These two have really nice strikes because the collar die decided not to join the party. Looking for a 21-D to join them.
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
I think that the OP is an attractive coin. As @messydesk said, the artwork for this coin was done on the cheap because the hubs that had been used to make the previous Morgan Dollars had been destroyed.
The story is George Morgan took a Morgan Dollar and used it to sink the master hubs that were used to make the 1921 Morgan Dollars. This is the same method used by some counterfeiters. As others have said, the results were less than satisfactory.
I have two 1921Morgan Dollars in my collection, and I didn't much (less than $50) for either of them. It shows. This is not my favorite coin.
1921-P This one is an NGC MS-62. The reverse is decent, and Ms. Liberty's hair over the ear shows some detail, which why I bought it. The luster is also quite decent which is unusual for these coins which often come dull.
And here is a raw 1921-D that fits into my "All Mints Morgan Dollar Capital Plastics holder Set." The tiny mint mark is barely visible.
Some well struck 21s in here, including Bill's lowly MS-62. The 21 in PCGS 66+ CAC and the 21-s in 65 in particular, are hammered. I have been looking, apparently half-heartedly, for a well struck 21 for a while now. They are hard to find at reasonable prices.
Tom
Not a Morgan guy, but some very nice coins shown IMO. I have one in a last year type set, I'll need to pull it and compare to the other Morgans I own. I will say that most 21's I've seen are pretty bad, lackluster.
Both of the OP's coins are attractive especially the '21-P imo.
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I cropped some more older holder photos from the old past set.
As noted a few times above the 21S is definitely the toughest. I am not sure if it is the scariest Morgan in PL as it has some competition from at least the 84S, 93S, 03S and 01P. One thing about the 21S was the pricing. The 66 was way high and then came down. But if you want a little green sticker on that 66 it will probably cost at least 2X or 3X more than one without. I stayed way away. Just looked at CAC pop on 21S 66 and is only 9 (and $10,600 CAC CPG versus PC guide $3500 - Huh). Compared to 66 pop of 201 and 307 for 21D and P in 66. (Note CAC pop is for 66 and 66+ and NGC and PCGS combined)
Again I found the 1921's to have some good luster on some or many. Yes, it could be the other way but good luster is definitely out there to be had. Strike is a little harder to find.
The 1921's were not a primary focus for me. I called them a grainy surface often. The 21D I put a late low bid on and no one else bid. Okay, good enough. I suspect the polished area on the reverse is probably undesirable by many. It was also not so clean for the grade but hey it got a little green sticker.
1921 P
1921 D
1921 S
https://youtube.com/watch?v=wwmUMvhy-lY - Pink Me And Bobby McGee
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https://youtube.com/watch?v=D0FPxuQv2ns - Ruby Starr (from 'Go Jim Dandy') Maybe I'm Amazed
RLJ 1958 - 2023
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IDK....I think its very pretty
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CoinsAreFun Toned Silver Eagle Proof Album
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Gallery Mint Museum, Ron Landis& Joe Rust, The beginnings of the Golden Dollar
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More CoinsAreFun Pictorials NGC
This is one I have been tortured for years. The color is so blotchy but it is a nice nigher mint state for a 21-D
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CoinsAreFun Toned Silver Eagle Proof Album
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Gallery Mint Museum, Ron Landis& Joe Rust, The beginnings of the Golden Dollar
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More CoinsAreFun Pictorials NGC
That sure looks like a smaller than normal mintmark, or am I just seeing things?
Pete
Normal for 1921, small for a Morgan. An appropriately sized S mint mark punch was last used in 1916 on the dimes. After that, no need for anything bigger than what you see on these coins. Being small, they were also easier to sink with one blow.
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
I think you have done well to find the ones imaged here. I think I need to see the 21-s in hand
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Finally a Morgan I’d like.
My least favorite year for this series, but I do like this toned example in my collection:
10-4,
My Instagram picturesErik
My registry sets
Some great looking 21's everyone... some of you might be changing my mind just a bit...
@winesteven That 66 CAC is a beaut!
@coinsarefun Your 21-D is so unusually toned!
"Bongo hurtles along the rain soaked highway of life on underinflated bald retread tires."
~Wayne
Here are a couple of ugly ones.
The battle scars of all the good times
They have their place and their own story. You might be able to learn to accept them if you look at them that way.
!921 Morgan? My only experience with the coins.
About 3 years ago I was dabbling on E-Bay and saw a PCGS 1921 MS63 lot of graded Morgans (20 coins). I believe I won the lot for $35/per?. I thought they would be a great X-Mas gifts for the grandkids. None were particularly interested in receiving the coin. I now let my daughter buy all the gifts.