odd mint mark O over S ?
darktone
Posts: 8,437 ✭✭✭
I got bored and started looking at mint marks on morgans. I found an odd one earlier this year and Gilbert was very kind to help me with it. I think this one is very interesting also. mike
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Good find, this is a Hot 50 variety.
It looks exactly like yours.
Registry 1909-1958 Proof Lincolns
Intel QX3 computer microscope, it's great for getting closeups of varieties. That one is taken at 200x.
The best $40 I ever spent!
Here's the picture from the Encyclopedia. Looks awful close to me but there are several O/O varieties and they can be tough to distinguish.
Vamseeker
mike
Variety pricing seems to be all over the place. Vamlink lists a PCGS MS-64 that sold for $45 and a PCGS MS-66 still available for $298, just like anything else, it depends on who may be looking for one.
It's listed as a I-2 (Minor die variety with some interest to variety collectors) and R-3 (Scarce - hundreds of thousands). The Hot 50 designation adds some desirability, IMHO.
They no longer make the microscope, but they are still available through many sources. Hard to beat the price.
You need to get bored more often, it's amazing what can be found on those "common" Morgans!
Vamseeker
I didn't do anything at all other than convert it to grayscale. The 10x image sucks but other than that I think it provides pretty good images.
I had to grind off some of the plastic near the lenses to be able to focus through slabs but that took all of 30 seconds with a bench grinder.
Vamseeker
Nice find. Keep on looking; you may come up with that unattributed variety - now that is the thrill of the hunt, for me.
Nice image too. Shows the mintmark VERY well.
Great info vamseeker. Where are you when I am trying to get a Vam thread going? Or did I rub you the wrong way at somtime in the past?
Mike, you are going to have to grab a few of the Vam Books; you seem to enjoy this stuff, but, I'm always amenable to looking something up for you. With those kind of images, it shouldn't be too hard. Stay in touch.
vamseeker- thanks for all your help and welcome to the forumn. mike
If you want to have a reference to:
The best VAM's = "T0P 100 VAMS" and the "HOT 50 VAMS" (Jeff Oxman)
Every VAM there is = The original big book by Van Allen - Mallis "Morgan and Peace Dollar Varieties" (2000 VAM's)
1878 8TF's = Jeff Oxman does a book just for them
1878 7/8 TF's = Oxman does another book on them
Les Hartnett co-authored the 8tf Attribution system and the 7/8 Attribution Guide, and Michael Fey co-authored The Top 100 and most of the photos in all the books are done by Bill Fivaz.
Interestingly, I recently read an article (and I cannot find it right now so I'll paraphrase), where the author described the selection of VAMs for the Top 100 as arbitrary Some of them are rare in numbers, but I can't say I disagree with him. There are quite a few I find hard to accept as being "the coins to have." An example that immediately comes to mind are the numerous "pitted die" varieties included in the "Top 100". Maybe there are some collectors who truly like them for their appearance, but I think many are included/collected because, well because Mike Fey and Jeff Oxman say so.
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See ya on the other side, Dudes.
Thanks. I'm relatively new here so I must have missed your efforts, in the future, you can count me in!
Oh and, you have never rubbed me the wrong way.......at least not yet!
Mike,
You're welcome, glad I could help. It's rare to get a chance to contribute with the knowledge of people on this board.
And thanks for the welcome!
Vamseeker