question for dragon, zerbe, or other morgan expert

dorkkarl

looked at some morgans in countryside, saw a couple p/l's & dmp/l's. question: on 1 coin that looked p/l+, the eagle was nicely frosted against mirror-like fields, but it had a frosty "halo" around it, maybe the size of a quarter. the "halo" faded gradually into the dmpl fields. the seller was trying to tell me that that's a big premium characteristic. true? i've seen this quite a few times, what's the explanation for it? improperly polished dies?

K S

Gilbert

Karl,

I don't profess to be an expert but what you are describing is frequently seen on PL and DMPL CC dollars. It is usually manifested as you describe, somewhat like a halo around the central device (Liberty on obv/eagle on rev). I believe it is the result of stress after a number of strikes where the mirrored field begins to deteriorate (after multiple strikes), although it can also be from less than adequate protection of the polished fields of the die, when pickling or finely sandblasting the devices for the cameo effect.

I've seen it most prevalent on CC dollars (speaks to their die maintenance) it USUALLY is indicative of artificial frosting and should be looked at skeptically, until you determine if isn't artificial.

Lastly, I've never heard of anyone paying a premium for what in essence is a less than pristine example, meaning one ordinarily may pay a premium for first strikes. I suppose you MIGHT consider the coin in a better condition than a fully brilliant (w/o any contrast), so you might consider paying more for it than a brilliant one, but ...

essentially, it's indicative of a subsequent strike on the road to losing its cameo contrast, if you follow me.

FC57Coins

Karl:

Like Gilbert, I'm no expert either, but I have heard the story he describes, and I'll go further to tell you that I have heard of people paying a premium for that halo effect as it supposedly adds eye appeal to the pieces. I've only seen pieces with very minor halo effect around the devices, but if it's pronounced and adds a nice effect to the coin it's probably something you don't see very often.

Frank

Dog97

I've never seen it as big as a quarter. I've seen small areas of it where the neck and jaw meet on the obv and where the wings join the eagles body on the rev. Personally I don't like it and wouldn't pay any prem for it and actually would avoid it. It might mean that it was a brand new die but it looks like overspray from a sloppy paint job to me.