Could this possibly be a 1922 Satin Finish Low-Relief Peace Dollar?

Crazy4Coins

What are the chances?....Slim, I know. There is just something about this coin that is not typical of the date. Maybe it is just an exceptional strike and the dies had recently been polished. The obverse has strong detail on the entire devise and the reverse isn't bad either. I have never seen a 1922 Satin Finish Low-Relief coin in hand and really couldn't find any decent info or photos on-line. Any info about the '22 Low-Relief and diagnostics would be greatly appreciated.

SilverEagles92

The chances are slim and none, and slim has just left the building.

Edit: Here's an image of the real thing from coinfacts:

ClosedLoop

she sure is purty! I can't help you on that one.

SpaceMonkey

no clue... but that is some pretty incredible detailing on the hair.






-sm

Crazy4Coins

Yes , the hair has lots of detail. Also notice how bold the motto and date are. The rays, especially the forward are much stronger than typically found. Comparing it next to another '22 and you can really see the difference.

ProofArtworkonCircs

I can tell you one thing.

Both your obverse and reverse are a non standard variant tho common design. These match the two Norweb low relief proofs exactly in those design aspects. By no means does this imply yours are proof. We need an expert for that. Circulation strikes of this type are in the minority of 1922's but nevertheless common from all mints. There are also mules of these designs around.

The reverse design has the stem end of the olive branch truncated and the third foothill is missing. There is really a lot of hand incuse touchup on the back. This variety is a recognized one.

The obverse is not a recognized variety, but is just as real to me. Most of the rays in Liberty's tiara are oviously incuse outlined rather than just a very few and come to a sharp point. I am somewhat mystyfied as to just what happened. All the incuse details seem to be accentuated but not by hand tooling like the reverse. Yes, I think it does accentuate the hair and some other areas.

Good eye, Sir. They are definitly different. All in all, I find it very interesting. I hope RWB can chime in with some information beyond trying to sell me his book.


edited to reword comments on obverse rays

cmerlo1

IIRC, the tops of the 2's are more 'curled' on the SF's...someone correct me if I'm wrong...

bigmansam88

1922 Satin Finish Low Relief from Heritage

lasvegasteddy

one thing i've noticed is on a proof 22' the tiara spike is level to the base of the "e" of liberty and ms examples the tiara spike extends up past the base....look on coin facts at what i've referenced

SilverEagles92

<< <i>one thing i've noticed is on a proof 22' the tiara spike is level to the base of the "e" of liberty and ms examples the tiara spike extends up past the base....look on coin facts at what i've referenced >>



I don't think so. All 3 images from coinfacts show the spike extending past the base.

lasvegasteddy

look closely at the "top one" the matte high relief and you'll notice it is even with the base of the e on coin facts

that's the 22' i look for

Crazy4Coins

If I am correct only the high relief proof has the ray stopping at the bottom of the E. The low relief coins extend past like the business strikes.

Placid

Heritage description of a satin finish 1922 lr proof.

"The coin has a most unusual appearance, unlike any other 1922 Peace dollar we have ever encountered. The surfaces have a bright, satiny finish and each side shimmers and glows with a mint sheen that is completely different from that seen on a regular issue, low relief 1922 dollar. Compare this coin side-by-side with the MS67 1922 Peace dollar that is also present in this sale. The difference in the two finishes is profound.
Breen notes that the Low Relief Satin proof strikings show no mint frost, no "cartwheel," which he describes as 'cold flow radial lines.' He compares these coins to the 1921 satin proofs, and indeed there are many similarities in finish and overall texture between the two coins. He also notes that the rims are built up more strongly than on business strikes, and the inner coronet line is exceptionally strong. Full striking definition is seen on the central hair, full feathers are evident even on the upper wing and breast. The lettering is all noticeably higher contrasted with the fields than on business strikes, and the edges of the letters are more sharply defined."

Taken from here

SilverEagles92

<< <i>look closely at the "top one" the matte high relief and you'll notice it is even with the base of the e on coin facts

that's the 22' i look for >>


True, but this clearly isn't a high relief coin. The OP was asking about the Low Relief Satin Finish.

hammered54

<< <i>The chances are slim and none, and slim has just left the building.

Edit: Here's an image of the real thing from coinfacts:

>>



and a very nice fingerprint to boot!!

lasvegasteddy

looking at the image hammered has up the first 4 tiara spikes have no smaller spikes between them as the one the op does...just on that alone i'd say no

Placid

The ngc one @ Heritage has small spikes between the larger ones.
The blow up picture of the ngc coin is rather large so I will not put it in this thread.

Crazy4Coins

lasvegasteddy...take a look at the the link Placid and bigmansam88 have provided. You will see the smaller rays.

I'll tell you comparing this coin to the Heritage coin....there isn't any clear difference and the description describes this coin as well. Of course this coin has a few marks and is not as flawless as the Heritage example.

Placid

Send it to pcgs or ngc and let them figure it out

SilverEagles92

<< <i>Send it to pcgs or ngc and let them figure it out >>



That might be easier said than done... It looks to already be in a PCGS slab! If they got it wrong years ago, what's to say they won't get it wrong again?

Placid

<< <i>

<< <i>Send it to pcgs or ngc and let them figure it out >>



That might be easier said than done... It looks to already be in a PCGS slab! If they got it wrong years ago, what's to say they won't get it wrong again? >>



If it is submitted as a proof I would imagine they should check to make sure it is not *shrug*

I would guess either it was submitted as a business strike before or a proof and determined not to be one.

Frankcoins

Definitely a business strike, many die variants intended for proofs are later used on the regular
production presses, like the 21 Morgans struck with "proof dies"

RWB

Your 1922-P low relief dollar is not a satin proof. However, it appears to have been struck from dies made from the first pair of hubs approved on Feb. 14, 1922. Approx 200,000 trial pieces were struck on Feb 12-13. After approval by James Fraser, the Philadelphia Mint continued using these hubs through mid-March. Trial strikes were released along with normal production coins. They also prepared dies for Denver and San Francisco from these first hubs. Thus, several million examples were struck at all three mints. The easiest identifier is the detached olive branch on the reverse. This is common to all low relief proofs, trial strikes and early circulation strikes.

There is no definitive way to identify the 200,000 trial strikes; however, your coin is well struck and might be from those initial pieces. It’s certainly a “keeper.”

(See the Guide Book of Peace Dollars 1921-1964 due out from Whitman on November 11 for more information.)

Crazy4Coins

Thanks RWB and everyone else for their input. When I get a little bit of extra time I'm going to take a closer look at the coin.