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Coin and Paper Money Collecting/Odd Morgan
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Question
A friend has an unusual Moran...actually two. As I recall one states it is a trade dollar and the other states that it contains one gram of gold (and I believe 1 gram of copper and the rest silver) but I may be wrong on the copper mass. Both have the normal Morgan obverse. I cant seem to find an example of either on line...he has offered to sell them to me for 100USD each which seems a deal.
What can you tell me about these coins..
Hi William:
Always try and provide as much information as possible as well as a photo, if possible, when asking a difficult question like yours. I'll do the best I can and reply. If you want to ask a follow up question by providing additional information, I'll revise or add to my reply.
Provide photos and dates of coins, along with condition, metal composition, weight and diameter of the individual pieces for a more complete answer.
First, it would be impossible for me to say if $100 each is a fair price for these items with the information you provided me. They could be tokens, counterfeits, novelties, hard to say.
What could they be? My guess, with the data you gave, would be patterns. If they are, the $100 is cheap, because patterns are costly! There are several different designs of 1877 half dollar pattern coins with the same obverse design as the Morgan Dollar and different reverses. Many were struck in copper. All are worth thousands of dollars.
I'm going to provide a couple of links with patterns for you to look at. Let me know in a follow up question, should you choose, if these are close to the items you have.
1877 Half Dollar link-1: http://www.harrybassfoundation.org/objects.asp?id=6134
1877 Half Dollar link-2: http://www.harrybassfoundation.org/objects.asp?id=6133
1873 Trade Dollar link: http://www.harrybassfoundation.org/objects.asp?id=6108
1879 Metric Dollar link: http://www.harrybassfoundation.org/objects.asp?id=6152
You should consider getting the pieces professionally graded and put into a graded holder. This would give you the best price when and if you decide to sell them.
Get at least two opinions as to the value of the pieces from coin dealers who are members of both the ANA (American Numismatic Association# and PNG #Professional Numismatic Guild). To find a local PNG dealer go to this link: http://www.pngdealers.com/
Please remember to go to the experts site to rate this answer. And check the nomination box on the rating page below any comments you may have.
Thank You and Good Luck in your collecting.
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| Comment | Granted that I could have given better info or provided one or more pix. As it turns out I had the tenacity to find my answer. The multielemental coin was found to be a test coin, rather valuable in the condition it is and more if still in the minted state. One is a trade dollar with Liberty pointing to China, so they say. And, the other turned out to be the silver dollar that preceeded the Morgans. All three coins would grade extra fine or better, I have no doubt of that. All of the coins would be meet or exceed in the case of the Goloid the 100 bucks each asking price. I however only offered and obtained all of them for 25 USD each. Why so cheap? In my investigations I found some interesting facts about the goldoid (100 cents made of Cu Au and Silver. One of them is that they are a prime candidate for replication. I assure you these are not replicas they are better,or depending on your preference, worse, than that, they are counterfeit. All three lack any indication that they are replicas and all three stick to a magnet. Most likely composed of Nickel as the only truely magnetic elements are Ni, Fe, and Cobalt. If it isnt illegal, I am going to have them graded as counterfeits. Thanks for answering. Bill | ||
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Answers by Expert:
Ronald Fern
Expertise
I can answer most all questions relating to US coins, tokens, and currency. I'm not strong on world coins or ancients. Primary field of expertise is errors and varieties. Over 55 years experience in coin collecting. Part time dealer since 1976. Employed by McDonnell Douglas/Boeing for over 34 years as an Industrial Engineer/Technical Specialist before retiring in 2002.
Experience
Worked weekends for "Lonesome" John in the late 1960's to mid 1970's processing error coins, packaging, and preparing orders. Worked with John Devine and Fred Weinberg on several California Error A Rama's in the early 1970's. Served as display judge at annual Error-A-Rama coin shows. Opened and operated mail order coin business DBA "CAL ERRORS" in 1976. Contributer to Alan Herbert's "Official Price Guide To Mint Errors" and Fivaz/Stanton "Cherrypickers' Guide". Worked Saturdays at Huntington Beach Coin Exchange 1980-1999. Had table and sold coins at a number of coin and gun shows in So CA, AZ and NV. Sell coins, tokens and currency currently at my space in the Pomona Antique Center. Past "Errorscope" Editor. Presently CONECA Examiner.
Organizations
ANA, CONECA, CWTS, NLG
Publications
Errorscope, Numismatic News, Civil War Token Journal, Error and Variety News
Education/Credentials
AA Degree LBCC pre Engineering, 1964
BS Degree CSULB Ind Technology, 1968
Awards and Honors
1st Place EAR Trophy for Civil War Token Errors, NLG Author of Year Award for best monthly coin column "Error News and Views" in small Numismatic paper, owned and published by Ray Anthony.
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