Expert: Ronald Fern - 2/10/2011

Question
I have an 1888 O morgan in fine to very fine condition.On the reverse,it has been struck 3 or 4 times.you can clearly see with the naked eye 2 or 3 strikes,2 heads,4 wings,3 sets of arrows,etc.Local dealer confirmed authentic.What is the value and rarity of this coin?

Answer
Hi Tom:

Thanks for your question.

From your limited description, and with no photo, it is really hard to confirm what you may have. Grade is important, and the date is not a rare one. Normal 1888-O coins in F to VF condition retail for $30 to $35. If you want to ask a follow-up question, and attach photos, or more data, I'll revise my answer, if required.

Sometimes, local dealers are not familiar with the minting process and how errors happen. Your coin is likely altered after it left the mint. I know of no manufacturing process where only one side of a coin would be multiple struck and have no distortion or any doubling on the other side. You do not say whether the multiple images are raised or struck up like the "normal" reverse. I'm guessing they may be incuse or reversed. This would happen by putting two coins together in a vise and squeezing them together, while rotating them between the squeeze. It's really hard to say without seeing your coin. If real, your coin could be worth hundreds to thousands of dollars. It needs to be looked at by an error expert.

To grade your dollar, see: http://coinauctionshelp.com/How_To_Grade_Morgan_Dollars.html

For prices, see: http://coinauctionshelp.com/Morgan_Dollar_Mintages_Price_Guide.html

Sometimes people try and fool you into thinking you have a real error coin. Here are two links for you to see what type of non-error coins exist.
See link: http://coinauctionshelp.com/page15.html
See link: http://conecaonline.org/content/OhNo.htm

You may want to check eBay listings under US coins in the error category to see what these errors are going for. You may also want to check out these links on error coin values:
http://www.coinsite.com/html/USErrorPrices.asp
http://www.minterrornews.com/priceguide.html

If you live close to a local shop, they should offer an opinion as to it's value and if it is authentic at no charge. Always try and get at least two opinions and try and deal with PNG dealers if possible. Here's a link to find one in your area: http://www.pngdealers.com/dealersearch.php

Please remember to go to the experts site to rate this answer. Check the nomination box on the rating page below any comments you may have.

Thank You and Good Luck in your collecting.