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I'm pretty new in all of this and have been purposely staying away from the silver dollars
because honestly, I know nothing about them. But, I guess I have the bug in me and
bit the bullet today. Picked up a bunch of 1879-1925 pieces. Apparently, someone tried
to 'clean' a bunch of them...what a pity! Also, I am a little nervous about the authenticity
of a few of them even though they all seemed to weigh out ok. The seller told me if I had
any problem coins, that I can take them back to him. Since he is local and worked out of
a retail store (not a coin shop), I wasn't too concerned about him not holding up his word.
As I really do not know about these, one of my concerns was the lettering of the word 'liberty'.
Some of them had very crisp lettering and some seemed fuzzy. But, the fuzzy ones also seemed
to be on the coins that have been 'cleaned'.
Anyhow, please take a few minutes and share your opinions with me, it would be greatly
appreciated!

First Set:
Row 1: 1879-S, 1879, 1880 (X2)
Row 2: 1881-S(?), 1881, 1882, 1883-S, 1883
Row 3: 1884 (Big Dot?!?), 1884-S, 1880-O, 1889
Row 4: 1890-O (X2), 1891-O, 1891-S, 1891
Row 5: 1896-O, 1897-S, 1899-O, 1901-O

Second Set:
Row 1: 1921-S (X2), 1921-D (X2)
Row 2: 1921 (X5)
Row 3: 1922, 1922-S, 1923 (X3)
Row 4: 1923-S, 1924 (X2), 1925

second set...

Not a bad lot. Only 3 seem fake/questionable from the pics.

Just joking..... all look authentic. BTW nice 1883-S

What did you pay for the lot?

Thanks for the input.
Yeah, the 1883-S does look beautiful but is pretty worn on the edge, to the point
where the ridge is almost gone. Nevertheless, the contrast is quite dramatic.
Also, the 'big dot' coin has me confused. Instead of a mint mark, it has a big solid dot.
Like I said, I really don't know anything about silver dollars. My simple guess is that
it was a poorly stamped 'O' or that it is possibly a fake...any input there?
I didn't get an unbelievable price on them and had to pay, but I don't think I overpaid on them either....
Do you see anything 'special' in the lot?
I guess I'm in a little over my head with these....golly!
So many years, so many mint marks, so many variations and differences...gee whiz!

My guess is that the "dot" mint mark is a result of wear and cleaning. I do not see a vam for it listed in vam world.

You are probably right, but the only mark it could have been is an 'O'.
The thing is, it is not worn enough to call it a slick and the impression
is fairly raised as well, so that does not lead me to think of excessive wear.
In addition, it really looks like there was never an impression inside of the 'O'.
Is there a chance that this was a bad strike?
Here are some photos of the 'big dot' coin.
Next post will have photos of an 'S' mint from the same year.
Thanks!

Photos: 1884 'Big Dot" Morgan

1884-S

Your "Big Dot" dollar looks interesting. Most definitely an O mintmark from New Orleans. Never seen one like it, actually. Tough to tell whether the O was filled in the striking process (filled die and not caught at the time) or someone gave it a slight tap to flatten it out. Either way, it certainly warrants a second look by someone who knows more than me. If you're near one of the many major coin shows within the next couple weekends, take it along and get some dealer opinions of what you have there. Worth the effort, in my opinion, just to see what you have there.

Looks to me like about half of your purchase has been cleaned. Look for the unnatural luster (even on those that have been widely circulated as well as those that are made to look uncirculated). Silver is silver and it's very unlikely that any are fakes.

At the coin show, you may want to purchase a couple of silver dollars from a reputable dealer. One should be "good," another perhaps "fine" or "extra fine" and another "almost uncirculated." 1921 Morgans may be the way to go with these, but you'll learn quickly to recognize natural wear.

With the ones that are cleaned, you'll still have a rise in what they're worth due to the .77344 oz silver content. Those that aren't cleaned may combine their silver value with some numismatic value. Still more likely, though, that the silver value will trump anything else. My understanding is that many silver coins once thought as collectible have been sent to the refineries. This includes BU rolls of Washington Quarters back to the 1940s, early date Franklin half dollars, etc.

Don't worry. You're expanding your silver stockpile.

LostCents wrote:second set...

1921_1925a.jpg

1921_1925b.jpg

nice there 90% silver put in hoard and