✅ SOLVED Reveived this from an elderly lady today for cutting up some downed trees in her yard

[Mud Hut]

Her late husband kept it in his cufflink box. My question, being a key date, is this coin real or fake?

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

It ought to grade about VF.

But I agree with mcl - the dots between the E • Plurbius • Unum should be as obvious as the mint mark. They're either re-touched in the image or missing/damaged.

 

[masterjedi]

I think the detail is to good to be a fake put in under your detector and see if it reads silver!!!!!

There are so many fake US Gold coins out there you would not believe it and their detail is spot on. You need an expert to tell the difference. I used to collect counterfeit coins and had a $2 1/2 US Gold liberty that was so good I could fool most every seasoned coin dealer with it. I knew counterfeits very well and was at a coin show here in Oregon and a dealer had a US $20.00 St Gaudens gold coin in his display case with a price on it to sell to someone. I could tell is was not real and ask him how much for the fake $20? He looked startled reached into his case pulled the coin out and put it under his table. He would not show it to me. He knew what he was doing. At a different show years later a dealer had 3 silver US Trade dollars for sale in his case for sale. I was nice and said hey you do know these are counterfeits? He replied adamantly that they were real! We made a bet right then... If they are real I pay his asking price for all 3 coins, if their fake I get them free. I showed him how to tell the difference and he manned up and gave then to me free. They went into my counterfeit collection. In the carribean there are so many fake coins sold to tourists. Be careful.

These fakes are made of real Silver and Gold, just not by the US mints.

Hope this helps.

Gary in Oregon

 

[BARKER]

Hi Mud Hut; Send it to PCGS. They will Certify it, Grade it as well. If it is Counterfiet they will tell you right there. This way there is absolutely no more questions about weight or details again. Just let us know ok. Also DO NOT use an Alchohol Swab on it. You will discolor it and leave lint all over it. Also from how you came into posession of it makes me believe it is the real deal as well. Don't worry about it's color either. That was done by your camera and poor lighting ok. Good Luck. Le us know. Now I'm getting a weight scale. PEACE:RONB

 

[cudamark]

ACK! Hmm...let's see...
a) our grocery stores don't sell stamps. One used to but it was bought out by a competitor. Now only one grocery store - no competition.
b) No pawn shops here.
c) No coin shops here.
d) No jewelry stores here - at least none with a scale. There is a small one that opened up recently that I haven't been to, however.
e) No mall here.
f) *ROFL* No wineries here!
g) Sorry, no univ here. They're beginning to consolidate the schools due to lower registration numbers.
h) ACK! I stopped using them a long time ago!

Why in the world do you still live there?

 

[Kiros32]

Her husband knew what he had, thats why he kept it. You know what you have because you are a collector. She unfortunately did not know what it was and should at least be notified if it is legit. At least that's what I would do...

 

[Mud Hut]

Her husband knew what he had, thats why he kept it. You know what you have because you are a collector. She unfortunately did not know what it was and should at least be notified if it is legit. At least that's what I would do...

Say What?

 

[Mud Hut]

I took it to a coin shop today... he examined it under his loop, weighed it, and measured it and said it was the real deal. Unfortunately, it has been improperly cleaned at some point, which gives it the off color that masterjedi mentioned earlier. He offered me $250.00 for it as is. I declined since I'm not real interested in selling it anyway.

 

[cw0909]

I took it to a coin shop today... he examined it under his loop, weighed it, and measured it and said it was the real deal. Unfortunately, it has been improperly cleaned at some point, which gives it the off color that masterjedi mentioned earlier. He offered me $250.00 for it as is. I declined since I'm not real interested in selling it anyway.

good deal i would get it graded and slabbed for insurance purpose

 

[mcl]

I took it to a coin shop today... he examined it under his loop, weighed it, and measured it and said it was the real deal. Unfortunately, it has been improperly cleaned at some point, which gives it the off color that masterjedi mentioned earlier. He offered me $250.00 for it as is. I declined since I'm not real interested in selling it anyway.

Congrats man! So awesome to hear it's real.

But here's the thing. A person who wants to make money off you just told you that the item they want to buy from you to flip for a profit was "defective", and proceeded to offer you $250.. In my opinion, unless he told you exactly what cleaning method was used (e.g., whizzer) and you can clearly see evidence of that yourself, then I would not believe him for a second. This guy is out to make a profit on you and what better way to do so than to make you believe the coin has something wrong with it that tanks its value? The important thing is, he confirmed its authenticity.

I'd leave the question of improper cleaning up to a third party grader who will not make any more or less money based on its condition, e.g., PCGS, if you are in fact interested in that type of thing.

In the meantime, you have a legit 1903 O Morgan Dollar, and that's something to be proud of.

- mcl

 

[Mud Hut]

Thanks guys! I appreciate the help and nice replies. Happy Holidays to all!

 

[Rogue Relic Hunter]

funny when they make an offer after telling you something is wrong with it. some people are greedy though and take the offer.

look at Pawn stars, LOL. "my great great great grandmother risked her life to smuggle this into the country to keep as an heirloom of her dead mother." "what do you want to do with it?" "UM, I want to sell it!" then, interviewed after the sale, "hey, I am $50 richer than when i walked in. think i will get a pizza and some beers!"

 

[Icewing]

Ok it's easy to trash on dealers, but they have to pay bills too.
It's a good thing you took the time to do your research and didn't take the first offer.
Definitely send it in for professional grading, it increase the value.
As is it's easily worth $500, more if it's graded.
-I'm no expert, nor am I a dealer. I'm just stating my opinion.
1903 O Morgan Silver Dollar Value | CoinTrackers

 

[masterjedi]

Great coin.... Look on Fleabay there are lots of them for sale in different grades....

1903 o MORGAN | eBay

 

[Swaveab]

I have to say congrats on its authenticity. I can't comment on the tone of the coin as it could be a cleaning issue, but it could also be a natural toning. If due to cleaning then it will be downgraded. As I mentioned the detail on that coin is great and looks to be in the mint state area in my opinion. Did he mention about any of the possible abnormalities we were discussing such as the motto dots or the 0 in the date?

 

[Jason in Enid]

.. In my opinion, unless he told you exactly what cleaning method was used (e.g., whizzer) and you can clearly see evidence of that yourself, then I would not believe him for a second.

- mcl

While I agree that the coin shop owner was trying to talk down the value when trying to buy it, it has very obviously been cleaned in the past. Toning is the natural oxidation of the silver that occurs over time. Since this coin is lacking any toning whatsoever, it has clearly been cleaned and it will affect the valuation some. The good news is that given time (and proper cleaning to remove any chemicals or oils from the surface), it will begin naturally toning again.

 

[Mud Hut]

I have to say congrats on its authenticity. I can't comment on the tone of the coin as it could be a cleaning issue, but it could also be a natural toning. If due to cleaning then it will be downgraded. As I mentioned the detail on that coin is great and looks to be in the mint state area in my opinion. Did he mention about any of the possible abnormalities we were discussing such as the motto dots or the 0 in the date?

Thanks! No, the dots are there plain and clear, but for whatever reason, they didn't show up well in the photos. The only issue he mentioned is the "tone" and improper cleaning. I thought about sending it off, but it looks like you have to pay for a membership in the grading outfits before you can even get something graded. I am not a coin collector, as speculated by "Kiros32," so I'm not sure a membership would do me any good.

 

[Kiros32]

Thanks! No, the dots are there plain and clear, but for whatever reason, they didn't show up well in the photos. The only issue he mentioned is the "tone" and improper cleaning. I thought about sending it off, but it looks like you have to pay for a membership in the grading outfits before you can even get something graded. I am not a coin collector, as speculated by "Kiros32," so I'm not sure a membership would do me any good.

Pardon?

 

[Kiros32]

Thanks! No, the dots are there plain and clear, but for whatever reason, they didn't show up well in the photos. The only issue he mentioned is the "tone" and improper cleaning. I thought about sending it off, but it looks like you have to pay for a membership in the grading outfits before you can even get something graded. I am not a coin collector, as speculated by "Kiros32," so I'm not sure a membership would do me any good.

It's awesome that it's real, congratulations on that. All that I meant was that she didnt know she was giving you a $500 coin. She thought it was probably worth a few bucks. The noble thing to do would be to tell her, that's all I was saying. And I don't know the circumstances behind the transaction so perhaps I am way off base. If so, I apologize.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

As far as the smile under the "0" I possibly have an explanation.

Below is a coin I found head up and resting at a 45° angle in the back of a desk. It had been there at least 30 years open to the air might have been much longer. The dust or airborne particles settled on the face and the date is raised enough it "shadowed" the face of the coin from those falling particles - and toned differently. At least that's my theory for this coin.

 

[masterjedi]

I had my own coin store/pawn shop for 20 years... I knew a dealer nicknamed "BU Bob". He was the master of artificially toning coins. He would go to all of the coin shows and buy slider coins. ( AU 55+) but just not quite BU. He would then chemically dip them and then hang them above electric baseboard heaters to speed up the toning process. He once offered me a early half cent that was AU 55+ for $90.00 that he had toned (it was beautiful). i declined. He was a crook and made a living doing this. Months later I saw this same coin in a dealers display case at a coin show for sale to the public for $900.00 graded "Toned BU"...

The 1903 O in this post is a great coin but was cleaned to have this tone. It is not natural to be this color. I have owned 20k+ Morgan dollars over the years and none looked like this coin.

Be careful out there!