Learned something new: proof CCmorgan!

[mkman123]

Some of you all here have a lot of experience and knowledge, today I learned something new: cc proof morgans.......was reading something on the pcgs forum about proof morgans and the OP there and some others chimed about a 1884 cc proof morgan and 1893cc proof morgan.

 

I don't think I even saw that in the redbook! Is this a controversial issue as in many disagree about proof cc morgans ever being made or documented?

 

Thanks!

[Conder101]

I don't believe they are mentioned in the Redbook, few early branch mint proofs are. i think I first learned of them in Wayne Miller book on Morgan and Peace dollars. They are mentioned in a few other works, and they have shown up at auction, Yes they are controversial.

[MarkFeld]

Most branch mint Proof Morgan dollars are controversial and very few of them have official documentation.

 

Some of the ones I have seen stood on their own merits, while others did not - just my opinion.

[messydesk]

The Wayne Miller book categorizes branch mint proofs (and alleged proofs) based on coin appearance (does it look like a proof) and documentation (was it authorized). According to Miller, there are a few authorized branch mint proofs, including 79-O, 93-CC, 83-O, although he doesn't provide the actual correspondence showing their manufacture as proofs. The 84-CC fell into the category of coins that definitely look like proofs, but for which no authorization was known. There are several others that some assert to be branch mint proofs, but are actually "merely" extremely nice, perhaps carefully handled, business strikes. Even though not technically proofs, there's no doubt that they're something special.

 

There will be a few of these branch mint proofs for sale at the CSNS show in April, providing a good opportunity to have a close look. Follow some of the links ATS to the Heritage auctions, which have plenty of information about them in the listings.

[RWB]

Since only the Philadelphia Mint had the equipment required to strike "proof" coins, any so-called branch mint proof coins - if they meet ALL criteria for a proof - must have been struck at Philadelphia.

 

Pieces made a a local mint might or might not have been made for a special purpose, or they might simply have been souvenirs made by the staff as mementos.

 

(A real “proof” coin is determined my much more than just having mirror-like fields. Such distinctions have, in the past, been ignored in inventing catalog descriptions and sales materials.)

[mkman123]

thanks everyone for the response!!