1899-O Morgan - Die Crack

[cpm9ball]

Can anyone give me info on the attributes of this coin? The die crack on the reverse extends around the entire perimeter through (or just above) "United States of America", "One Dollar" and the tips of the eagle's wings. In some places, the crack is just a hairline, but in other areas it is quite pronounced.

[RWB]

A VAM specialist could certainly help with your coin. Die cracks are very common on New Orleans dollars because the Mint did not have an annealing furnace capable of bringing blanks to the correct temperature and holding them there long enough so they would become soft enough for coinage. This meant that blanks were too hard and that caused the dies to crack and fail prematurely. The Philadelphia Mint sent an engineer to New Orleans in 1900 for two months to help correct the problem. He was only partially successful because the New Orleans Mint was ordered to produce more silver dollars than they actually had the capacity to make correctly.

[TerrapinWill]

what would a coin like this look like?

[cpm9ball]

Thanks for the info. Quite impressive! I plan on taking the coin with me to the FUN Show in Ft. Lauderdale next week. It will be my first time at one of these events, and I'm assuming there will be someone there with considerably more knowledge than me.

Chris

[cpm9ball]

I wish I could show you now, but I don't yet have a digital camera and microscope with all the gizmos I'd like. I'll definitely need more than just a macro lens. They are on my wish list, though. The crack makes a complete 360 degree circle. Like I said, in some places it's very minute (hairline) and and in others, easily visible (pronounced). It meanders around between the denticles and the letters, sometimes through the letters, sometimes along the tops of the letters. That's about the best description I can give you.

Chris

 

P.S. "Terrapin Will"? Are you a Maryland fan?

[TerrapinWill]

Not a Maryland fan, for me it's from a grateful dead song.....does this die crack make the coin more rare or collectable?

[cpm9ball]

I won't know until someone can give me definitive answers. Hopefully, that will be at the FUN Show next week.