Chop Marks

[Raisethis2]

Why do you never see a Morgan Dollar with chop marks?

[DWLange]

The net silver content of a standard silver dollar was too low to be competitive with other coins (mainly the Mexican 8 reales piece) in Asian commerce. That's why the trade dollar was created---to offer American traders a coin that would be competitive overseas.

[Conder101]

Especially considering by the time the Morgan dollar was produced silver was falling an the value of the silver content (which was how the Chinese valued the coins) was less than the face value of the coin. The Trade dollars were coming back home from China in 1876 because at that time they were still legal tender for $1 in the US and their trade value as silver had fallen below that. The Morgan with even less silver would definitely have traded at a loss in China.

[Nutmeg Coin]

Are there any articles on why one grading service considers chop marks damage and the other straight grades them?

[cpm9ball]

 

Has anyone ever compiled a list of the businesses (businessmen?) in China that used chopmarks?

 

Chris

[RWB]

Interesting, but damaged coins.

 

I have seen a few Morgans and seated halves with Asian merchant marks, but do not know if they were real or modern fabrications.

[Raisethis2]

It's my understanding that there are some very well known chopmarks often seen on Trade Dollars. I was not aware that there was a difference in the weights of Trade Dollars vs Morgans.

 

Then again, I've never owned a Trade Dollar.

 

Thanks for the input.

[DaveG]

Has anyone ever compiled a list of the businesses (businessmen?) in China that used chopmarks?

 

According to the new book on chopmarked coins by Colin Gulberg, almost nothing is known about what the chopmarks mean or who used which ones.

 

Apparently, at the time, the Chinese (and others who chopped) didn't think it was important to record this sort of information.

 

 

 

Why do you never see a Morgan Dollar with chop marks?

 

The Chinese merchants were very conservative and preferred the coins they had been using for the past hundred years or so - the Spanish Colonial piece of eight. They were willing to use the Mexican version, but the US Trade Dollar had a difficult time penetrating the market. Basically, US merchants ended up having to buy Mexican coins at a premium for their China trade.

[DWLange]

The U. S. trade dollar was introduced so that Americans didn't have to buy Mexican coins at a premium, and it did gain considerable acceptance in the southern Chinese ports and Indo-China. It was moderately successful in its intended role, and the only reason for its discontinuance was that after 1876 most depositors of silver requesting trade dollars were doing it to pass them at an even bigger profit domestically. The coins became such a nuisance at home that their proven utility in Asia was not sufficient reason to keep coining them.

 

As for other USA coins bearing chopmarks, I believe these are contrivances from the 1950s and later. A lot of these have come out of The Philippines, and I suspect that's where the chops were applied.

[World Colonial]

Interesting, but damaged coins.

 

I have seen a few Morgans and seated halves with Asian merchant marks, but do not know if they were real or modern fabrications.

 

Agree, they are damaged coins and I consider this damage worse than many other defects which result in a "details" grade. I would rather own a nice looking "details" coin than one with chopmarks that is assigned a numerical grade for the pillars I collect.

[RWB]

The only translation I've read about was "good tael" - but I've long forgotten the source. Does Willem's book have any comments?

[Davids5104]

picked up my first "chop marked" trade dollar.  It appears both companies now grade these?  Looks original to me.  I see a lot of these 1876S available, but the density of the marks is a bit much.  I think it may be uncirculated by my untrained eye

[numisport]

Please comment on how this coin could have so many chops and so little wear

[Davids5104]

bought it at an estate sale and have no knowledge of its life.... that comment makes me nervous because i now understand your meaning.  It is the S mint though which is the most common