Strange Mint Mark - 1884 Morgan Silver Dollar 0

[caltx01]

Hello All!  Newbie here.  Cal in Tyler, Texas.  I am very inexperienced with coin collecting but very much looking forward to learning all I can - and avoiding the pitfalls - as I begin to build a coin collection.  I am happy to find this forum and anxious to take advantage of the collective knowledge and experience of the members here.

My first question - can anyone provide any advice as to the strange mint mark on this 1884 Morgan dollar?

Thanks in advance for all guidance and advice!

 

[JKK]

That's weird-looking, all right, but I can't see any way it can be anything but an O--perhaps a filled one. Doesn't look deliberately altered; the ding across it looks like a circulation nick. Nice-looking piece and good photo, by the way. This might be one of those cases where a blowup of the MM might help.

[Just Bob]

I did a quick search of Vamworld and Variety Vista, and did not find anything that matches, so I don't think it is a known variety. I think Jonathan is probably right - filled "O" mint mark. Would you mind showing a picture of the obverse side? 

Welcome to the forum, by the way. 

[dollarfan]

wow, i agree with JKK that is very odd.  please post a closeup of the mintmark and also the obverse as we would like a closer look. thanks

[caltx01]

Thanks for the replies!  Here is a picture of the obverse of this coin and a close to the mint mark as I can get with this camera.  I will get a better close-up of the mint mark posted tomorrow.

[RWB]

Looks like a weakly struck coin with a filled mintmark. The diagonal line is damage to the coin. Poorly defined Morgan dollars from the New Orleans Mint were common for them. The Mint did not have sufficient planchet annealing (softening) capacity to meet production demand from Washington HQ. Hence, many planchets were too hard to take a full impression under normal operating conditions.

Edited February 20, 2021 by RWB

[caltx01]

2 hours ago, RWB said:

Looks like a weakly struck coin with a filled mintmark. The diagonal line is damage to the coin. Poorly defined Morgan dollars from the New Orleans Mint were common for them. The Mint did not have sufficient planchet annealing (softening) capacity to meet production demand from Washington HQ. Hence, many planchets were too hard to take a full impression under normal operating conditions.

Thank you for the reply and the very interesting information which could very possibly explain this anomaly.  So this anomaly may well be the random result of a weak strike rather than die damage which I assume would produce many coins with the same defect?

[RWB]

Yes. A poor strike, filled mintmark and external damage. There might be many coins with a filled mintmark and/or weak detail as yours, but only one will have the diagonal mark. In that sense, your coin is unique...and in the same sense, every coin is unique, too.

[GoldFinger1969]

Do we know of any other "filled" mintmarks from New Orleans ??  Almost looks like a screw head. 

BTW, is that Morgan in a GSA holder ?  I see black on the edges surrounding it.

Edited February 20, 2021 by GoldFinger1969

[Fenntucky Mike]

28 minutes ago, GoldFinger1969 said:

BTW, is that Morgan in a GSA holder ?  I see black on the edges surrounding it.

Good ? GF, I was wondering the same thing. I don't think so, there is a globe symbol in the upper right corner of the image in the OP. I've seen that symbol before, I think it's in one of those slab snap holders and the core doesn't look like a GSA Hard Pack either, I don't remember a ring around the coin like that. I haven't seen very many hard packs though, could be wrong.

[caltx01]

56 minutes ago, GoldFinger1969 said:

BTW, is that Morgan in a GSA holder ?  I see black on the edges surrounding it.

The coin is in a plastic holder but it is not a GSA holder to my knowledge.  I am hoping these holders are safe.  See picture below.

 

[RWB]

Is it one of the Coin World holders?

[l.cutler]

That is a Coin World holder, they are fine.  Simultaneous posting!

 

Edited February 20, 2021 by l.cutler

[caltx01]

7 minutes ago, l.cutler said:

That is a Coin World holder, they are fine.  Simultaneous posting!

 

Thanks!  I am relieved.

 

[Just Bob]

 

31 minutes ago, l.cutler said:

That is a Coin World holder, they are fine.  Simultaneous posting!

 

Yep. $3.89  apiece at Wizard Coin Supply. (Plus shipping)

[RWB]

Search "ultrasonic welding" to buy your own machine to seal the slab.

A good weld in a dust-free nitrogen atmosphere and your coins will be happy for a very long time.

[RonR2663]

I am a newbie as well and I have a similar mark on my 1884 however it doesn't look at all like a filled in circle.

Any suggestions or insight would be greatly appreciated. 

 

 

[Coinbuf]

On 3/19/2024 at 8:05 PM, RonR2663 said:

I am a newbie as well and I have a similar mark on my 1884 however it doesn't look at all like a filled in circle.

Any suggestions or insight would be greatly appreciated. 

 

Welcome tot he forum, in the future it is advisable to start your own new thread rather than pull up an old one, it can get confusing.   If you want to reference the old thread that you feel is relevant you can always provide a link to the old thread in your new one.   Your 1884-O Morgan dollar is heavily worn, so well-worn that it is impossible to say if the mintmark was filled at one time or it came to have this look due to the smoothing of the coin from its extensive time in circulation.

[powermad5000]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

Being this is an old thread you just reopened, as for your Morgan @RonR2663, the New Orleans Mint was known for having less than high quality strikes to begin with even on uncirculated examples. The amount of space inside the O was not expansive to being with. Your coin has worn down to what I believe would be a G4 level as the rims themselves which are meant to protect the details of the coin from wear have basically worn flat at the stage your coin is in. It looks to me from the photos you have provided that the excessive wear has basically worn the O mintmark down on your coin to a level that it is blending in with the field of the coin. In my opinion, there is nothing special to note on your coin, just heavy wear.

[RonR2663]

Thank you for the information