For the love of silver 4 4

[rrantique]

[MorganMan]

[124Spider]

On 10/22/2021 at 8:13 PM, MorganMan said:

Another GSA Morgan!

[Fenntucky Mike]

[Mohawk]

I've been getting into a little exonumia project lately.  Say hi to Sobek:

[Mohawk]

And here's Khnum:

[CIII]

Didn't quite make it. :-)

 

[Mohawk]

On 10/25/2021 at 9:29 PM, tigerbait said:

Didn't quite make it. :-)

 

Indeed it did not!! But it's a cool piece to have in your collection.  Very nice.

[rrantique]

[Fenntucky Mike]

Cleaned.  

[rrantique]

[Alex in PA.]

On 10/20/2021 at 10:31 PM, MorganMan said:

Do you ever look at an old worn silver dollar and wonder who has had it in their pocket in years past?

 

 

When I would take out my early Carson City coins.  All the time.  "Who's pocket were you in?"  One of the Earps?  Doc?  All the collected coins have a history to them.

Edited October 29, 2021 by Alex in PA.

[Mohawk]

On 10/29/2021 at 2:43 PM, Alex in PA. said:

When I would take out my early Carson City coins.  All the time.  "Who's pocket were you in?"  One of the Earps?  Doc?  All the collected coins have a history to them.

I'm that same way about my Roman coins.....it's absolutely fascinating to think about who may have held them, who may have used them, who buried them and why.....that's part of the magic of collecting circulated coins.  They all have stories and we know this much but they can never tell them.  It's fun to theorize and speculate on what those untold stories may be.

[Coinbuf]

No time to keep up with all the thread this week, had to do them all at once.  

[Alex in PA.]

On 10/29/2021 at 5:15 PM, Mohawk said:

I'm that same way about my Roman coins..

I have been wanting to buy some Roman coins for my 5 year old nephew but I do't know which ones to buy.  Something large enough to see and nice visual.  Any suggestions?

[Alex in PA.]

On 10/29/2021 at 5:35 PM, Coinbuf said:

had to do them all at once. 

Beautiful Morgan.  

[Alex in PA.]

I don't care what shape a Morgan Dollar is; I like it.  That came in a perfect and exciting period in American history.  1878 to 1904.  Don't you ever wonder who handled that dollar.  Anyone from a clerk in a Philadelphia store to Teddy Roosevelt.

[Coinbuf]

Its hard to beat the feel of a Morgan dollar in your hand, the weight and as you say the history behind them.   While its true that many just sat in bank vaults and were only ever caressed by a canvas bag, some did circulate and it is fun to think about these being slid across the saloon bar or slipped into the corset of a working girl.

[Mohawk]

On 10/29/2021 at 5:49 PM, Alex in PA. said:

I have been wanting to buy some Roman coins for my 5 year old nephew but I do't know which ones to buy.  Something large enough to see and nice visual.  Any suggestions?

Hmmm....that's a good question.  The first thing my mind goes to is a sestertius, which would be 32-34mm in diameter. That said though....I don't know what your price range on this project is and sestertii can be a little expensive.  Asses and dupondii are also good sized copper coins.  They range from 27mm to 29mm and often cost less than a sestertius.  Another option would Constantinian bronzes.  They can often be purchased fairly inexpensively and the AE1's are over 25mm and the AE2's range from 21-25 mm.  You said something large enough to see, so my favorite, the denarius, is likely out of the running.  They're about the size of a cent or a dime, but they are silver, quite affordable and often extremely beautiful.  As for myself, I'm not a fan of the Constantinian bronzes as I like the more classical era of Roman history.  Another thing you have to consider is the ruler on the coin...that can make a huge difference in price.  I know that this is Wikipedia, but there's a good picture on the page that shows examples of the different denominations you will run across:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_currency

[Mohawk]

On 10/29/2021 at 6:00 PM, Alex in PA. said:

I don't care what shape a Morgan Dollar is; I like it.  That came in a perfect and exciting period in American history.  1878 to 1904.  Don't you ever wonder who handled that dollar.  Anyone from a clerk in a Philadelphia store to Teddy Roosevelt.

I guess for me personally, I don't feel the draw due to American history.....American history has never been an interest of mine. aside from the local history of New York State.  I'm much more into ancient history, as you might imagine from me.  But the Morgan is aesthetically pleasing and it is easily one of the best U.S. coin designs. So, I suppose I feel an aesthetic draw.  And my fiancée collects them, so I have a soft spot for them for that reason. 

Edited October 29, 2021 by Mohawk

[Alex in PA.]

On 10/29/2021 at 6:20 PM, Mohawk said:

I know that this is Wikipedia, but there's a good picture on the page that shows examples of the different denominations you will run across:

Got it and copied; thanks.

[CIII]

My wife collects with me, to some degree.  She would MUCH prefer a raw, historical period coin that she can hold in her hand, than a premium slabbed specimen.  She gets hers and I get mine.  We both are happy and I get to touch hers any time I want.  :-)

[MorganMan]

[Mohawk]

On 10/30/2021 at 10:34 PM, MorganMan said:

It's very nice to see a Morgan with an actual, genuine O mintmark and not a stupid privy mark.  I'm really down on those privy marks.  Thanks for sharing it!!

[Henri Charriere]

On 10/30/2021 at 10:47 PM, Mohawk said:

It's very nice to see a Morgan with an actual, genuine O mintmark and not a stupid privy mark.  I'm really down on those privy marks.  Thanks for sharing it!!

Ditto...  🐓 

[124Spider]

On 10/29/2021 at 3:05 PM, Coinbuf said:

Its hard to beat the feel of a Morgan dollar in your hand, the weight and as you say the history behind them.   While its true that many just sat in bank vaults and were only ever caressed by a canvas bag, some did circulate and it is fun to think about these being slid across the saloon bar or slipped into the corset of a working girl.

The only way I have yet found to beat the feel of a Morgan dollar in my hand is the feel of a bunch of them in my hand.  When I started collecting them, common dates in AU or low MS condition could be had at a local coin shop for just a few dollars over silver melt value.  I bought 16 of them one day.  It was pretty glorious!

Now I'm down to the last ten in the set, and they come much more expensive (and hence rarely).  But it's still exciting.  They certainly are my favorite coin--beautiful coins, old enough to be interesting, historically, and most still accessible without breaking the bank.

[124Spider]

On 10/30/2021 at 7:47 PM, Mohawk said:

It's very nice to see a Morgan with an actual, genuine O mintmark and not a stupid privy mark.  I'm really down on those privy marks.  Thanks for sharing it!!

I don't much care either way about the privy marks.  I just wish they had managed to make them as physically attractive as a real mint-state Morgan, instead of being coldly perfect.  I collect coins principally because of the romance of thinking about where that coin may have been during its life, and because they're pretty.  So, for a modern coin, "pretty" is the only draw.  I was thrilled with the ASE I got a month or so ago (I'm also a big fan of the walking Liberty half dollars), and had expected that these would have the same charm.  Alas, no; they're not ugly, by any means, but they don't have any punch (and I now have all five).  I'm holding out a tiny hope that somehow the Peace dollar is better (I also like the Peace dollars, which are very pretty to my eye in mint state or AU).

[Alex in PA.]

@MorganMan  Beautiful 83 O.  Agree with Mohawk; simply nice to see the real thing.

[Mohawk]

On 10/31/2021 at 2:05 PM, 124Spider said:

I don't much care either way about the privy marks.  I just wish they had managed to make them as physically attractive as a real mint-state Morgan, instead of being coldly perfect.  I collect coins principally because of the romance of thinking about where that coin may have been during its life, and because they're pretty.  So, for a modern coin, "pretty" is the only draw.  I was thrilled with the ASE I got a month or so ago (I'm also a big fan of the walking Liberty half dollars), and had expected that these would have the same charm.  Alas, no; they're not ugly, by any means, but they don't have any punch (and I now have all five).  I'm holding out a tiny hope that somehow the Peace dollar is better (I also like the Peace dollars, which are very pretty to my eye in mint state or AU).

That's a great way to put it, Mark.  They do lack punch.  Compared to an 1878-1921 issue, the 2021's are just......sterile.  Bland.  Plain.  Unexciting.  They lack the charm of the originals, in my opinion, but I'm not necessarily against the P,D and S issues, even with their flaws and sterility compared to the originals.  They are from a different era than the originals and the mintmarks on the D and S issues are the real deal...those coins were indeed struck at Denver and San Francisco.  The privy marked ones I am against, completely against.  They're not actual Carson City or New Orleans products.....they're Philadelphia coins with ersatz mintmarks and stupid looking ersatz mintmarks at that.  I think that the U.S. Mint could have and should have done a better job with these than they did, especially when they charged $85 a piece for them.  But the main thing I think is that the whole "CC" and "O" thing never should have happened. The Carson City and New Orleans mints are dead and have been for over a century.  Stupid privy marks on Philadelphia coins are no fitting tribute to those historical mints and their roles in Morgan dollar history.  If the U.S. Mint needed to issue Morgan dollars beyond the P, D and S issues, they should have done a 2021-W coin.  At least the W would be a real mintmark from an actual, functioning mint facility.

Edited October 31, 2021 by Mohawk

[Coinbuf]

Been working on photos of my 7070 raw coins, I have this one down for the sharpness and overall look but there is more color that I just have not been able to bring out yet.    Well I guess if my photos were perfect I would have nothing to work on.