1891 0 liberty dollar. looking for estimated value 0

[Lacywebb]

hello, If anyone who knows about these coins would be willing to take a look and give me an rough estimated value?  Just for my personal information.. thanks! Id say it might be grade ms 64 ish? thank You!

[Fenntucky Mike]

I'd say it's worth melt, or close to it, but on ebay these are selling for around $40 in similar condition. I'd put the grade at around F, maybe low VF.

[RWB]

As Fenntucky Mike noted, the coin grades Fine or so, and is not remotely close to uncirculated. It has also been scrubbed as shown by the fine scratches on the obverse (front). It's not something for which a coin collector would pay a premium over its silver content.

[Coinbuf]

  It is very sad that people ruin coins like this one, @Lacywebb why would you think this coin is in any way uncirculated?   The coin has fine details but has been harshly scrubbed and all the numismatic value has been stripped away, leaving a details coin with a value that is no more than the value of the silver in the coin.   If you can get someone to pay you $40 take it and run before the buyer changes his mind, this poor coin is only worth $25 give or take a buck depending on the spot price of silver.

[Just Bob]

Here is a link to one of the grading sites on the web that uses pictures to which you can compare your coin. The pictures on this site don't enlarge, but you should be able to compare yours and come up with a very close grade. Hint: it will not be MS64. 

https://coinauctionshelp.com/coincollectingapps/coin-types-identification-cart-lite/us-large-dollar-morgan-photograde-lite/

Edited March 8, 2022 by Just Bob
Typo

[RWB]

Here's a typical MS-64 1891-O dollar. High point detail is flat as is commonly the case with New Orleans dollars. (Photos from Heritage Auctions.)

Edited March 8, 2022 by RWB

[Lacywebb]

oh dang! thank you for the information... that ms 64 is beautiful wow!

 

[Lacywebb]

i guess i never realized how much detail the coin has wow how cool!

[JKK]

On 3/7/2022 at 7:10 PM, Lacywebb said:

i guess i never realized how much detail the coin has wow how cool!

A lot of evaluation is looking for the high points. Sometimes it's strike weakness, for example, where the full detail was never present; that can look like wear, but is not. You have seen that when you compare your coin to the real deal, it has lost so much detail that it's in the lower grading tier. If it were rare, it'd be worth something, but it's not. Another important thing is to look for the cleaning, which this coin very clearly appears whizzed (abrasively cleaned). Some cleaned coins are whizzed, and some are chemically cleaned. A few are both, which is a special grade of hideous.

To help yourself away from misunderstanding, burn this into your knowledge base: shiny does not automatically equal good. While you might have figured that out by now, notice that the brightness of your coin is unnatural; that is, for its level of wear, it's not the right color. Cleaning tends to cause that. So when you see a coin that looks shiny, look for the detail. Likewise, when you see a coin that looks dull or dark, look for the detail. It might shock you to learn that a very tarnished example of your coin, with full detail, could well be mint state (as in uncirculated). Happens with copper all the time, since Cu is very reactive (including, of course, the Cu that is alloyed with Ag to make your coin).

Detail, detail, detail. For example, a nice Morgan would have details on the cotton leaves and bolls (in her hair), and you'd be able to see some breast feathers on the bird. A lightly struck Morgan could be missing some of that. We look at the detail. If you glance at Roger's example, you'll see weakness on the hair above her ear, some on the cotton, and very much on the eagle's breast. How does one know that those are not wear? The fields are part of the detail. If the coin were circulated, there'd be all sorts of microscratches in the fields. As it stands, Roger's example has attractive fields free of wear (what you are seeing on her cheek and the field by it are bag marks).

When you know what ought to be there, you can see what is not, and then assess whether that absence represents wear or weakness. That will take you very far in coin collecting.

[RWB]

On 3/7/2022 at 10:10 PM, Lacywebb said:

i guess i never realized how much detail the coin has wow how cool!

It's easy to miss the detail if you don't have high quality examples for comparison. NGC has a photo gallery of coins by date/mint with some excellent pictures.

Keep looking and keep asking questions.

Edited March 8, 2022 by RWB