"BU" 1921 Peace dollar . Update 1 1

[Ohnoimbroke]

I seemed to have got this from my local pawn shop today . This is the coin I was talking about . 

[EagleRJO]

I believe this is the coin discussed in a previous topic here ... https://boards.ngccoin.com/topic/430247-brilliant-uncirculated-totally-lost/#comment-9838576

That Brilliant Uncirculated or BU adjectival grade coin is a mint state coin without any defects, where to save some money the dealer didn't request a number grade.  I have almost all raw coins in my collection, with the vast number of them (both raw and slabbed) being BU grade.

That is fine by me as I really don't care if a paper label says BU, MS62 or MS66.  It is all about how the coin looks and if I really like it, not about what some number conveying someone's opinion says on a label.  I collect coins and not labels.

I have a bunch of similar BU graded Morgan dollars in my collection like the attached, which I only purchased slabbed because I really like the holders which seemed to fit with the period the Morgan's were issued as a little bit of a back-story for them.  They would be lower end numerical grade MS coins, but again it's not about a number for me.

Bottom line is if you are happy with the coin, not what is on some paper label.

 

Edited March 7, 2023 by EagleRJO

[Coinbuf]

Looks like a TV seller promotional type of label, unusual for a 21 peace dollar but it is what it is.

[RWB]

It's a 1921 Peace dollar. From the photos, it does not appear to be uncirculated. These used to be called "sliders."

[EagleRJO]

Just a generic label and adjectival grade from a bulk submission, where it would likely be a lower end numeric MS grade since it was below a grading cut-off by the dealer.

I just noticed it has a stage coach label, which I agree doesn't seem to fit with a 1921 Peace dollar.  And it seems to be missing a certification number, which it should have if graded BU by PCG$,

Edited March 6, 2023 by EagleRJO

[“”]

Depending upon what you paid, I would try and get it graded I would get it graded. The coin is worth worth considerably more the grading fee.

Edited March 7, 2023 by Simple Collector

[powermad5000]

1921 was the transition year for the silver dollar when the Mint coined both Morgans and Peace Dollars in the same year. When it came to the 1921 Peace Dollar, the mint tried to go to a high relief of the coins in an attempt to get the dies to last longer. This didn't work out so well as the high relief affected the details of the images on the obverse in particular near the center of the coin at the high points of the hair and also at the top of the eagles right wing on the reverse. Depending on the overall wear of the dies at the time of the strike, more than just those areas can be affected.

Being that is a PCGS holder, I am not sure if they number the slabs when it comes to the generic BU designation. Now that you have provided the images to the coin in question, I do think it is a low end MS (60 most likely) and currently is realizing about $550 in the marketplace. By the PCGS grading standards they are saying that is its minimum anyway.

I like to see a grade number on my slabs because I am just like that, but even at the resale point of your slab, your ask would be for MS 60 price, and I don't remember what you paid for it in the first place, but it may not be worth spending the extra $80-100 overall cost just to get a 60 something number back. The price in the guides doesn't jump much until you hit MS 62 level where it goes from $600 for a 61 to $900 for a 62. The only other thing that I would have even more reservations about sending that slab in for an actual number grade is the coin in that holder looks cleaned to me. I also don't know if PCGS cares about a cleaned coin when attributing the generic Brilliant Uncirculated designation, but I think if you sent it in it would come back details cleaned which for collectors that would lower its value down somewhere in the low AU or more likely XF range when trying to sell it. My humble opinion is to let that sleeping dog lie and leave it in the slab it is in.

[RWB]

On 3/7/2023 at 2:17 AM, powermad5000 said:

When it came to the 1921 Peace Dollar, the mint tried to go to a high relief of the coins in an attempt to get the dies to last longer.

The original design models were in high relief, and dies did not last very long. After 1921, several tests were made to try to get better die life, but all failed. That led to having the sculptor remodel the design in lower relief. {See A Guide Book for Peace Dollars for facts.]

[EagleRJO]

On 3/7/2023 at 2:17 AM, powermad5000 said:

When it came to the 1921 Peace Dollar, the mint tried to go to a high relief of the coins in an attempt to get the dies to last longer.

Actually, the US mint and designers of the coin wanted a high-relief so that it would be an exceptionally deep and boldly struck coin.  But high-relief coins are more difficult to strike requiring significantly more force.  This wore out dies much more quickly.

For example only 25,000 1921 High-Relief Peace dollars could be struck with a pair of dies, compared with 200,000 Morgan dollars being struck with a pair of dies that same year.  This, along with banks having difficulty stacking these coins, prompted the design change as noted by RWB.

[Ohnoimbroke]

Thank yous for all the info . I am glad I got it .

[EagleRJO]

On 3/7/2023 at 12:15 PM, Ohnoimbroke said:

Thank yous for all the info . I am glad I got it .

If you find it interesting I would check out the guide book on Peace dollars referenced above by Roger W. Burdette (RWB on this forum).  I bet you didn't think you would get replies to questions about your coin by one of if not the foremost experts on Peace dollars and author of the Red Book guide on those coins.

Edited March 7, 2023 by EagleRJO

[Ohnoimbroke]

I've been trying to look for another one of these . I think it's from the " Wells Fargo hoard " I can't find anything . I see a 1922 & Morgan's  . I really appreciate all the info I've been getting . Nice education .