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  1. 03-09-2006 10:45 AM #1
    LaureninPA
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    Question 1881 Dollars? Photos but i know nothing else..lol

    My late boyfriend had a box with a few coins in it, including these. Are they worth anything or are they too dirty? I know nothing about coins at all, so i have no idea if your coins have to be perfect looking to be worth more or if they are like furniture and the patina is a good thing?

    Anyway i was looking around the forum, pretty interesting stuff. IF they arent worth anything its fine, ill just keep them. They are pretty cool looking. Thanks for helping.


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  2. 03-09-2006 11:03 AM #2
    vipergts2
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    Morgans

    They are fine looking Morgan dollars, and definitely worth more as is . cleaning will kill the value. I would say they are worth about $20 each.
    Last edited by vipergts2; 03-09-2006 at 11:05 AM.

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  3. 03-09-2006 11:21 AM #3
    dgoose50
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    If you like them,keep them. they are worth more to you as a rememberence than you can sell them for.DON'T clean them.Silver dollars are a great coin to collect; you can use them as a basis for the start of a good collection.
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  4. 03-09-2006 02:38 PM #4
    Mikjo0
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    Lauren,
    they are right. NEVER clean a coin.Your furniture analogy is dead on.If you take a colonial era chair worth $2000,strip off the finish and apply a new one,you have a $400 chair if you're lucky.Same is true for coins.
    Your three 1881 Morgans are all in pretty good shape,all minted in New Orleans,and the top right one has a hint of rainbow toning on the face..beautiful to some collectors.
    Unless you have no attachment to them,I wouldn't sell.They're worth $18-28 each and that's not a lot of money.
    Here is a bit of history on them
    http://www.pcgs.com/articles/article2765.chtml
    Last edited by Mikjo0; 03-09-2006 at 02:41 PM.

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  5. 03-09-2006 08:21 PM #5
    LaureninPA
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    thanks for the article! that was pretty intesting! Can i ask how you know they are minted in New Orleans? i didnt see any marks on them saying anything so i guess there is a special way you "coin specialists" know...

    I dont think they were that special to him, but $20 isnt that much money so i think ill just keep them around. Is there any special way i should keep them? or just keep them whereever?

    I like that they are nice and dirty actually. If they were shiny and new they wouldnt have any history. I can imagine that someone used these coins in 1881 to buy something. And I can imagine how much these 3 would buy back then! Pretty cool!

    Thanks for all your help!
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  6. 03-09-2006 08:27 PM #6
    Becky
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    Welcome!! Sorry to hear about your boyfriend.

    The mint mark is on the reverse above the D and O of DOLLAR. It's an O for New Orleans.
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  7. 03-09-2006 10:07 PM #7
    Mikjo0
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    If you have any coin shops in your area,pick up either "flips",plastic flipover sleeves,"2x2's",cardboard squares with a clear plastic center or "airtights",hard plastic round snap lock containers with a circle of black plastic foam that hugs the coin inside.Otherwise,just do a Google search for any of these terms along with "coin" and you'll find lots of online dealers.
    As for the relative value of a dollar in 1881,I was surprised to learn that it was only about $18-$29,enough for a steak dinner or a room for the night in a hotel.Here's my source.
    http://mykindred.com/cloud/TX/Docume...llar/usdtl.htm
    Here's a place where you can enter in any dollar value for up to year 2005 and then the relative value for any year going back to 1665 (U.S. dollars back to 1789) http://eh.net/hmit/ppowerusd/
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    Last edited by Mikjo0; 03-09-2006 at 11:47 PM.

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  8. 03-09-2006 10:23 PM #8
    GDJMSP
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    Howdy Lauren - Welcome to the Forum !!

    Like the the others have said, if it were me I would probably keep the coins. I would definitely get some coin holders for them though. As for value, I think it would be closer to $100 each if the coins were graded and slabbed.

    knowledge ..... share it
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  9. 03-10-2006 08:36 AM #9
    LaureninPA
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    thanks again for the info. We do have a local coin shop. I wasnt sure if i had went there and asked if they would be truthful if they were worth alot of money. Maybe that isnt the case. I will stop in there and get something to put them in. Im sure the people in the sihp will be able to tell me what i need,

    GDJMSP - What makes you think more $? how do you get them "graded"? I understand that coins are graded but i dont really understand or understand how its done. Do you have to get a coin person to do it for you and like certify it?

    Thanks again
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  10. 03-10-2006 10:35 AM #10
    Mikjo0
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    You need to submit them to one of these top 4 grading services.PCGS,however requires membership and I'm not sure if it's free or not.You can find out on the website.Each company has good instructions for preparing and shipping them,including insurance.Doug or Speedy can tell you which one is best for your particular coins.

    http://www.ngccoin.com/
    http://www.pcgs.com/
    http://www.anacs.com/
    http://www.icgcoin.com/
    Last edited by Mikjo0; 03-10-2006 at 10:38 AM.

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  11. 03-10-2006 01:29 PM #11
    Speedy
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    For Morgan dollars I think NGC is harder.....see what GDJMSP says....

    Speedy

    Coin collecting is the only hobby in the world that you can spend all the money in the world and still have some left over
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  12. 03-10-2006 08:55 PM #12
    GDJMSP
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    I think they are worth more because I believe the coins have a shot at being graded as MS64. Yes - I would go along with recommending NGC. If the local dealer is an NGC dealer, he can submit them for you. You have to pay the grading fees of course.

    knowledge ..... share it
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