Lot 1675
1904-S Morgan Dollar. PCGS graded MS-64. The final issue of the long-lived Morgan dollar made from the original hubs (1921 coins are different), this S-mint rarity has long plagued ardent collectors who wanted a nice one. (Consider that it's worth five hundred bucks in AU!) Anyone can get one in some grade--it's not a coin of absolute rarity--but "nice" is the watchword among people who deal in and pursue a common series like this. So, finding a really, really nice AU isn't that easy. Get above the MS63 level and you start stumbling in your search. Which brings us to the presently offered coin. The "MS64" grade here does not sound all that exciting--who hasn't seen MS64 1880s S-mints that bore him? Or "MS64" rare dates marred by some big blemish, like a cavity down Liberty's jaw? Right. So you know what we mean. This 1904-S is graded MS64 but it's special, in our view. Some would call the brilliance "gray." That's patently unfair if applied to this piece. It's actually (take it out of that awful light and lift your magnifier for a moment) semi-prooflike, or glassy, in its surface qualities, with lightly dappled gray toning. Its cartwheel luster is strong. The strike's a touch soft but nothing to complain about. There's a minor scuff at the base of the eagle's breast, another on Liberty's cheek below the eye, but again these do not scream at you. We'd say this is mightily close to a Gem.
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| Realized $1,783 |
