What is this Black mark on my 1879-S Morgan?

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ccharin
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What is this Black mark on my 1879-S Morgan?

#1 Unread post by ccharin »

I have seen these on Morgans before and right now I have one that is a mystery. From afar it looks like someone took a sharpie marker and hit the coin with it by mistake. However, under a loop it looks like paint. I have seen these before on Morgans. I wanted to reach out to your smart and wiser coin dudes and see if you know what this is from? My imagination pictures some dude back in the day at the mint using a dirty shovel and this is a mark from a dirty shovel scraping the coin. However, under the loop I don't see damage. It is not from a wax pen either. Driving me a little crazy since this coin would look real awesome without the black scar on it. I do have this listed on Ebay if someone wants to buy it. Item number is 334304190012.
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Re: What is this Black mark on my 1879-S Morgan?

#2 Unread post by SensibleSal66 »

Sorry. I'll pass on the whole thing. I think a bath in Pure 100% acetone will show you that's it's removeable..
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Re: What is this Black mark on my 1879-S Morgan?

#3 Unread post by Daniel »

It's an impurity in the planchet alloy. I've seen this a few times and it can't be removed and it distracts from the eye appeal of the coin.

Purely guessing here. Personally I always thought it was a piece of saw dust struck into the coin and from the strike and years of exposure, turned black, but that is a GUESS on my part!!

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Re: What is this Black mark on my 1879-S Morgan?

#4 Unread post by Earle42 »

You can try PURE acetone as Sal mentioned. The acetone cannot alter the metal of the coin in any way, so it is perfectly safe to use. Just don't rub or scrub it! And after the bath, there is no reason to rinse it. The acetone will 100% evaporate form the surface leaving nothing foreign behind.
Common grading company shortcomings & resulting co$tly mi$take$ to collectors (using Kennedy No FG halves):
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Re: What is this Black mark on my 1879-S Morgan?

#5 Unread post by ccharin »

Acetone did not work and I let it soak for 15 min per the 100% acetone instructions. I also tried alcohol to make sure it was not sharpie. It has tints of brown around the mark and under a scope it looks like paint. Thank you for your fast replies. I appreciate the help.

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Re: What is this Black mark on my 1879-S Morgan?

#6 Unread post by Daniel »

I literally handle Morgans with these marks weekly, graded and ungraded. I've examined them under the scope, tried to remove them in the past, so I knew it would not come off. It can't it's a planchet impurity. It is always going to look like this. I don't know why my answer was ignored here.

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Re: What is this Black mark on my 1879-S Morgan?

#7 Unread post by Paul »

"I don't know why my answer was ignored here."

....... I do
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Re: What is this Black mark on my 1879-S Morgan?

#8 Unread post by Earle42 »

I don't know why my answer was ignored here.
When I loaded this post, yours was not yet there Daniel. My habit is to load many "Unread post" tabs at a time and then work my way down through them. Had I seen yours, I would not have put up my acetone note. The only one showing at the time was Sal's.
Common grading company shortcomings & resulting co$tly mi$take$ to collectors (using Kennedy No FG halves):
https://tinyurl.com/y7rksxu8

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Re: What is this Black mark on my 1879-S Morgan?

#9 Unread post by ccharin »

Coin sold for $130.00 on Ebay 2/1/22. Thank you for your help guys. On to the next one. You guys are amazing and I really appreciate the massive brain power in this community that Daniel and others have created.

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Re: What is this Black mark on my 1879-S Morgan?

#10 Unread post by josephcolorado »

Daniel wrote: Thu Jan 27, 2022 7:32 am I literally handle Morgans with these marks weekly, graded and ungraded. I've examined them under the scope, tried to remove them in the past, so I knew it would not come off. It can't it's a planchet impurity. It is always going to look like this. I don't know why my answer was ignored here.
Would a coin like this grade, do you think? I would think so if the "blemish" is part of the planchet/minting process, even though it's an impurity, yes?
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Re: What is this Black mark on my 1879-S Morgan?

#11 Unread post by Daniel »

I can't predict grades looking at images, you can't be sure what the grading companies will do.

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Re: What is this Black mark on my 1879-S Morgan?

#12 Unread post by josephcolorado »

Daniel wrote: Sun Feb 06, 2022 11:16 pm I can't predict grades looking at images, you can't be sure what the grading companies will do.
I need to be more mindful of what I am asking. For that, I apologize. I will work on being more clear.

What I am trying to ask is: not this particular coin...the subject of impurities in the planchet, in general. Have you ever seen how visible impurities in the planchet are typically handled by grading companies? From what I understand, damage outside the mint can warrant a "details" grade. But what about inside the mint? Impurities in the planchet wouldn't be considered damage, as they occured inside the mint (or where ever the planchets were manufactured). Am I thinking straight about this subject of impurities in the coin itself during minting? Thanks.
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Re: What is this Black mark on my 1879-S Morgan?

#13 Unread post by Daniel »

It's not considered damaged and depends on how distracting this would be to know if the grade would be effected.

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