1886-O Morgan dollar with AU-58 grade alternative to MS purchase

The 1886-O Morgan dollar is a tough coin in Mint State grades, placing pressure on AU-58 examples like this one, with a CAC sticker, that sold for $363 on Dec. 21, 2014.

Images courtesy of GreatCollections.com

About Uncirculated 58 is a grade that can be confusing for collectors. It means that a coin does not grade Mint State in that it has some wear on the high points or a bit too much rub in the fields. AU-58 coins can show a wide-range of quality, and many can sell for more than lower-grade Mint State grades such as MS-60, MS-61 and MS-62.

Sometimes particularly nice AU-58 coins are called “AU-62” in that they appear Mint State (even though they aren’t). GreatCollections.com Dec. 22, 2014, auction of more than 70 coins graded AU-58 and with a green CAC sticker tested the market. 

Here is one of three AU-58 Morgan dollars Coin World is profiling in this week's Market Analysis:

The coin: 1886-O Morgan dollar, AU-58, CAC

The price: $363

The story: The 1886-O Morgan dollar is a tricky coin. It has a high mintage of 10,710,000 pieces and in well-circulated grades is considered a common coin. Its scarcity starts in grades of AU-50 and in Mint State is a very tough coin. In MS-64 and MS-65 it is a rarity, with Professional Coin Grading Service registering 213 at the MS-64 level, although many of those are likely resubmissions hoping for an MS-65 grade. PCGS has graded just two in MS-65, with one selling for $152,750 at a Heritage auction last year. 

The price from AU-58 to MS-61 jumps nearly 300 percent, placing pressure on high-quality AU-58 examples. 

The piece from the Capuano Collection in AU-58 with a green Certified Acceptance Corp. sticker is a solid, budget-minded alternative to a low-level Mint State piece for a collector, and it brought $363. 

That price is substantially more than similarly graded examples without a CAC sticker have brought at recent auctions, with a PCGS AU-58 (non-CAC) example selling for $217.38 at a Dec. 9, 2014, Heritage auction. That example had several marks on the cheek (a prime focal area on the coin), which may have turned off potential buyers as PCGS AU-58 examples typically bring $260 to $300 at auction.

Read the rest of this Market Analysis:

1884-S Morgan dollar with rare AU-58+ grade brings $5,500 at auction

AU-58 1880-S Morgan dollar actually rarer than several Mint State grades

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