1884-O $1 Morgan Silver Dollar PCGS MS65+DMPL (CAC)

Historically, the Morgan dollars that emanated from the New Orleans Mint have been the most poorly struck and, to put it as diplomatically as possible, not very attractive. Some years ago, this writer possessed a PCGS graded 1884-O MS63. I purchased it online because I found the obverse toning to be pretty. However, upon receiving the coin I noticed that the strike was flat (to put it mildly). Actually, it looked like Miss Liberty had gotten into a bar fight and had been knocked around quite a bit.

However, it is quite a different story with the Deep Mirror Proof Like silver dollars from the New Orleans Mint. They can be breathtaking, as is this offering of an MS65+ DMPL (CAC) from AUCM. Take a look at the photos of this absolutely stunning piece of numismatic art. Icy frost blankets the devices, while the fields remind one of a watery mountain lake. Out of its original mintage of 9,730,000, there have been 2,523 of them graded DMPL by PCGS. From among that number, PCGS has graded 16 as MS65+ DMPL with 74 finer. In CAC, there are 39 in MS65/65+ DMPL with only 16 finer. Imagine—just imagine owning this truly “Wow” coin!

The New Orleans Mint, where this piece was minted in 1884. Image: neworleanshistorical.org.