The Deep Mirror Proof Like Morgan Dollar
A lot of people get into rare coin investments not because of some fascination with American or world numismatics history, not because they’re a huge fan of Augustus Saint Gaudens rare coins and sculpture designs, but simply because rare gold coins are an excellent way to keep your investment money safe during times of economic strife.
And it’s true, when you purchase St. Gaudens coins, you have not only the actual gold value of those coins, but the actual collector’s value, as well, and while today’s newly minutes Saint Gaudens and Morgan silver dollars don’t really have huge collector value beyond their metal content, it’s likely that they will, someday.
That said, you simply cannot buy rare coins without falling into the cultural side of coin collecting, getting wrapped up in the history, the stories, the gorgeous art that adorns the Lady Liberty rare coins. The fact is, this stuff is just too interesting to ignore. When you purchase rare coins, you start out as an investor, and quickly become a die hard collector
Even within just the Morgan Dollars, there’s a whole lot of interesting lore regarding various mints. For example, the Deep Mirror Proof Like, or DMPL Morgan Dollar. These rare coins were most commonly struck in the pre-1883 San Francisco run of Morgan Dollars. The resulting coin has a mirror-like, unusually reflective surface.
The thing is; the rarer the coin, the more money it tends to be worth. The history comes from how and why the coin is, in fact, rare. That’s where the interesting stories in coin investing come from, and if you’re a dedicated investor, you will, sooner or later, collect not only the coins, but the stories behind them.
In fact, the Morgan Dollar has quite a few different varieties, such as the Doubled Obverse “Hot Lips” coin. On this 1888 coin, the obverse was accidentally struck twice. You also have the 1888 Scarface, the Shifted Eagle Double Reverse from the 1901 Philadelphia striking, and on and on.
How likely are you to find any of these rarities? To be completely honest, not very. They are out there, but the majority of the existing coins are in private collections. Still, it’s that hunting and searching for something rare, something that hasn’t seen the light of day in the numismatics community in years, that keeps coin investors not only protecting their assets with rare currency, but hoping to find what may well be buried gold.
Don’t forget, your rare coins are worth more than just their metal value. In fact, it’s the value a coin has as a rarity that tends to only keep climbing over time. If you look at the history of any specific rare coin that’s been bought and resold at various auctions, you’ll notice that, in each new auction, the coin tends to fetch a higher price than it did in the previous auction.
It’s a good idea to keep the majority of your savings in something like newly minted St. Guadens, but supplementing that with some precious finds is always a good idea, as truly rare coins tend only to go up over time.
Joseph Morton
April 11, 2009
