Most attractive U.S. silver coin
Reid Goldsborough
its subtitle the statement that Morgan dollars are "widely considered
America's most attractive silver coin." Huh? Widely considered by a
small majority maybe. <g>
Morgans are highly collectable because they're big silver coins, are
affordable, present collectors with lots of varieties, and have
interesting natural (and artificial) toning possibilities. But not
because of their aesthetics.
If you were to do a poll of collectors, there's no way in the world
that the Morgan would top the Walker in terms of attractiveness. Not
even close. And there are a number of other U.S. silver coins that, I
suspect, would also come out far ahead of the Morgan for
attractiveness.
I wonder what's behind the Numismatist's statement.
--
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Voltronicus
wrote:
> The "Internet Connections" column in this month's Numismatist has as
> its subtitle the statement that Morgan dollars are "widely considered
> America's most attractive silver coin." Huh? Widely considered by a
> small majority maybe. <g>
>
> Morgans are highly collectable because they're big silver coins, are
> affordable, present collectors with lots of varieties, and have
> interesting natural (and artificial) toning possibilities. But not
> because of their aesthetics.
>
> If you were to do a poll of collectors, there's no way in the world
> that the Morgan would top the Walker in terms of attractiveness. Not
> even close. And there are a number of other U.S. silver coins that, I
> suspect, would also come out far ahead of the Morgan for
> attractiveness.
I agree that the Morgan is far from the most attractive silver coin.
I find the design of the Peace dollar more pleasing.
The Walking Liberty half, the Mercury dime and the Standing Liberty
quarter are all more attractive, IMO.
De gustibus non est disputandem
1787
Agreed. Morgan and Barber were great in their day, but I'm a Weinman and
Hermon fan for sure. Such elegant designs.
W.
oly
>
> - Show quoted text -
A. Weinman simply lifted his W.L. design from Oscar Roty's "La
Seumeuse".
oly
Voltronicus
Irrespective of its source, the Walker is a beautiful coin.
I'm old enough to remember getting them in change and, even as a
child, I could appreciate their beauty.
Reid Goldsborough
> its subtitle the statement that Morgan dollars are "widely considered
> America's most attractive silver coin." Huh? Widely considered by a
> small majority maybe. <g>
The above should have read, "Widely considered by a small minority
maybe." Anyway, again, it might be interesting to hear what was behind
this statement. Was this just a typo, like mine? Nah.
Aesthetics is always interesting in its subjectivity and debatability.
But here we're dealing not with an opinion of what any given person
believes but with with a factual statement about what collectors
widely believe.
tony cooper
<reidgold...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>On Oct 2, 11:56 pm, Reid Goldsborough <reidgoldsboro...@yahoo.com>
>wrote:
>> The "Internet Connections" column in this month's Numismatist has as
>> its subtitle the statement that Morgan dollars are "widely considered
>> America's most attractive silver coin." Huh? Widely considered by a
>> small majority maybe. <g>
>
>The above should have read, "Widely considered by a small minority
>maybe." Anyway, again, it might be interesting to hear what was behind
>this statement. Was this just a typo, like mine? Nah.
>
>Aesthetics is always interesting in its subjectivity and debatability.
>But here we're dealing not with an opinion of what any given person
>believes but with with a factual statement about what collectors
>widely believe.
Seems to me that it is a factual statement of what the column author's
opinion is on what is widely believed.
--
Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida
Mike Marotta
When I saw the title of this thread, the first thought I had was
"Walker" and then I thought a bit more and considered the 3-cent
silver but moving back in time, settled on the Draped Bust Dollar
(1795-1798) with Willing Annie on the obverse. Then I read the post.
Well, what was I thinking when I wrote that? Obviously, I wasn't
thinking of my own preferences.
It just seemed intuitive to me that most collectors of American coins
feel that the Morgan Dollar is full, rich and balanced. Even in my
own estimate, while Ann Willing Bingham might be prettier than the
Schoolteacher, Anna Willess Williams, the Eagle on the Morgan just
rakes the feathers off that scrawny chicken on the Draped Bust. The
Morgan also nicely fills the fields with mottoes and legends. The
Morgan delivers a lot to look at.
Again, for myself, I can give higher marks to the Peace -- but only
for the first year of issue. Once Old George Morgan whacked the
galvano with a board it as not the same coin -- which is why the
designer himself -- Anthony DeFrancisci -- criticized the final
product in the pages of the Numismatist to be joined in that by Farran
Zerbe who usually gets credit (wrongfully: it was Frank G. Duffield)
for initiating the call for the Peace Dollar. (More details about the
Peace Dollar here: http://www.coin-gallery.com/cgmarotta2.htm)
You would be challenged to find a single American coin without any
mavens willing to fight for its honor. That said, in the absence of a
truly valid poll, I stand by my claim that the Morgan dollar is
"widely considered to be Amierca's most attractive silver coin."
Mike Marotta
> I wonder what's behind the Numismatist's statement.
It is nice to know that someone actually reads the column.
1787
I read it each month and I enjoy it. Too bad it's not longer...
W.
Reid Goldsborough
> When I saw the title of this thread, the first thought I had was
> "Walker" and then I thought a bit more and considered the 3-cent
> silver but moving back in time, settled on the Draped Bust Dollar
> (1795-1798) with Willing Annie on the obverse. Then I read the post.
> Well, what was I thinking when I wrote that? Obviously, I wasn't
> thinking of my own preferences.
I'd say, at least in this case, your own preferences are a lot more in
line with the preferences of collectors in the aggregate than what you
feel their preferences are.
Just from reading online groups such as this it's clear that more
collectors think Walkers and Peace dollars are more attractive than
Morgans, by a long shot, and Draped Bust coins, Standing Liberty
quarters, and Mercury dimes by a lesser shot. I don't doubt that a
more formal poll would also reveal the same, or the similar.
Agreed that there are always exceptions, that you can find individuals
who would argue for just about any coin type as being the most this or
the most that.