Online sellers, lower-tier holders and clueless consignors sometimes designate cleaned and polished silver coins as prooflike or even deep mirror prooflike.
First, some definitions, from PCGS:
Prooflike (PL) – PCGS designates Prooflike for coins that grade MS60 or better and show clear reflectivity, i.e. mirrored surfaces at a distance of two to four inches. If the cartwheel effect or striations cause an area to lose clarity, the designation will not apply.
Deep Mirror Prooflike (DMPL) – PCGS designates Deep Mirror Prooflike for Morgan Dollars that grade MS60 or better and show deep reflectivity, i.e. deeply mirrored surfaces. The differences between PL and DMPL is one of degree.
Polished coins (essentially now silver melt) may reflect four or even more inches. But they have a distinct unnatural look, as in this 1921 Morgan reverse:
Compare that with a real DMPL Morgan Reverse, this with cameo devices:
This near-prooflike 1881-S Morgan below is erroneously billed as deep mirror. It has a nice cartwheel surface, and probably is gem, retailing for about $215. A DMPL at that grade would be worth $1,150. Small wonder he wants just $390.
Bidders should be skeptical about the DMPL designation on lower-tier holdering companies. This one below is cleaned and artificially toned, in my view, not worthy of a grade in a PCGS or NGC holder:
The trick is to know how DMPL looks in a top holder and to compare it to a raw coin offered on HiBid. This is DMPL, both sides:
Normally I would bid on this one, calculating the grade at MS64 DMPL. Those are selling at major auction houses for around $400. The bid on this coin already is at $220 with four days to go before hammer. With mailing and buyer’s fee, I would be at $320 on a $260 bid. If you calculate $45 for PCGS holdering, that already puts the coin near auction-selling prices.
So I won’t bid.
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