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involved "acid-dipping" the dies before they were polished. The solution used during the 1950 to 1970 period, a bath consisting of 5% clean coins nitric acid/95% water, was used to create an acid-etched appearance on the die. when the die was subsequently polished and buffed, the recessed portions of the die, the devices, retained their acid-etched cameo. the very first strikes off one of these new dies would possess a gorgeous, intense cameo effect very similar in quality to the proofs minted today. the raised portions of these early strikes, coins the devices (on the franklin half, these would be the bust of franklin, the lettering, and date on the obverse, and the liberty bell, eagle, and lettering on the reverse) would display a snow-white cameo effect that would stand in stark contrast to the deep-mirrored fields clean surrounding them. the flawless, jewel-like quality of the best of these coins cameos almost look like clean works of art rather than mere coins! indeed, to most collectors, these coins are works coins of art! the frosted devices of these early cameo dies were quite delicate - one could easily scratch a bit of frost from the die with one''s fingernail, and were the first part of the die to wear. each this market was virtually ignored 30 years ago. what brought it to prominence? quite simply, information was made available that resonated with the collecting public. at that time, high grade morgan dollars were not even considered worth collecting by many numismatists, because they were thought to be so plentiful. in other words, though clean they ranked high in categories 1. beauty, 2.quality, and 4. price, in collectors'' coins minds they ranked extremely low in category 3. - rarity. therefore, clean their desirability as a collectible was thought to be limited. however, several landmark books were published on morgan dollars in the 1970''s and early 1980''s which educated the collecting public on many aspects of the morgan dollar series they were not aware of. probably the most significant of these books, wayne miller''s "the morgan and peace dollar textbook", was the first book that provided an in-depth date-by-date analysis of this series along with photographs. significantly, miller was one of the first authors to estimate a date''s rarity not only in uncirculated condition, but also in gem ms 65 uncirculated condition, and gem ms 65 prooflike condition. this new coins information was a tremendous boon to the
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