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this market was virtually ignored coinsvalues and coinsvalues 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 they ranked high in categories 1. Beauty, 2.Quality, and 4. Price, in collectors'' minds they ranked extremely low in category 3. - Rarity. Therefore, 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 information was a tremendous boon to the successive coin struck from one of these dies would exhibit somewhat less cameo contrast than the coin before. Eventually, the intense pressure of die on planchet would wear the devices to the same smooth, brilliant appearance as the surrounding fields of the coin. These subsequent coins, brilliant proofs, have no discernible contrast between the devices and fields. They are also far more common than the earlier cameo strikes. In recognition of the collector demand for these cameos, the mint began experimenting with sandblasting techniques in the early-mid 1970''s which helped create a much more intense cameo effect. They also began chromeplating the dies to give them added durability. As a result of these new techniques, proof dies today can strike many hundreds of exceptional "black & white" cameos before they begin to wear. What is somewhat astonishing, however, is that if one is patient, and fortunate, one can occasionally find cameos minted from the earlier 1950 to 1970 era that possess the intense cameo contrast, coinsvalues quality, and eye-appeal of these later proofs! These very early strikes, depending on the year, are obviously quite rare. When one also considers the inferior nature of the proof
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