The Tail End of the Morgan Dollar Series
In a past column or two, we have taken a glance at the Morgan dollar series but have repeatedly commented even at our first look that it is a huge one and can tolerate some close scrutiny. The series first came out in 1878, in a big way, and did so from several mints. The folks in Philadelphia pounded out an impressive number, and the New Orleans branch mint added quite a bit to the total. But collectors always seem to be in love with the “S” mintmark of San Francisco and pretty much swoon over the “CC” mintmark of the short-lived Carson City branch. The entire series came to an end in 1904 but then was resurrected in 1921, where the “D” of a young Denver branch mint found a place. In looking into the Morgan dollars, and in recognizing that they have been collector favorites for decades, we have been quick to point out that high-end pieces, including any of the proofs, are routinely not going to be bargains. But right now let’s dig into the tail end of the series and see if there may just be some bargains among these big, silver discs.
We have often commented that a price point is necessary when hunting for bargains and noted that $100 certainly qualifies, especially when dealing with classic United States silver. Right away we’ll say that some of the higher Mint State grades of Morgan dollars – those at MS-65 and above – will always be far above this. But this area is close to where we want to look. Since the Morgan dollars are listed and priced at virtually every possible numeric grade of Mint State, from MS-60 to at least MS-66 (and maybe higher!), let’s see if there are some decent jumping-off points when it comes to prices.
Turn of the Century – the 19th to the 20th, That Is
As the 19th century was getting old, the production of Morgan dollars was generally robust. But there is a caveat when using official tallies and records to determine how many Morgan dollars are out there for any given year, and thus how expensive they might be. That is: the melts. There has been more than one time in the past decades when silver spiked in price, and folks brought plenty of it in to have it melted. This happened most recently in the early 1980s. People were even bringing in old black- and-white photographs, since it is a silver-based salt that creates the images. But with this in mind, it’s worth looking at dollars like the 1897, or the 1898 and 1898- O, or the 1899- O to see just how much they might set us back. Good news is that in a grade such as MS-63, all the just-mentioned coins tend to cost $100 or less. That’s not bad for a good-looking Morgan dollar, as most of the MS-63 pieces are quite attractive. Yes, we’ll concede that these are not the MS-65 grade for which so many folks seem to yearn. But since most of us buy these in some third-party, certified holder, what’s really worth looking at is the eye appeal of a particular example.
In better news, if we opted to go for any of the four coins we just listed as MS-62 specimens, the prices really plummet. Now they are usually going to be something like $60-$70 each. Aficionados can argue that the strike, the luster and the details of an MS-62 Morgan dollar are not as good as those with higher grades. But if we are honest with ourselves, it’s often difficult to distinguish one Mint State grade from the other. If we are looking for quality silver dollars at decent prices, what we have outlined here can be very attractive.
The Early 20th Century
The same phenomenon occurs with several of the Morgan dollars sporting some early 1900s dates, meaning the price difference between MS-62 and MS-63 can be pronounced. For example, the 1900 and the 1900- O, the 1901- O, and the 1902- O all tend to cost about as much as those from the last years of the 1800s we took a peek at. Once again something like $65 will be enough to land pieces in the MS-62 grade, while the MS-63s get much closer to our desired $100 upper limit.
That Final ‘Hurrah’ Year, 1921
This last year of the Morgan dollars blew the lid off production when we compare totals with any of the previous years. So many were produced at the main facility in the City of Brotherly Love that it’s not really all that tough to land even an MS-64 for about $100. The 1921- S always costs a bit more, be it as
an MS-62, an MS-63 or any other Mint State grade, simply because we in the collecting community still pine a bit for that mintmark from the City by the Bay. And though we may have left our hearts in San Francisco, the branch mint in Denver also had a big output during this final year of production. Here, though, we’ll make note that the MS-62 grade seems to be the upper limit, at least if we want to go no higher than $100.
Overall?
Well, we have not been able to place a single
Carson City Morgan dollar in the group that we have made – even though several years saw decent- sized mintages. On the flip- side of things, we have managed to include silver dollars from each of the other four mints that produced them. Importantly, we have found a jumping off point when it comes to prices, located in the midst of the overall Mint State level. We have not uncovered any serious undervalued pieces, but we have found that there are actually some good-looking bargains at the tail end of the Morgan dollar series.