Q. David Bowers
The Appeal of Morgan Dollars
The availability of many different date and mintmark issues, the attractive appearance of the pieces, and the fact that the majority of varieties exist in quantity in Uncirculated grade probably assure the popularity of Morgan and Peace dollars for many decades to come. Prices will vary depending upon market conditions, but basic interest should remain.
There are several ways to form collections of Morgan dollars. The simplest is to acquire but a single Morgan dollar for inclusion in a type set. An issue such as 1881-S, perhaps the most readily available in choice Uncirculated grade (often with prooflike surface), is suggested, but, unquestionably, Carson City issues of lower priced varieties such as 1882-CC, 1883-CC, and 1884-CC, would provide an interesting addition.
An expanded type set contains one of each design change-8 tail feathers, 7/ other tail feathers, 7 tail feathers and parallel arrow feathers, 7 tail feathers and slanting arrow feathers, 1900-1904 new reverse, and 1921 new dies: six coins in all.
Still another way is to form an expanded set containing one representative specimen from each of the five mints that struck Morgan dollars. Such a collection would include one piece each from Philadelphia, Carson City, San Francisco, New Orleans, and Denver: five in all.
Alternatively, one can collect the six major types, one coin from each mint that produced it: 8 TF- 1878; 7/0ther TF-1878; 7 TF PAF-1878, 1878-S, 1880-CC; 7 TF SAF-later dates P, CC, 0, S; Wide space between neck and wing (1900-04), P, 0, S; Low relief 7 TF PAF (1921), P, D, S: 15 in all.
A further way to collect is to assemble one of each date from 1878 through 1904, plus 1921. Without respect to mintmarks, such a set can be assembled without undue difficulty, although several years in the 1890s are expensive. Date runs from a particular Mint have been popular with many, and Carson City dollars in particular have been widely collected.
Probably the most popular way to form a collection, however, is to acquire one of each date and mintmark. Such a collection can be augmented, if desired, by numerous minor die variations (listed by Van Allen and Mallis), but most people tend to stick to one of each standard date and mintmark example, plus several major varieties such as 7, 7/8, and 8 tail feathers coins of 1878, the two major reverse arrow feather varieties of 1879-S, and 1880-CC, etc.
I expand upon these ideas below in the present text.
Advice From Wayne Miller
Wayne Miller gave some interesting advice in his study, The Morgan and Peace Dollar Textbook. His general recommendations note, in part:
The very largest coin companies (sometimes referred to as coin "factories") have enormous overheads and too few buyers versus backup personnel. There is a strong temptation to hedge the price and/or the grade of a coin .... Numismatic items offered in a non-coin-related publication are nearly always a bad investment. Such sellers are looking for collectors whose numismatic expertise is minimal. Silver dollars offered at substantially less than bid-ask of the Coin Dealer Newsletter will almost always be overgraded ....
Mr. Miller went on to say that "it is becoming more and more important to KNOW YOUR DEALER" (the capitalization is Miller's).
Grading practices vary widely from dealer to dealer, as Wayne Miller noted. Buyers of Morgan dollars would do well to learn about grading. Since the Miller book was written in 1982, the grading situation has been helped to a large degree by the establishment of certification services which for a fee impartially assign a grade and encapsulate coins in plastic "slabs." Most prominent is the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS; founded by David Hall and associates in 1986), followed by the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation of America (NGC; founded by John Albanese in 1987). ANACS, now owned by Amos Press (publishers of the weekly Coin World), was established in the late 1970s as the American Numismatic Association Certification Service. Today, it is independent of the American Numismatic Association.
The Romance of Collecting
For the knowledgeable and enthusiastic numismatist, the Morgan dollar series offers many pleasures. There is something incredibly romantic about these pieces minted from "Wild West" silver produced during one of the most fascinating periods of
Advice From Wayne Miller
Wayne Miller gave some interesting advice in his study, The Morgan and Peace Dollar Textbook. His general recommendations note, in part:
The very largest coin companies (sometimes referred to as coin "factories") have enormous overheads and too few buyers versus backup personnel. There is a strong temptation to hedge the price and/or the grade of a coin .... Numismatic items offered in a non-coin-related publication are nearly always a bad investment. Such sellers are looking for collectors whose numismatic expertise is minimal. Silver dollars offered at substantially less than bid-ask of the Coin Dealer Newsletter will almost always be overgraded ....
Mr. Miller went on to say that "it is becoming more and more important to KNOW YOUR DEALER" (the capitalization is Miller's).
Grading practices vary widely from dealer to dealer, as Wayne Miller noted. Buyers of Morgan dollars would do well to learn about grading. Since the Miller book was written in 1982, the grading situ-ation has been helped to a large degree by the estab-lishment of certification services which for a fee im-partially assign a grade and encapsulate coins in plastic "slabs." Most prominent is the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS; founded by David Hall and associates in 1986), followed by the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation of America (NGC; founded by John Albanese in 1987). ANACS, now owned by Amos Press (publishers of the weekly Coin World), was established in the late 1970s as the American Numismatic Association Certification Service. Today, it is independent of the American Numismatic Association.
The Romance of Collecting
For the knowledgeable and enthusiastic numismatist, the Morgan dollar series offers many pleasures. There is something incredibly romantic about these pieces minted from "Wild West" silver produced during one of the most fascinating periods of American history. As there are no "impossible" rarities to contend with, the completion of a set of Mor-gan dollars is a practical goal for most numismatists. Stumbling blocks such as the 1889-CC, 1892-S, and 1893-S dollars can be obtained in grades less than Mint State.
Morgan dollars of the years 1878 through 1921-coins that were not wanted by the public to begin with, but which were coined by the hundreds of millions for political reasons-are now among the most desired of all American series by numismatists. Per-haps this is justification for their having been made originally!