PCGS The Standart for the Rare Coin Industry

While market levels fell sharply for certain issues, particularly the 1898-O, 1903-O, and 1904-O, in most instances the price drops were short-lived, and within a few years most issues of Morgan dollars were priced substantially higher than they had been before the great Treasury release. Although Morgan dollars were now much more common, the number of collectors and investors interested in them had expanded even more than the supply of coins available, and Morgan dollars became the most desired American coin series.

Earlier, veteran dealer Abe Kosoff conducted a survey among his clients and sought to determine the most popular United States numismatic specialties. Morgan dollars did not finish even in the top 10! The most sought-after series, as I recall, was Buffalo nickels. Beginning after the Treasury release of 1962, Morgan dollars went right into the top 10, right up to number one, and have remained near or at the top of the list ever since. So popular have silver dollars been that a special group, the National Silver Dollar Roundtable, exists to conduct an annual convention specifically treating the field.

In 1976 a book, The Comprehensive Catalogue and Encyclopedia of U.S. Morgan and Peace Silver Dollars, by Leroy C. Van Allen and A. George Mallis, was released and sold to the extent of thousands of copies. The authors described in detail minute die varieties of Morgan dollars, and a new generation of specialists was created. Later the book went out of print, and at the same time prices continued to rise. A new revised edition of this fine book appeared in 1992.

As these words are being written, in 1993, most collectors desire Morgan dollars not by minute die varieties, but by date and mintmark issues. In other words, just one 1881-S dollar is needed in a collection, not a number of minute die varieties. However, as the new edition of the Van Allen-Mallis book achieves wide distribution, I am sure interest in die varieties will increase. The current lower (than in 1988-9) prices for common date Morgan dollars should help stimulate activity as well.

Morgan dollars are extremely affordable, and a set consisting of 97 different basic varieties is within the reach of most serious collectors. Scarce and rare issues are several, and include the 1889-CC, 1893-S, and 1895. In higher condition levels, such as MS-65, a number of other rarities emerge, including such issues as 1886-O, 1892-S, 1893-O, 1894-O, 1895-O, and 1896-O, among others. It has been my experience that the average collector of Morgan dollars does not aspire to own a complete set but, rather, endeavors to acquire a basic collection of the more affordable varieties. In September 1993, according to The Coin Dealer Newsletter, 49 different Morgan dollar varieties were valued in MS-63 grade for less than $100 each, and many of these were valued for considerably less than $50 each. Certainly, this low price range was a powerful incentive to begin collecting!