The Top Five Morgan Silver Dollars by Daniel J. Goevert

First, a little background info on the Morgan silver dollar…

The Morgan silver dollar is today one of the most popular of all collector coins. First minted in 1878 following the passage of the Bland-Alison Act, the new dollar was named after its designer, George T. Morgan. Political pressure by powerful silver mining companies, in a gambit to stabilize the price of their commodity at artificially high levels, created the impetus driving the legislative action. Bland-Alison led to the overproduction of silver dollars, resulting in millions of these unused “cartwheels” languishing in bank and Treasury vaults. Indeed, few coins have ever been released under more dubious circumstances than Morgan silver dollars. Minting continued until 1904, and then again for one more year in 1921, when the series finally came to a close.

For decades thereafter, Morgan dollars were largely snubbed by hobbyists. Many dates, including those in mint state condition, could be obtained for as little as $1.00. This situation shifted dramatically in 1962, when the US government began selling original 1000-piece silver dollar Treasury bags to the public at face value. Stories of rare dollar finds circulated widely, touching off a veritable Morgan mania. Within a matter of months, all but a small fraction of the federally owned coins were transferred from government vaults to private hands, consequently expanding the Morgan dollar collector base far beyond anything seen previously.

Since then, Morgan silver dollars have proudly perched themselves atop the catbird seat of the numismatic world. Their physical size, availability, beauty, and historical significance have consistently attracted herds of new buyers. Numerous boom-turned-bust cycles have come and gone, sometimes driven by pure speculative motives, but from a long-term perspective, most Morgan dollar prices have trended somewhat positive.

Unlike some controversial promoters in the past, I do not propose purchasing Morgan silver dollars simply as investment vehicles. However, for collectors hoping to satisfy their numismatic yearnings AND acquire coins destined to be worth substantially more in the future, Morgan dollars do present a few opportunities. As noted above, as a whole, Morgans have gained moderately in value over the years. The crucial challenge, then, is to identify which members of this series have enjoyed the best growth patterns in the past. The underlying logic is clear: coins that have demonstrated the strongest gains over a long period of time are the coins best positioned to show similar price advancements with the continued passage of time.

In order to measure past performance and thus visualize Morgans most likely headed toward a bullish future, I developed a systematic approach. First, I researched individual Morgan dollar retail prices as they existed in 1950, for a broad range of conditions, and entered this data on a computer spreadsheet. Moving forward in time, values from the years 1980, 1995, and 2000 were likewise recorded. Finally, estimated selling prices in 2005 were juxtaposed with counterpart data from those earlier years. Because grading terminology has evolved over the 55 year period, certain assumptions were made to progressively track price movements throughout the time spectrum (e.g. an “Uncirculated” value in 1950 is equivalent to the “MS-60” of today).

For each date and condition, compounded annual return rates were computed from 1950 to 2005. [Editorial note: compounded annual return rate is the accepted yardstick for comparing investment performance. Of course, coins do not grow at a guaranteed uniform rate, such as bonds do, but if a coin is purchased at a certain price, and that price is compared with the value of the coin at some later date, the compounded annual return rate can be calculated for the time period in between]. Return rate computations were made from 1980 to 2005, 1995 to 2005, and 2000 to 2005. For each Morgan dollar, the data was placed in tabular format.

Next, I calculated a “composite” score for each date by averaging all the compounded return rates computed for that date. I then ranked all the “composite” scores. The Morgan silver dollars with the highest scores are as follows:

Date: Score: 1895 11.37 1892-CC 10.54 1894 10.43 1878-CC 10.28 1883-CC 10.25

So, it would appear, based on past performance over a period of 55 years, the 1895 is the Morgan silver dollar with the best hope of appreciating significantly in the years ahead, followed by the 1892-CC, 1894, 1878-CC, and 1883-CC. Not surprisingly, dollars of the Carson City Mint occupy 13 of the top 16 positions, thanks to persistent collectors scrambling for bona fide artifacts of the romantic American West. On the opposite end of the rankings, Morgan silver dollars having the bleakest long term prospects include the 1898, 1899-O, 1884, and the 1888-O, followed by the 1897 coming in dead last with a score of 2.66.

Anyone whose dual objective is to acquire Morgan silver dollars with a bullish future ought to begin looking at the “Top Five” above. Purchase coins in the best condition you can afford, but be sure the coins are clean, problem-free, and CERTIFIED by a reputable grading service. Be prepared to hold for at least five years. Morgan dollars have skyrocketed in value in the last three years, so some cooling off may be in order before the next upward cycle.

If a polling firm were to survey the population of US coin collectors, it is very possible that Morgan silver dollars would win the vote as the most appealing coin in American coinage history. These beautiful coins have been the heartbeat of the hobby for many years, with no retreat in sight. Ironically, these same coins spent the better part of a century hidden away in government vaults, unseen, unwanted, and unloved. My, how times have changed!

About the author:
Author Daniel J. Goevert is the webmaster of US Coin Values Advisor, specializing in coin value trends and listing bullish US coins. Other offerings include detailed coin collecting advice as well as an illustrated history of the United States and the US Mint.

Silver Coin Collecting Software - Available for Download Anywhere

Information Explorer for Numismatic Collectors A Coins, Banknotes and medals collections organizer fulfilling the needs of every kind of numismatic collector. Store the data, including pictures, YOU want and organize them as YOU want. A db with Web numismatic resources included.

Coin Organizer Deluxe Coin Organizer Deluxe is a complete program that allows coin collectors, hobbyists, dealers, and clubs to organize, catalog, and manage their collections on their PCs. Organizer is intuitive and easy to use for the beginner, at the same moment feature-rich and powerful enough to satisfy the most advanced users.

NumisManager Deluxe UltraVenn, Ltd. Presents NumisManager(tm) Deluxe. The Ultimate Coin Management Software featuring its unique, easy to use UltraEntry(tm) Builder and UltraFind(tm) systems. No other collectibles software on the market to date is as easy, informative and fun to use!

Other British Silver Coins Resources

British Silver Coins
Silver Britannias ... struck from 95.8% silver and is the world's heaviest silver bullion coin ... of large silver coins. This large £2 silver bullion coin ...

Silver Coins
Send mail to webmaster@southlandcoins.com with questions or comments about this web site. Copyright © 2004 Southland Coins & Collectibles. Last modified: 07/01/05

British Silver Coins
A list of the range of silver coins for which we can supply mounts, including crowns, halfcrowns, florins, shillings, sixpences, & threepences... Countries List. Silver Coins - British. About Us. Silver Coins. A list of British silver coins for which we can supply mounts. ...

Roses on British Coins
From Charles II in 1662, coins using silver from the West of England mines had a rose as a provenance mark, this continued until George II in 1747. ... British Coins. Under Charles II, and as early as 1662, a rose was used as a provenance mark on silver coins made using silver ... when silver coins struck at ...

Kelley's Coins - British Coins & Sets
... nice selection of British coins, including the popular Silver Britannias, Gold Britannias, British Gold Sovereigns and ... 1970 through the current date. Silver Coins. Proof Sets ...

British Coins before the Florin, Compared to French Coins of the Ancient Regime
British Coins before the Florin, Compared to French Coins. of the Ancien Régime. The table at right shows the British coins in common use until the introduction of the two shilling Florin in 1849. ... Copper coins are shown in red, silver in blue, and gold in brown. The British names and values ...

Old British Coins
Commemmorative British coin sets covering each year from 1910 to 1980 - the ideal commemmorative gift ... 20th century British coins. Queen Victoria 'Veiled head' 1893-1901. Contains 8 coins: silver 2/6, 2 ... VI 1937-1946 Last silver coins. Contains 10 coins: silver 2/6 ...

British coin collecting, and all collectors accessories.
Specialist in the sale and purchase of British coins and most other world coins. I also have a range of great collectors products at very good prices. Also provided is free advice and interesting articles. ... British coins and World coins. Stamp accessory range listed. ... British Coins and collecting accessories. ... best prices for British coins and world coins including proof sets and ...

British Coins
Specialist publishers of Collectors Coins Great Britain, Collectors Roman coins, Collectors Banknotes (GB) and Collectors Irish coins ... The long awaited Part 2, with values for all silver Roman coins. Out now... British coins are a fascinating field, each coin a historical document, each type has a ...

British Silver Coinage: Introduction
From Coins of Colonial and Early America, an exhibit of over 250 items from Massachusetts silver to the provisional half disme of 1792. Features high-resolution images and detailed descriptions. ... of its silver coinage, it is clear some British silver, as well as some British gold coins, found their way ... the American colonies. Coins were brought to the colonies by ...

Hi-Grade British, English, and United Kingdom Coins - Sovereigns, Crowns, Double Florins, Halfcrowns, Florins, ...
... British & French Coins , General , The Royal Mint , General , James I to George III - Colonial Perspective , Silver Coins ... Hammered , Copper Coins , Silver Coinage , Double Florins ...

British Coins
Index page of British or English coins listed by denomination, with information history and coins for sale... British Coins - Milled. As a British based coin dealer, one of our main specialities is British coins ... enquiry about any of our Silver Coins,, we'd be happy to answer ...