Collecting Morgan Silver Dollars

One of the more collectible United States silver coins are the Morgan Silver Dollars.  Minted from 1878 to 1904 and again in 1921, the Morgan silver dollars are named after their designer, George T. Morgan and these coins are .900 fine silver.  The coins came about after the famous Comstock Lode in Nevada put a lot of unminted silver onto the market, which the U.S. Congress decided to buy up and have the Mint produce as coins.

While not as much an introductory collectible as the Peace Silver Dollar, collecting Morgan silver dollars has become an exciting and popular hobby for many Americans.

While there aren’t really any Morgan proofs on the market (with one exception), as the coins were all minted for circulation, there are Morgan silver dollars that are called Deep Mirror Proof Like (DMPL).  These are usually the 1883 San Francisco Mint dollars and have a bright sheen and reflective quality.  Others that are just below this grade are usually called “Prooflike.”

These two grades are the most sought-after and hardest to find (and thus nearly the most expensive) for thsoe collecting Morgan Silver Dollars.  They are not the most expensive, however, as those collecting silver dollars will attest.

That is reserved fro the special varieties and error coins.  Commonly called VAM coins (for “Van Allen – Mallis” – the researchers who published a definitive work on the subject), these Morgan Silver Dollars are not easily come by.  There are only about 6,000 of them in total, making them extremely rare.

The only proof coin, as alluded to earlier, is the 1895 Proof Morgan Silver Dollars, which are extremely rare.  The last one to sell was valued in 2009 at over $100,000!  Only 880 of these proof coins are believed to exist, as the majority of this minting was either lost or melted down during the Great War.

In all, collecting Morgan silver dollars is one of the more intriguing and popular passtimes for American collectors.  Of all of those collecting silver dollars, the ones who collect Morgan silver dollars are the most likely to run the gambit in experience from newcomer to old hand.

If you enjoy these coins, let us know about your collection by commenting below!

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