The Morgan Dollar is a very valuable coin. It’s old, made of silver, and has a rich history. Throughout its 43 years of mintage, this silver dollar had many editions, and some are more valuable than others.
What is the rarest Morgan silver dollar? In this article, you’ll learn about the 5 rarest mintages of this coin and what made them so desirable.
There’s an app that can identify coins, Morgan dollars included!
Morgan Silver Dollar Design
There are many versions of this coin, but the general look stays the same. The coin was named after its designer, George T. Morgan.
Observe: A left-facing profile of Lady Liberty. Inscriptions "E PLURIBUS UNUM" are above her portrait. The year of issue is centered at the bottom. Thirteen stars (representing the original colonies) encircle the bottom half.
Reverse: A bald eagle with outstretched wings. The eagle is holding an olive branch in one talon and arrows in the other. There’s a wreath under the eagle. Inscriptions "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" curve around the top edge. The words "IN GOD WE TRUST" appear above the eagle. The words "ONE DOLLAR" are under the wreath.
Rarest Morgan Pieces
More than half a billion silver pieces were minted from 1878 through 1904.
Let’s find out which silver bit is the rarest of them all. We present the rarest Morgan silver dollar dates in this list.
5. 1894 Morgan Dollar
Due to an economic crisis in 1893, known as the “Panic of 1893”, measures were taken to restore balance. For the next year's mintage of 1894, the government decided to make fewer pieces. Therefore, the 1894 edition has an extremely low mintage. Only 110,000 coins were struck.
Interestingly, this policy mostly concerned silver coins, like 1894 dollar, but copper-based ones, like 1984 Nickel, still had a big mintage.
Value: Often circulated pieces cost between $525 and $3200. Uncirculated can go for $40,000 and more.
4. 1901 Morgan Dollar
A curious case. The 1901 edition had a big mintage, almost 7 million pieces from Philadelphia. There’s just one “but”. Most of them were melted according to the Pittman Act during WWI. So many silver pieces were melted during the war that the 1921 Morgan dollar was minted with the sole purpose of replacing the melted pieces.
Value: Circulated examples can go for $45 and $2800. Uncirculated ones (MS65 or better) can exceed $100,000.
3. 1895 Morgan Dollar (Proof Only)
The 1895 silver piece has a grand nickname, the “King of Morgans", which speaks of its value and rarity.
We don’t even know about the regular (business-strike) mintage. Only 880 Proof coins were officially made. Mint records show that 12,000 business-strike dollars were made in Philadelphia in 1895, but some experts don't agree on the data.
Value: Can fetch $50,000 to over $200,000, depending on condition.
2. 1889-CC Morgan Dollar
This piece has a particular Morgan Silver Dollar Mint Mark, CC. It stands for Carson City, the mint that made silver dollars until 1893. It’s the rarest CC Morgan silver dollar, especially in mint condition.
About 250,000 pieces were minted, but most of them were melted.
Value: Starts around $1,500 in circulated grades and can exceed $300,000 in MS condition.
1. 1893-S Morgan Dollar
What year is the rarest Morgan dollar? 1983, and you’re looking at the rarest example of these coins!
1893 saw the lowest mintage of all regular-issue pieces. Only 100,000 coins struck, an extremely small number even for “S” marked pieces. “S” stands for San-Francisco, and the local Mint always made fewer pieces.
Value: Can range from $5,000 in low grades to over $500,000 in high uncirculated grades (MS65+).
How did the 1893-S silver piece become so rare? It’s mostly due to economic depressions. Often during a crisis, coins were melted, like the 1932 Washington Quarter. Only a few silver pieces survived and became legendary as a result.
Values of the Rarest Morgan Dollars
Now that you know the rarest year Morgan silver dollar, let’s put them all in a table.
Year & Mint Mark | Mintage | Grade (VF/XF) | Grade (MS63) | Grade (MS65 or Better) |
1893-S | 100,000 | $5,000 – $15,000 | $60,000 – $150,000 | $300,000 – $500,000+ |
1889-CC | 350,000 | $1,500 – $5,000 | $20,000 – $50,000 | $150,000 – $300,000+ |
1895 (Proof) | 880 | – | – | $100,000 – $250,000+ (Proof) |
1901 | 7 million | $100 – $300 | $5,000 – $20,000 | $100,000 – $250,000+ |
1894 | 110,000 | $2,000 – $8,000 | $20,000 – $40,000 | $40,000 – $125,000 |
The rarest Morgan silver dollar value is exceptionally high. You’re one lucky person if you have such a coin in your collection.
Coins ID Scanner
Here’s an app that can help identify and even evaluate rare coins. The Coin ID Scanner!
The app uses AI-driven image recognition. Simply snap or upload a coin’s photo to automatically identify its country, denomination, mint year, composition, rarity, and estimated market value within a second.
On top of identification, the app has many neat functions. For example, Numismatics news & grading guides. The platform features built-in news updates and coin grading resources. Great for beginners and insightful for professionals!
Coin ID Scanner is free to download, compatible with iOS and Android devices.
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