Collecting Morgan dollars is not the same as investing in rare coins and many consider this coin to be an excellent gauge of the coin industry in general. The analysis of rare coin values also places a great deal of importance on this popular series due to the fact that it is widely held by both collectors and investors alike. However, one of the top reasons for beginning to collect these coins is that the entire series is actually incredibly under priced. As you begin to do do some investigating you will come to see that a large number of dates and mint-marks are still being offered in the same relative price range as many of today's common issues now in production by the US Mint.

I find it amazing to that many early silver dollars in high grades are not reaching prices of five to ten times today's prices, especially considering their strong significance historically. In 1917 the authorized melting of almost 300,000,000 coins created an investment opportunity whose possibilities are still being considered to this day.

Produced at 5 different mints over a time period of 28 years, the Morgan Silver Dollar contains dates and mint-marks that are currently overlooked. This scenario creates an ideal opportunity for investors. Also, the overall popularity of this classic United States silver coin insures that it is wide distributed as past specimens that have been graded are among the community of collectors. This community is so vast that it ensures that even large dealers will only have access to a limited number of coins regardless of the demand.

When the time comes to purchase a coin, it's important to be sure that you are buying only from a reputable coin broker. With the current abundance of online auction sites, it can be very easy for a dishonest seller to attempt to pass off coins that are actually of a lower grade than promised simply due to the fact that you will not have had the chance to personally view and appraise the coin. For this reason I highly recommend that when purchasing coins in higher grades you purchase only coins that have been graded by a third-party service such as PCGS, NGC or SGS.

Best answer:

Answer by Scott Stevenson
If you're talking about the "Hot Lips" variety, figure about $ 30 for one where the portrait is basically an outline with a few major details left, up to about $ 1500 for one with only a tiny bit of wear on the highest points of the design. As the coin gets more wear, the value quickly drops toward the $ 30 mark.

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Morgan Dollar


Image by epburn
My sister holds an 1892 Morgan Dollar from a collection of coins. The coin is silver.

Best answer:

Answer by Ms.Franky
If you know the true value of the coin you can sell them on ebay. If you don't know the value take them to a coin collector and have them appraised. The dealer may purchase them from you or even try and sell them for you.

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Materials Scientists, Conservators Join Forces to Preserve Silver Artifacts and Art


Image by University of Maryland Press Releases
(Photo Description: Antoine-Louis Barye, Walking Lion; Striding Lion (Racing Trophy), 1865, silver on marble plinth, 19 1/2 x 26 3/4 x 8 3/4 in.,The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.This sculpture, whose detailed surface makes it difficult to protect from tarnish, would be a prime candidate to receive a new, nanometers-thick coating being developed by materials scientists and conservators at the Walters Art Museum and the A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland. Credit must accompany photo.)

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Where there's silver, there's tarnish. Getting the tarnish off your flatware might be only an occasional inconvenience, but to museum curators and conservators, it's a threat to irreplaceable works of art.

To protect these objects for generations to come, University of Maryland scientists have teamed up with conservators from the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Md., to develop and test a new, high-tech way to protect silver art objects and artifacts, using coatings that are mere nanometers thick.

The technique, called atomic layer deposition (ALD), will be used to create nanometer-thick, metal oxide films which, when applied to an artifact, are both transparent and optimized to reduce the rate of silver corrosion. The films are created when an object is exposed to two or more gases that react with its surface.

"ALD gives us an exquisite level of control, literally at the atomic level," says Ray Phaneuf, a professor of materials science and engineering (MSE) working on the project. "It's an effective, low-cost strategy to reduce corrosion that preserves artifact appearance and composition while complying with the rigorous standards of art conservation practice."

Eric Breitung, a scientist who runs E-squared Art Conservation Science, proposed the collaboration after conducting preliminary investigations into the use of ALD on silver at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.

"I approached members of the Clark School faculty because of their expertise and the university's extensive ALD facilities at the Maryland NanoCenter," he says, adding that the faculty members' previous collaborations with museums made them a good match for the Walters and its silver collection.

Walters Art Museum Conservation Scientist Glenn Gates explains the goals the new coating has to achieve.

"First, its appearance must be acceptable for display in a museum context. It has to be tough enough to endure transport and handling, but not so tough that it can't be removed. It needs to be completely removable so an object can be re-treated to meet future standards of conservation and aesthetics. And finally, it should not cause any harm to a piece, even if it breaks down."

Gates, who works with the Walters' world-class silver collection, is well acquainted with the battle against tarnish. He points out the project's figurative mascot, Antoine Louis Barye's 1865 Walking Lion sculpture, as exactly the sort of piece that could one day benefit from the new treatment. It has been cleaned and lacquered twice since 1949, but in both cases ultimately experienced deterioration problems with its coatings. It is currently unlacquered but must be kept in a special exhibition case to ward off tarnish.

"The Walking Lion represents a complex shape that, being difficult to coat with traditional lacquer, might benefit from ALD protetection," he says.

The team will test the new technique, first on small samples of fine and sterling silver, and then on objects from Gates' own collection, such as 19th century demitasse spoons and Morgan silver dollars. While the Walters does not expect any pieces from its collection to receive the experimental treatment during the course of the study, once it has been proven effective and safe, the Walking Lion would be a prime candidate for this procedure.

The three-year project is one of the first to be funded by the National Science Foundation's Chemistry and Materials Research at the Interface between Science and Art (SCIART) grant program, which supports projects in the field of cultural heritage science through the funding of collaborations among conservation experts in museums and scientists in academia. The SCIART program will be highlighted at the 2011 national meeting of the American Chemical Society, which has invited the team to present their work.

The project's other team members include the museum's Director of Conservation and Technical Research Terry Drayman-Weisser, a recognized metals expert, and, from the University of Maryland's Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Professor Gary Rubloff, Research Associate Laurent Henn-Lecordier, and Graduate Assistant Amy Marquardt, who brings to the project her previous experience working on bronze patinas with the Smithsonian's Museum Conservation Institute.

See this release online:
newsdesk.umd.edu/othercategory/release.cfm?ArticleID=2265

To request an interview with Walters Art Museum staff, please contact the Manager of Public Relations, Amy Mannarino, at amannarino@thewalters.org or at 410-547-9000, ext. 277. For media representatives interested filming on location, a 2-week notice is required and must be scheduled for the weekdays the museum is open to the public (Wednesdays through Fridays).

Visit the Walters homepage at www.thewalters.org.

Best answer:

Answer by Sunny
The government contracted a young designer by the name of George T Morgan to design and engrave a new silver dollar. Morgan then engaged a young school teacher, Anna Williams, to sit for him so he could engrave her image as the "liberty Head" on the obverse of the coin. Anna became quite famous as a result of this sitting and her image being engraved on the nation's silver dollars. The reverse of the coin depicts an eagle resulting in the coin sometimes being referred to as the "buzzard dollar". Relatively inexpensive, this was a coin that was introduced in 1878 mainly due to political pressure from silver mine owners to reinstitute silver dollars after production had been halted 5 years earlier.
BTW, do you have one???

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Moolah - Morgan Dollars II


Image by Jeffry B
Minted from 1878 to 1904, & 1921

I wanted to do something with a "moolatte", but.....
Taken for Macro Mondays group challenge

Best answer:

Answer by William
THE GAME

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Moolah - Morgan Dollars


Image by Jeffry B
Minted from 1878 to 1904, & again in 1921
Taken for Macro Mondays group challenge

Best answer:

Answer by Taiping
The O mint mark tells where it was minted. It is worth around $ 14 to $ 16 in the grades you state. It had a mintage of 11,875,000 so it is not a rare or scarce date. As with most New Orleans minted dollars the value goes up quite a bit if the coin is in mint state. It's value in low grades depends on the value of silver when the coin is sold. I would hold onto it for a while for silver is low now.

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A Few Bucks


Image by LostBob Photos
60 Silver Dollars from my mother's estate. Soon to be lost to the auctioneer at eBay.

Best answer:

Answer by Taiping
$ 14.50 to $ 17.00 for the 1900 Morgan dollar. The 1899 Indian Head cent $ 1.25 to around $ 2.35. Values are for grades good to very fine.

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Nautilus Morgan


Image by Alice Chaos

Best answer:

Answer by Adam
The 1879-S in good shape is worth around $ 25

I'm not familiar with any silver dollar made in '43 , whats on it?

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Morgan Silver Dollar


Image by e20ci
An evidence photgraphy shot taken for my crime scene photography class. My teacher wanted us to demonstrate how side lighting can bring out the details on a textured surface.

Best answer:

Answer by curtisports2
The grade of Good is actually a low grade. I'm guessing you have no idea what the grades actually are. Grade determines value.

A Good 1880 - P is selling for $ 18-$ 25, in the range where the value of the silver falls. Grades up to Extra Fine aren't selling for more than a few dollars more, maybe $ 30, tops. It's not until you get into the Mint State grades that the values get up around $ 40, and they climb at each grade level.

The same is true for the 1884 - O, until you reach MS64 and higher, and they aren't worth as much as the 1880 - P because more of them survived in great shape.

The 1890 - P is very rare in grades MS65 and higher. But from MS64 and down, they're worth about the same as the 1880 - P.

So, if your coins show much wear, you're looking at, really, the silver value plus a small premium, maybe $ 75-$ 90.

If they're uncirculated with nice, white luster, a minimum of $ 120 for all three, and how much more, only an accurate grading will say.

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Postcard of Golden Gate Bridge 1950s


Image by roberthuffstutter

Best answer:

Answer by branden b
any where from 100$ to 300$

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Silver Coins


Image by Rastoney
Silver Eagle, Libertad, Philharmonic, Morgan, Peace, Maple Leaf