Guides Morgan and Peace Dollars: What Yours Are Actually Worth
Guide · 7 min read
Morgan and Peace Dollars: What Yours Are Actually Worth
Morgan and Peace dollars turn up in almost every collection that comes through the door here, which is exactly why they deserve their own guide.
They are also the coin most often bought as a stack of silver when part of the stack was never just silver.
The two series
Morgan dollars ran from 1878 to 1904 and then again for one year in 1921. They are large, heavy, and hold about three quarters of an ounce of silver each.
Peace dollars followed from 1921 to 1935, struck to mark the end of the First World War. Same silver content, different design, and a shorter run with its own scarce years.
Dates and mints that change the number
Most Morgans are common and follow the silver market. A handful are not, and those are worth knowing about before anybody weighs your group.
- 1893-S, the key Morgan, valuable even heavily worn
- 1889-CC, 1879-CC, and Carson City dollars generally
- 1895 proof, famous and effectively unobtainable in circulated form
- 1921 Peace high relief, distinct from the common 1921 Morgan
- 1928 Philadelphia Peace, the lowest mintage of that series
Condition swings it hardest
On a common date the difference between a worn coin and an uncirculated one can be twenty times the money. Original luster is the thing to look for, that rolling shine across the fields that a circulated coin has lost.
It is also why cleaning hurts silver dollars so badly. The large flat surfaces show hairline scratches clearly, and once a dollar has been polished it reads as cleaned to every buyer and grading service immediately.
Rolls, bags, and GSA holders
Original rolls and bank bags are worth more sealed than opened, because unbroken packaging suggests coins that were never picked through. If you have one, leave it alone.
GSA holders are the hard plastic cases the government used when it sold off Carson City dollars in the seventies. The holder and its box add value, so those should stay together too.
Key takeaways
- Morgans ran 1878 to 1904 plus 1921; Peace dollars ran 1921 to 1935.
- Carson City coins and a short list of key dates run far past silver.
- Uncirculated examples can be worth many times a worn one.
- Never clean a silver dollar, the flat fields show it immediately.
- Keep original rolls, bags, and GSA holders sealed and intact.
FAQ
Common questions
How much silver is in a Morgan dollar?
About 0.7734 troy ounces of pure silver. That content sets the floor price on common dates.
Are all Carson City dollars valuable?
All carry a premium over silver because CC mintages were small, and some dates are worth a great deal more than others.
Is my 1921 dollar special?
The 1921 Morgan is the most common Morgan of all. The 1921 Peace dollar with its high relief design is a different and much scarcer coin, so it is worth confirming which one you have.
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