What is considered a complete set of Morgans???

Dukie101

Do you include the 1895??? What about the 1900 o/cc and others varieties????? 95 total or what is the number????

clw54

The 1895 is a proof, so it doesn't need to be included unless you're including proofs in your set. Of course, what you consider a set is a personal thing anyway.

BAJJERFAN

I would think that the basic set as defined for the PCGS registry would/could be considered a complete set.

wingedliberty

Some say that the proofs, VAMS, and certain other varieties do not need to be included.
I think they do, but it all boils down to what your definition of complete is. I also collect PL and DMPL
examples as well.


Brian.

prooflike

PCGS has pretty good list in their registries, with and without varieties; as their varieities list only recognizes the majors.

rd5425

correct me if im wrong but weren't a few 1895 business strikes produced?

Placid

12,000 but no one has ever seen one. They are belived to have all been melted.

lava

This is a tough question with no right or wrong answer. PCGS and NGC can not seem to agree, since NGC's registry includes a lot more varieties than the PCGS set. I think PCGS has it right. If you have those, you have a complete set. If you have varieties, then you have an added bonus, but I don't think a set is incomplete because it is missing an `82 o/s, an `87/6, a `87/6-o, or an `00 o/cc. That is just my opinion.

ccr

I wouldn`t consider the 95 or the varieties as part of the complete set. I consider that the basic set. If you include the 95 ( if there is any in existence ) and the Major varieties ( VAMs if you want to include that ) and Proofs, I would consider that as the extended set. Ether way you`ll have a nice set.

nwcs

I think at its most basic, it's all the business strike coins. But you can define complete as:

1. business strikes + proof
2. including major varieties
3. including prooflike specimens
4. every possible VAM ever discovered by die pair
5. every grade represented

Personally, I think it's every business strike (date/mint combo only).

coinkat

Great question that even creates more questions in attempting to provide a reasonable answer. A Morgan Dollar set for just regular business strikes should include a coin for each date and mint. However, this is where it gets fuzzy... what about certain VAMS? which ones should be included of excluded? There are certain VAMs that have been accepted and promoted that some collectors view as being critical components of a complete set. These include the 1878 7 tail, 8 tail, 8/7 tail,a and the reverse of 1879. In addition, there are several others... the 1879-s reverse of 1878 (flat breast), 1880-cc (OVERDATES) and reverse of 1878, 1882-0/S, 1887 7/6, 1887-0 7/6, 1900 O/CC. There are enough of most of the aforementioned varieties (the EDS of VAMS 4,5,6 of the 1882 O/S may not be so common). Actually, ther are at least 6 different varieties of the 1882-O/S and at least that many of the 1900-O/CC. Unfortunately, these varieties do not even scratch the surface in terms of the real significant and rare VAMS that seem to be ignored (which in some ways is fine...).

The Registry sets, to the best of my knowledge, still exclude the rare VAMS. This is primarily because most are rare and just are not available in Mint State. I do not believe that a 1896-o micro o or the 1900-o micro o exist in MS...ACTUALLY VERY, VERY FEW EXIST IN ANY GRADE. Even the more popular 1888-o VAM 4 "HOTLIPS" DDO and 1901 VAM 3 "shifted eagle" DDR are not on the PCGS registry. Since we are writing about VAMs, I should not overlook the 1878 VAM 44 which several VAM collectors consider the most desirable Morgan VAM. I could go on and on about this, but I end to end this somewhere and sometime.

There is no right answer to what constitutes a complete set of Morgan Dollars, however, by definition, "complete" is not a word that should exclude. However, the bigger problem in defining what a complete set becomes where does one draw the line? That is a subject that can be debated until a certain place freezes over.

Proof Morgans are obviously not business strikes for general circulation and should be considered separately.