A question for all the Morgan collectors out there...

blackwood

Hi,

I am probably going to get flamed on my very first post, but I have to pose the question:

Why are Morgan dollars so popular?

I just started getting into coin collecting in 2004. Haven't bought too much yet (just have 3 slabs to my name and a handful of loose coins) but I've been reading as much as I can, trying to understand the hobby and the market. One thing that stands out to me is that Morgans are incredibly popular, and people seem to have invested more time, energy, research and money in this particular type of coin than any other. I know each coin type has its following, but you've got to admit Morgans seem to have a special distinction in the hobby.

But from a newbie perspective, I look at this coin and I see a nondescript, kind of chubby Victorian lady, with a two-dimensional eagle on the reverse that isn't much different from other coin types. I would think collectors would be driven by beauty, age, rarity, or history - but I don't see a silver bullet in any of these categories that would vault Morgans past other coin types.

Anyway, thanks in advance for your consideration. Again, I am not trying to throw any insults to you Morgan collectors, I am honestly just looking for answers and trying to find my personal direction with coin collecting. Tell me what I am missing. Who knows, maybe I'll get hooked on Morgans!

Happy holidays!

UncleWiggly

I agree with what you said about the obverse, but I still love the reverse. The answer to your question is I don't know.



Jerry

wjd283

I like them cause they're heavy,old,and still pretty cheap.

morgannut2

OK I'll bite. They're big, supposed to be shiney and white (vs. cleaned older dates), and they used to be cheap. I started collecting them from lawn money for a dollar each in Montana where there were zero $1 bills in 1957. Once started I was hooked, especially trying to find the tough dates like 1884CC. When the treasury released all those CC's, then things really took off. I collect Washingtons and Buffalo niclels for the same reason.

nwcs

They are popular because of history, availability, and they have some of the best examples of luster and color (even white) in coins. But if you're not interested in them, no prob. To each their own.

GAT

IMO (in my opinion) the Morgans are popular because they are a large coin and large numbers have survived the ravishes of time in mint state. Welcome to the boards.

Hadleydog

Let me add to what the others have already said. Morgans are popular because they trade by date, grade and mintmark. They are common enough to be affordable, yet there are many rare date and mintmark combinations too. Although Lady Liberty is not as attractive as a Walker, she doesn't fare too badly against a peace or an Ike!
It certainly helps that they were minted in cc.........put that mintmark on any coin and it would be popular.
BTW, welcome aboard!

DorkGirl

Morgans are big, beautiful coins, that were saved in large numbers. That makes them very affordable in common dates. You can find them in all colors of the rainbow, with rainbows, or blast white, or almost anything in between. Not everyone likes them, that's ok. Not everyone likes Barbers, or Buffalos, that's ok too.

I love them because I grew up with a Grampa and Dad that loved and collected them. But because of this forum, I've found that there many other beautiful coins, including Darkside, that I can enjoy just as much.

Your personal direction will be just that, personal. You will find some series that will make your eyes light up, go with it. If it's not Morgans, that's ok, nobody will find fault with that. It's a hobby, has to be fun or it's just not worth the effort. Enjoy it

K6AZ

nesvt

that's a beautiful Lady!!!

morgannut2

Do they sell that print somewhere K6AZ? Heck with the Gibson Girl, Anna Williams has "it". I'm in

boz

Look at Carson City Morgans. Then let me know if you don't see any history.
Happy Holidays to you too

K6AZ

<< <i>Do they sell that print somewhere K6AZ? Heck with the Gibson Girl, Anna Williams has "it". I'm in >>



There was someone selling copies of it on eBay a while back. Mine isn't a copy, it's an original.

rkfish

Although Lady Liberty is not as attractive as a Walker, she doesn't fare too badly against a peace or an Ike!

c'mon HD......how can you compare the portrait on the Peace dollar to old Ike ??? I mean....we're talking about
old baldy compared to a Lady !!

I actually like the obverse on the Peace dollar over the Morgan but the reverse of the Morgan is prefered over the Peace...

techeff

Morgan collecting can get quite interesting and complicated when you consider all the different varieties. I'm not a Morgan collector, but have been drawn in because of certain mint types (e.g., the history behind the Carson City mint) and varieties that I find interesting.

Welcome to the boards and I hope you stick around for a while. You will learn A LOT!!

pharmer

Welcome, blackwood. I just have a few with wild toning that appeal to me as much as a beautiful painting. If I really collected them, it would be for the VAM varieties. K6AZ, that is very cool.

Myqqy

I agree with Hadleydog that morgans offer something for budget collectors as well as those looking to spend big money on rare items- trying to put together an entire date and mintmark set (especially in higher grades) is a monumental task that can take many years- and many collectors love a good challenge! More than any other series, morgans torment me........ I know I could never complete an entire MS set, but I'm driven to keep collecting them. On top of all that, you have PL morgans, DMPL morgans, brilliant morgans, toned morgans- again, something for every kind of taste....

wam98

to the forum.

anablep

Welcome
Morgans interest me because of their silver content, color (or lack thereof), PL/DMPLs, history, varieties (VAMs) and the romantic time period during which they circulated (ie the old west, CC-mint, O-mint). The idea of a silver dollar is something foreign to people growing up today. They're stuck with SACs and SBAs. Holding something substantial in your hand that once circulated in this country is kind of neat. I guess.

coinkat

It is a great set that covers America during an exciting period of History. If one chooses to collect the business strikes only, it is still a set that can be assembled, however, some of the recent price increases with the 1893-cc and 1893-s among others, adds to the challenge. There are still some dates that are under-appreciated for their scarcity in certain grades. If you are totally into the art and beauty of coins, there is always the WLH. There are other coins out there that are worth a look too...

One final comment...Morgans have certain die varieties that are quite rare and some are very rare because there are so of them so they can not be promoted. There is always a thread about VAMS here at some point.

dorkkarl

morgans are popular because there are billions of 'em, so an endless supply is always available to dealers who bark & hype about 'em. plus, they're big silver coins, so there will always be wacky fringe-collector types who will buy anything made of silver & over 100 years old. but to me, it's basically an ugly, drab coin. i would never collect 'em unc.

K S

Hadleydog

I mean....we're talking about old baldy compared to a lady
Sometimes even the old bald guy can look kinda cool!

rkfish

That's cheating !! where is ArtR when you need him......

blackwood

Thanks for all the great feedback! Morgans definitely sound more interesting now...

RKKay

I only recently have come to appreciate Morgans after years as a pattern guy. I have collected Morgan dimes, quarters and halves, as well as other designs by Morgan. It's only been about a month since I looked at all his designs, including the Morgan dollar, as a set of sorts.

numonebuyer

Welcome to the forum.

Turn on your PM.

Here is the answer... Morgan silver dollars are so popular now because they were so unpopular back when they were minted (1878-1904 and 1921). This unpopularity when they were minted kept the vast majority in sealed US Mint bags for almost 100 years. The coins are large and 90% silver. The obverse design of the Morgan is now considered one of the most beautiful. The numbers of uncirculated examples, combined with its size and silver content have created a highly collectible and interesting coin.

Good luck to you.

whitehotmorgans

They are a white hot segment of the market and the time to get in is now!

BigGreek

Welcome to the forum!!

Morgans are cool. Especially the ones with the frosty mirror look.
But if you want knockout luster you should probably look at Peace,
Walkers and Mercurys. Those little Mercurys can put your eye out
on a sunny day.

I guess everyone needs to find their niche. The most popular collector
coin is still the lowly Lincoln cent, last I checked.

BAJJERFAN

The other great thing about Morgans is that its possible even for a person of modest means to get a complete set. While the keys and semi keys are a bit pricey they are almost always readily available and many are quite affordable in the lower circulated grades. Nice circ Morgans are quite attractive in their own right. There are lots of great lookin toners out there too! Morgans also lend themselves well to short sets of O, CC, P or S mints which many collectors assemble in higher grades. There is also the challenge of grading sets. Keep your goals realistic, a matched set is really nice but unless you are super rich a MS64 set is unattainable for most of us.
Welcome aboard the Morgan train. There are lots of great buyers and sellers here too!

BAJJERFAN

Another consideration is that generally Morgans are very liquid and if you bought right; [moreso quality than price IMO] you can usually sell them to other collectors without much problem and oftentimes at a profit; if for some reason your collecting interests change. Another reason to buy the better dates first.

Spudmasher

Your question blackwood an interesting one. I was in my earlier days very leary of collecting Morgans because of the impending doom of a bag being held by the Treasury, and then flooding the market with what was a supposedly rare date (1898-O, 1904-O etc.) I very vividly remember the front page of the Washington Post showing people lined up outside the Treasury obtaining bag, after bag. I was very fortunate to be able to go to the local banks in Arlington, Va. at the time and get anywhere from ten to twenty pieces, and go through them at home. The most valauable circulation find that I ever made back then was a 1881-CC in VG/F. 80's with monster mirrors were common. So where other innumerable dates. Thats what carried the industry to what it is today. Availability. Bark, and hype for whatever its worth these dollars helped me put together a very nice type set over the years because of there liquidity (ease of movement) trading and sales. Great history, still available, and for what its worth even these are disappearing out the marketplace relevant to what used to be. 1880-S DMPL's in 65 PC graded commonly trade hands anywhere from $750.00 on up. Used to be a $1.50 a piece, and they were available by the truckload. Buy what you like, and buy quality. Everything else will take care of itself.

TonedPeaceNut

I'll take a Peace $ over a Morgan anyday!!!!


TPN

Wolf359

Why are Morgan dollars so popular?

They are collectable so many different ways.

1) The Proof coinage is shockingly beautiful with deep cameos. While some other series (1800 Barbers, etc.) have the same deep cameos, none is as large as the Morgan dollar. I think this makes a difference visually.
2) Morgan business strikes come in PL and DMPL, in enough quantities that even a tight budget can collect common dates here. This is very unusual....I can't think of another 1800's series where this is even possible.
3) If you're a die variety (vam) freak, the Morgan series offers over 3,000 known varieties with some astonishing errors like the Scarface, Hotlips, Shifted Eagle, and Micro O's. See the enormous die breaks in my signature line.
4) The Design is considered one of the best in history (at least by me!).
5) The high relief on the 1878 8TF coins is stunning. There were significant design/production changes in 1878, 1879, 1901, and 1921, adding to the interest.
6) The lure of the Wild West.
7) It's affordable. How many people can collect more expensive (and beautiful) gold coins, trade dollars, etc.?
8) The number of Morgan’s available is in the hundreds of millions of coins.
9) The release of Silver Dollars by the Treasury in the 1960's and 1970's.
10) The hoarding of Silver Dollars by Redfield, Binion, and others.

lclugza

Due to the Bland-Allison Act and the Sherman silver purchase act, WAY more Morgans were made than were actually needed for circulation. This meant that many unwanted dollars were saved in bags in Mint State condition. This means that Morgans are relatively affordable in Mint State versus, for instance, Seated and Barber halves and Seated and Trade dollars where nearly all of the mintage was circulated, making them much more expensive today in Uncirculated grades.