Morgan Silver Dollar collectors...what's your plan???

kryptonitecomics

So you like big shiny Silver Dollars do you......well what's your collecting strategy/style? Are you trying to assemble a date set which includes (1) coin from each year the Morgan was produced without regard to Mint Marks? Are you going for the gusto in you pursuit of a complete date and mint mark set ? What's your current Morgan Holdings look like....all white, Toned, All Common dates, all Key dates, or a mixture of both? Circulated or Unc? Graded or raw? Minimum grade required for a coin to be included in your set? How long have you been actively collecting Morgans? Finally....post an image of your favorite Morgan in your collection.....

Let's here the down and dirty about what you've been up to.................I'll start us off....

I have approximately 25 Morgan Silver dollars all but one are graded and 2 of 25 are circulated.

I am actively trying to put together a full set or at least a date set but all coins have to be toned for inclusion in my set which makes it a lot more challenging because some dates just don't come with any real color while the common dates seem to have buckets full of pretty rainbow toned specimens to chose from. I would say all of my coins are common even though I have a nicely toned 84-CC in MS64....84-CC is still very common when you look at the Carson City coins in general. I also have a circulated 1884-S that I picked up along the way but the rest are very coomon dates like 80-S, 81-S, 1884-O, 1885, 1885-O, 1886, 1887 etc

My minum grade for a Morgan is now MS63 but if I were going after much rarer pieces....the grade level would most certainly be lower.



Finally...a Picture of my Favorite Morgan......suprisingly it's one of the only white pieces I own (just a hint of purple toning)....but man does this thing glow in the dark with dripping luster!!!

airplanenut

I go for whatever morgan looks nice--super clean cheek with great appeal, or colorful. That leads me to a lot of common dates, but I like 'em... especially the colorful ones I don't have a lot of white coins

eyoung429

My ultimate goal is a full set of morgans in MS63 and one of each and every VAM. I have now amassed over 300 morgans and have attributed 95% just in VAM's alone. This is NOT including my duplicates.


*edited for speling erorz

morganbarber

Nice cheek! I won a B&M auction that I did not expect to containing 4 AU58 PCGS Morgans a couple of years ago and decided to start a registry set. I would like a complete set of mixed raw and slabbed coins. With the slabs, I am trying for mostly white and as many PL/DMPL pieces as I can afford. I like nice, white AU58, and nicer MS63-64 pieces. With raw, I'll easily go XF, if the prices is right (much lower for keys). I don't know if I will ever finish the series, but have been trying really hard to concentrate on Morgans, as my past collecting has been hampered by lack of focus.

JJM

(1) coin from each year the Morgan was produced without regard to Mint Marks

yip, 1 raw set complete
1 toned set complete

playing with a slabbed set that some double as upgrades for my raw set

just under 100 morgans here......I dont really think I can stop buying them

Myqqy

Recently, I have found peace with my morgan collecting goals....
I've known that I'm endlessly fascinated with the morgan dollar, but I was always frustrated by the knowledge that I would never be able to put a full set together- finally I decided to pursue a complete collection from 1878- 1890, with most of the effort being put into PL and nicely toned examples. I realized that the early part of the morgan era was my favorite, and I don't have to deal with the scarcity and low quality that typified the 1890's...
A morgan needs some PL flash, or some rainbow colors in order to fit into my collection now...

lkenefic

I'm trying for a raw date/MM set in whatever condition I can afford. Currently, my range in grade runs from VG/F for an 1892-S (a real bugger in MS condition price-wise) up to MS64/65 for my 1884-CC (in a GSA holder) and my 1884 Phili (raw). I'm trying mostly for a matched set in AU50 to MS60...the coins that most folks holding them a century ago would be carrying around in their pockets. I have 46 different dates/MM and one VAM (1899- Micro O) so far. I'm quickly getting to the point where I'll have to slow down to only one or two Morgans a year as I have most of the common dates so far.

Leo

lava

My plan is to own everything in pl or dmpl. I'm close, just need a handful or so. The `93-s could be a little tricky.

Tyrock

I like the idea about collecting up to the 90s. I've been working on a year set and the coins in the 90s pose a problem because of the expense involved. I only need 3 more coins to complete my year set, the 1893, 1894 S and 1895 S and they'd have to be in circ grades. And that doesn't fit in with my 63/64 coins. So I'm thinking of having several sub sets such as the early S mint set (1878 - 1882), a mint mark set and a decade set of the 80s. I'm also thinking about adding some PLs and a few more CCs. And of course by this time I've learned that quality is much more important than quantity.

MAD4MORGANS

<< <i>So you like big shiny Silver Dollars do you......well what's your collecting strategy/style? >>



I...ahh...err...like collecting big shiny coins. They're...ahh...err...bigger than little shiny coins.




<< <i>Are you trying to assemble a date set which includes (1) coin from each year the Morgan was produced without regard to Mint Marks? Are you going for the gusto in you pursuit of a complete date and mint mark set ? What's your current Morgan Holdings look like....all white, Toned, All Common dates, all Key dates, or a mixture of both? Circulated or Unc? Graded or raw?[ >>


Ahh...err...yes


<< <i>Minimum grade required for a coin to be included in your set? >>


BU...Butt Ugly is Fine with me


<< <i>How long have you been actively collecting Morgans? >>


My wife says too long... I say not long enough... we are talking coins...right? (wishful thinking)


<< <i>Finally....post an image of your favorite Morgan in your collection..... >>


That's a tough one as I have a few I'm really fond of.
But here's one I have a real picture of at hand:

dwssws

Started out trying to put a complete Morgan set together, reached about 75%, and figured I would not be able to complete without major financial and grade quality sacrifice. So sold,traded,swapped for CC's and now just need 89 CC (hopefully AU58) to complete
Dabble in Vams, Top 100, Hot 50, and 8Tf's and anything that strikes my fancy.
two of my favorites

sweetwilliet

I am trying to complete a full set. I am concentrating on lower pop pl/dmpl coins for the common dates and have the key dates in circulated condition. I have an 1894 vf30, 1895 o vf35, 1889 cc f15, all of mine are PCGS. I have 5 ms66 coins. My favorite has to be an 1881 o pcgs ms64pl with golden toned obeverse, sorry no pics yet. Right now I am #17 or so on the prooflike registry, Wills Dimples and PLs. I know I will never complete a pl set, but will get as many dmpls as possible. My other favorite is a 1900 o in ms62 dmpl, rare in dmpl, in a old doily holder.

Vamer

Three Main Goals:

1. Top 100 Vams
2. Top 50 Peace Vams
3. Die breaks both series

ttxp

My Morgan collecting goals are really quite simple, I want them all.

librtyhead

still looking for an upgrade to my 93s all the rest are between au-50 and ms64 a very frustrating thing,most of the money for these come from side jobs that I do on the weekends and evenings I would not like to touch the house account for this hobby.

HighRelief

I have been collecting PL and DMPL Morgan Dollars with hoping to achieve a full set. Like lava said, the 93-S will be a little tricky and other dates in the 1890's. At this moment I am at 78 coins in PL and DMPL all PCGS and NGC which makes my collection 75% complete. I am now adding PL and DMPL Vams to my collection and trying to see how far I can go with it. I love the look of a real frosty deep mirror morgan and enjoy toned DMPL'S with the colors set against the mirrored fields. The rainbow toned Morgans are always nice to look at and add to the collection when you can. Here are some of my favorites.

coinbuf

Like so many Morgan collectors I will have a very difficult time completeing a full date/mm set in mint state. Several of the 1890's coins are well out of my reach. But I do like Morgans so I buy the ones that I find most eye-appealing; that is mostly blast white as toiners have become way too overpriced IMO. I also am just a couple of coins away from a complete date set, most likely the closest I'll get to a complete date/mm set.

Chris

AlfredE

I completed a date/mm set this year that I began working on in 2001. Initially I had the learning curve of raw eBay junk, all common dates. Before I really took the plunge to semi-key or key dates, I "bought the book" or rather several and spent as much time looking at the regional shows to sharpen my grading skills. I bought PCGS, NGC or ANACS for the next year before deciding to work on a certified PCGS set. I know registry sets are frowned upon by some, but it was fun to crossover my Morgans and see how well (or not) I had been in selecting nicer examples for a given grade. I was pleasantly surprised in my success at crossing over and even upgrading many of my set. Now that my set is completed, I'm having even more fun upgrading. Sometimes I "upgrade" within the same grade by finding a PQ example. When I go to a show, I am not looking for a particular date, but rather looking to see what catches my eye. Since I'm on a budget(?) I really like MS-63/64 and AU-58 grades. My PCGS Registry Set

Coxe

I am putting together as complete as possible set of PL Morgans by date and mint mark for all varieties available as prooflikes. Been collecting since the 1960s, with a long breather after my collection was stolen while in graduate school. Serious about it upon resumption for the past 20 years or so. Been doing VAMs snce the 1st edition of the book came out as justification for keeping my duplicates. (They are differenty die varieties!)

My favorite (below), though not the most valuable in the collection (which is probably the 1901 DMPL), is this 1892-O DMPL. Anyone who knows anything about this date will recognize how exceptional it is.

-- John C

lava

I'll vouch for the rarity (and beauty) of Coxe's `92-o (of which I have seen several, and own one), but if given the choice, I'd opt for the `01 dmpl (of which I have never seen in dmpl, and no not own even in pl).

BAJJERFAN

My goal is to eventually get a full set of date/mm coins tho I have been at that pinnacle a couple times already. I like white coins and toners both rainbow and bag toned. Bag toned or endrollers are fine and if you look at my set you will see lots of peripheral toners from albums or other places.
Many mite criticize my set matching and rightfully so. Have one 35 the 93-s then on to au50. Got a fair number of 58's lots of 64's and 65's and a bunch of 66's. About half the common 66's have nice toning on one side or the other. I have a fair number of dupes, many with some sort of decent toning. I would say that at this point I have but one sort of doggish coin in my set but that may change soon.

slipgate

My goal is also a full set of date/mm, I currently have 2 registered date sets, one complete (#29) and one I put together from my other Morgans. I hope to get in the top 20 one day for my date set. I am about 1/2 done with my full set. I'd like to end up with an MS60 overall with the final set. The keys will be hard!

JJM

ttt

lkenefic

<< <i>My goal is also a full set of date/mm, I currently have 2 registered date sets, one complete (#29) and one I put together from my other Morgans. I hope to get in the top 20 one day for my date set. I am about 1/2 done with my full set. I'd like to end up with an MS60 overall with the final set. The keys will be hard! >>



...even some of the semi-keys at MS60 are tough!!

Bon Chance!!!

1921obsession

My plan is simple, because it's not completion-oriented in any sense of the word. I'm accumulating 1921 VAMs right now. When I have enough of the less-common and more-striking ones to satisfy me, I'll branch out in the direction of a date/mm set consisting solely of die-cracked examples.

Hi. I'm Dave, and I'm a crack addict.

ziggy29

<< <i>My favorite (below), though not the most valuable in the collection (which is probably the 1901 DMPL), is this 1892-O DMPL. Anyone who knows anything about this date will recognize how exceptional it is. >>

Wow. That's absolutely *hammered* by '92-O standards.

messydesk

I have a few, with varying amounts of feasibility:

- Cherrypick all 78-P varieties.
- Put together a nice set in high bang-for-the-buck grades.
- Be able to assemble a timeline of when the various 78-P VAMs were struck. Pete Bishal had done this with the 8TFs. This will be Quite Difficult™ for the 7/8 and 7TFs.
- Enjoy doing the above.

Sandhawk

Just keep hoarding nice end-rollers.............

kwmorgan

1921-D sounds interesting, I think I'll have to look into the "Fun with 1921" book

My set ranges from G up to MS64. 1880 to 1885-CC are all GSA's with certs and boxes. The 1880-CC is a Reverse of '79, low "7" overdate. I remember wanting the GSA's so bad when I was a kid, now I finally have a 6 year block of them. I was 14 when I got the GSA postcard in the mail, circa 1980, and could not afford them. Funny how that stuff sticks with us. Next purchase will be a slabbed MS-63 or 64 1903-O, then I am going to try to finish off a 13 year "CC" date set, along with enhancing my VAM knowledge. Dunno if I'll ever go for the 1893-S. Only 8 coins away from a full circulation Morgan set. Time will tell...

Hadleydog

When I first started trading in my white coins for those with some color, I played with the notion of putting together a date set. Gave up on that when I realized there were far too many dates that I could never aquire with the kind of color that I have come to like. Now I focus mainly on textile or dmpl's (no need for it to be noted on the holder) ms64 or higher, with the hopes of finding just a couple a year worth going in my box of twenty...........which is still only 2/3 full.
With the current market being so competetive and only being able to make one or two significant purchases a year, I keep my addiction fed by surfing ebay looking for the really bad pictures that might be hiding something nice. You never know, I found the Walker I posted earlier that way.

HTubbs

My focus has never been date or mintmark collecting but rather eye appeal. If I see a toner I like,I'll grab it regardless of date. While this can make quite a colorful collection,it can look rather wierd when you have 15 1887's!


Hayden

kwmorgan

<< <i>My focus has never been date or mintmark collecting but rather eye appeal. If I see a toner I like,I'll grab it regardless of date. While this can make quite a colorful collection,it can look rather wierd when you have 15 1887's!


Hayden >>



Put a rather cheap mint state 1987 constitution dollar with 'em and you'll have a constitution anniversary set

Fun thing about Morgans is there are so many ways to collect them. Colorwise, my AU 1893-P started a rainbow ring around the edge, due to its previous album having some sulphur content. The dealer said, "I can take the color off if you want." The color stayed.

Julio

My plan has a major flaw. I want them all in duplicate and even after robbing several banks I'm not even close to the funds needed. [joke] Fortunately I have a plan B. I'm thinking of a government grant to study the effects of pristine Morgan Dollars on....
Any suggestions. jws

Man differs from the animals only by a little; most men throw that little away. Confucius

numonebuyer

I hope one day to have a completely uncirculated set of Morgans for my Variety Set.

I also hope to collect a few Pattern and Proof Morgans along the way.

BlindedByEgo

I like them by the bag.

ajia

Just trying, but at this point not very hard, to complete my date/mm set. Needing the 1893-S & 1894 I always find some other coin(s) I need for other sets before raising enough to purchase those.
I'm keeping my set for a while so I can wait.
I also have 3 nearly complete sets of raw Morgans in various grades, so I'm happy where I'm at for the time being.

Now, if you want to talk about Peace dollars......

cartwheel

Many mite criticize my set matching and rightfully so. -- Bajjerfan

I would shrug off any such "criticism" and so should you. I don't collect to please anyone but myself, and my pocketbook limits my choices. Some of my favorite Morgans are VF30's and VF35's. They have travelled the length and breadth of the land. Think of the people they've met and the stories they could tell! Plus, they look great! I'm looking for original VF30-35's for the tougher of the remaining empty slots in my collection (1893-S, 1895-S and 1893-CC).

I currently have 128 collectible Morgans (107 slabbed--all PCGS except one NGC and one ANACS). I started out with a (lucky for me) reliable dealer, and a lot of tough learning on eBay. After six years, the only thing I would do differently would be to go after the tougher dates (esp. the 'CC's) much earlier.

Cartwheel


edited fur spellin

TorinoCobra71

by date and MM. Will take many years to complete.......

TC71

morgannut2

My favorite set is a complete album by date/mm in circulated. I'm always trying to improve the way the coins match in terms of look, generally in AU with nice old undipped surfaces.

ABC123

I collect the best that I can reasonably afford !

BAJJERFAN

Many mite criticize my set matching and rightfully so. -- Bajjerfan

I would shrug off any such "criticism" and so should you. I don't collect to please anyone but myself, and my pocketbook limits
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Haint no one criticized it yet!!

anablep

I am collecting by date & mint mark so my ultimate goal is a complete set.

I have 61 different dates/mm currently, all graded except 2 of the GSAs.

Average grade for the set is just under MS62 with only one below AU53.

Almost all are rim toned blue/gold/purple or some combination of those colors.

So I guess you can say I'm going for a matched set.

Some of my favorites are in my sig line!

Currently having fun with it but its getting tougher now that all common MS dates are purchased.

Here's where the fun begins!!

MORGANHUNTER2

I hate Morgans

Rob41281

im doing a basic date set with all coins in pcgs OGH's, which can be seen in link below my post. need the tough dates to finish it. 92-95. most coins are 63-64 in grade, but the last 4 will be much lower due to budget.

sweetwilliet

Anyone up for a real challenge? Try collecting the entire set in the old doily holders. That would be quite an accomplishment. Oh yeah, in dmpl. I am at one so far.