Most circulated Morgans are only worth their bullion value.
moursund
Posts: 3,207 ✭✭✭✭✭
I just read this:
This was on the website: https://www.vosslawfirm.com/library/before-you-invest-in-morgan-dollars-consider-these-points-the-voss-law-firm.cfm
I don't know what Voss Law has to do with coins, but my observation has been that Morgans have a definite premium over junk silver. And surely more attractive than a worn pile of silver Washington quarters.
100th pint of blood donated 7/19/2022 
. Transactions with WilliamF, Relaxn, LukeMarshal, jclovescoins, braddick, JWP, Weather11am, Fairlaneman, Dscoins, lordmarcovan, Collectorcoins, SurfinxHI, JimW. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that who so believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.
. Transactions with WilliamF, Relaxn, LukeMarshal, jclovescoins, braddick, JWP, Weather11am, Fairlaneman, Dscoins, lordmarcovan, Collectorcoins, SurfinxHI, JimW. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that who so believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.3
Comments
My guess is the law firm is used to help settle estates when someone with a coin collection passes away. Coin dealers and collectors actually get paid to value coin collections to help settle the value as part of the estate. My second guess is that the law firm has this on their website to keep heirs from thinking that the circulated 1884-O Morgan is worth more than the house
.
Cull morgans are worth $25ish ea right now. What nonsense.
"It's like God, Family, Country, except Sticker, Plastic, Coin."
Good thoughts. I just wonder about the 'bad' advice. Don't invest in circulated Morgans? Heck, if somebody offers me VF-EF circulated Morgans at the bullion price, I think I'd take all I can carry.
You should, that is a very easy flip for 50%+ profit.
"It's like God, Family, Country, except Sticker, Plastic, Coin."
Flipping aside, they are so pretty, at that price maybe I could tile my shower with them.
...or at least put them under some glass-top coffee tables.
Flip them and use the profits to buy a really nice one and keep your original capital intact and do it again. That's how I've built most of my collection.
"It's like God, Family, Country, except Sticker, Plastic, Coin."
They were $35 at the coin show I recently attended. A few years ago they were typically $22-$25 each.
Perhaps the wording could be clearer--many coins are worth a small premium above their bullion value. I'll bet the context of the statement is that when someone has a pile of silver dollars and expects to be a millionaire, this is to temper expectations. Maybe the coins are worth $25 or $30 instead of $18, but that's not significant if someone would otherwise think they're worth $1000 each. Coin shop owners face this problem all the time when they have to tell someone the old coins they brought in aren't worth a lot just because they're old, and then the dealer gets accused of trying to scam them.
Ok, makes me feel sensible about paying $650 a roll on BST forum, for a few culls but mostly nice circs and some AU/MS 1921s
I have a lot of peace dollars and have a clue about grading them, but not much practice with Morgans. Now I have 3 rolls in various levels of wear, toning, and dirt... I'll have a chance to broaden my experience.
am
I don’t know what dealers are paying right now, but it seems that certainly a few years ago, spot for culls or worn examples would be about right. So as far as setting expectations goes, it’s a good starting point.
You’re probably solid on the rolls you purchased.
Culls?
$35 is the mid range bulk price.
US collectors don't think of common Morgan dollars as bullion and hasn't been priced that way for a long time.
It's been my inference that the most common Morgan dollars have been owned primarily for financial reasons ever since coins were first widely bought as "investments" in the 70's.
The 1881-S has a combined NGC and PCGS count of over 500,000 with a low proportion of duplicates and it's possible more are still outside of a TPG holder than in one. Same patterns for other common dates where the counts exceed 100,000 or maybe 200,000.
There aren't anywhere near 500,000 collector hobbyists who own or want an 1881-S. This is equally true for at least some of the other most common dates, unless the collector base is a noticeable multiple of the number I believe which is around 2MM.
I think he's talking retail pricing and we are talking wholesale pricing.
"It's like God, Family, Country, except Sticker, Plastic, Coin."
Is retail pricing what I would see on display at the coin shop? Does eBay tend to sell at slightly less than retail? What about the buy sell trade forum here? Do I have to go to a coin show to get wholesale? Or maybe buy in bulk?
... Generally speaking, that is.
$35 is too high for retail for CULLS. In bulk, culls should be $25 retail.
eBay is retail. Your coin shop is retail. Auctions are retail The BST here may be somewhere in between wholesale and retail.
You have to go to a wholesaler to buy wholesale or possibly have a relationship with a dealer who has a lot of material to move. Coin shows are mostly retail also although there may be a wholesaler who sets up at some of the bigger ones. But wholesale deals are different. They don't want to sit there and babysit you while you search for a single coin you want. If they wanted to do that, they'd be retailers. They want to do large, fast transactions. They may carry a very limited selection of inventory.
You want to buy wholesale, you typically need to buy a bunch of stuff you don't want to get the stuff you do want.
I just shipped 700 silver dollars to a place paying $25/ea for culls (must have date, no holes, not bent) right now and more for other stuff. Dollars are hot, hot, hot right now.
"It's like God, Family, Country, except Sticker, Plastic, Coin."
Buying wholesale, you probably want a minimum order of $3k+. This is a relationships business, you have to talk to a lotta people, shake a lotta hands, have an actual business and business accounts, then you can set up wholesale accounts and whatnot. I personally don't play the buy at wholesale, sell at retail game, I just buy whatever I can get under wholesale and ship it to wholesale. Thin margins but easy money.
"It's like God, Family, Country, except Sticker, Plastic, Coin."
However, if silver goes on an upward run, that extra $6 numismatic value tends to evaporate in the frenzy to cash in silver.
My LCS has been charging $29. each for cull Morgan and Peace dollars. I will buy them when decent ones are available. However, not much to pick from lately. The ones he has now are in really rough shape.
Local place was $22 for straight culls, no conditions. Either way, $35 is way too high for retail on culls
Since I am not a dealer, I just watch for bargains..... Mainly, I would be looking for specific dates/mints.... Not searching for anything particular right now.. so it would have to be a good deal that I spot while looking around websites. Cheers, RickO
When my Uncle passed away I had the chance to look through many dozens of Morgans he had accumulated over the years. Probably over 200 pieces but I don't remember exactly. Average condition was VF/XF. I'd love to buy them all for $19 each today!!!
I never remember circulated silver dollars selling at “junk” silver, or bullion prices. There has always been a numismatic premium on silver dollars.
Well, they would probably say that coin dealers shouldn't give legal advice.
But their statement indicates that maybe lawyers shouldn't give coin advice.
I don't have a problem with this statement despite the fact that these lawyers probably aren't as into the hobby as we are. I think it is better to temper expectations and be surprised to find a dealer that will pay more than for people with inheritances to think that their collections are valuable and be disappointed once they call someone like @Dreamcrusher at the ANA for advice.
A lot of Morgan Dollars are only with their bullion value now because the price of silver is so darn high. If it were lower, the casual collectors would support a minor numismatic premium for them.