Any advice on Silver Dollar Collecting?

Gentlemen,

Recently, I have been interested and started collecting a few American Silver Dollars. Primarily Morgans.

I am interested in older silver dollars, because of the history, but I do like the modern Eagles with the walking Liberty.

My concern is that when I look at Morgan dollars for instance, the price range is all over the map.

Any good resources or reference materials? Any advice to a novice collector? What have been some of your better 'finds' or what do you look for?

I know that there were different mints for coins and like anything, condition does greatly affect value, but are their any general rules or advice?

It's open for discussin'.

The only experience I have is that my dim-bulb brother-in-law is planning on making his fortune by buying rolls of silver dollars, 50 cent pieces, and quarters at the bank, and selling the older ones with the high silver content to one of those gold buying places. So far, he hasn't moved into a mansion...

I understand GKC. I think we all have one or two in the family.

TheHobbyist said:

I understand GKC. I think we all have one or two in the family.

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Good luck with pursuing your hobby. When my mother died, we found some really old coins (mixed denominations) that she had been saving. My wife has some interest, and has started a collection or two at various times, but she's never really pursued it. Seems like it could be both interesting, and hopefully valuable.

Forum member VM is a coin collector, stamp collector and all around collector maybe he'll chime in.

GKC said:

The only experience I have is that my dim-bulb brother-in-law is planning on making his fortune by buying rolls of silver dollars, 50 cent pieces, and quarters at the bank, and selling the older ones with the high silver content to one of those gold buying places. So far, he hasn't moved into a mansion...

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I would have been a great long-term plan in 1959.

I am a collector of various items. Just an old packrat at heart i guess.
I too collected silver dollars before it got too expensive chasing the
rarer ones. So i moved on to S&W revolvers, which has been just
as addictive and expensive. Guess i have good taste.
My advise is "Buy the book before you buy the coin". Read all you can
get your hands on (BEFORE) you start buying.
I collected Morgan and Peace silver dollars. The dates and condition
determine the value. Just as with most collecting interests.
Most Morgan and Peace you will find in grandmaws collection from
where she saved some in a drawer are going to be the more common
dates and usually not in a collecting condition that will be worth much
more than the melt value. All 1964 and before, dollar, quarter, and dime
coins we're 90% silver. Now the higher priced stuff is usually the
very rare dates and mintmarks --CC--Carson City and have been
professionally graded by a MAJOR grading company.
Note i said major grading company. Only trust the big three,
PCGS, NGC, and ANACS
There are a lot of smaller grading companies but their grading is
all over the place and not trusted when time comes to sell the collection.
If you go to a coin show with a PCGS graded morgan dollar to sell
you will get a much better price than a smaller grading company or
"raw" (ungraded) coin. Unless you are really astute and know what to look
for i would recommend not buying any raw coins. Many people
who sell raw coins will represent a coin as grade (MS-65) say for instance
when in fact it has at one point been cleaned and lost all real
collector value. Coin (Doctors) will also clean and repair coins that
have little or no value and try and represent them as high grade.
By buying (graded) coins from the major services you will avoid a
very sad surprise later down the road.
PM me if you have any further questions and i will be glad to help.

Chuck

I worked in the numismatic field at a pretty high level for a lot of years. Both as a dealer and at a grading service. Here are the hard and fast rules by which you should abide to avoid being burned as you start out.

1. Get a current Red Book of U.S. Coins. Any bookstore will have them. Also available online. Check out Coin Trends magazine, too. This will give you a fair idea of trading values.

2. Buy only certified, slabbed coins graded by a reputable third-party grading firms such as PCGS and NGC. Avoid coins graded by the smaller firms. PCGS and NGC are the standard by which all others are judged.

3. Do not buy "raw" uncertified coins until you know what you are doing. Do. Not. Many a fortune has been lost doing this.

3. If you get into it seriously, join the American Numismatic Association and take a grading course or two or three. Here you will learn not just how to grade but also how to identify cleaning, whizzing, thumbing, dipping and other bad things that are done to raw coins to make unknowing novices pay far too much.

4. Do not crack any slabbed coin out of its holder. Ever.

Coins are graded on a scale of 1-70 that describes its condition, or how well it has survived. The 60-70 scale is reserved for mint-state, uncirculated coins.

Value is based on condition and rarity. Condition, or grade, is highly important. One or two points on the grading scale can effect value wildly depending on the date/mintmark combination.

Example: a slabbed 1881-S Morgan graded MS65 is around $165. The same coin in MS67 is $675. The difference in grade could be as small as two tiny contact marks on Lady Liberty's cheek.

Rarity is determined by how many coins were minted at a particular mint in a particular year. Some years production was vast, these are known as common date coins. Some years production was low, these are known as key date coins. Prices for high-grade key dates can boggle your mind. Also, in the Morgan series, Carson City mintmark tends to bring a premium.

One other feature that effects value is toning. There are some truly beautiful rainbow-toned Morgans out there, PCGS and NGC graded, that always command a premium when they come up. Toning occurs when acids in the old paper rolls and inks on Mint storage bags reacted with the surface of the coins. Many collectors specialize in toned coins exclusively.

Morgans are a great series with which to start as they are so big it is easy to learn what grading is all about.

It's a really fun and historical field of interest. Just be sure to find a reputable dealer in your area or buy certified coins in online auctions. If you have a local dealer who is PCGS and/or NGC endorsed, and preferably a member of the Professional Numismatists Guild, you'd do well to start there. Such dealers must adhere to strict ethics codes.

*edit: typo

I used to buy Morgans and Peace dollars from a coin shop and was paying 15/16 dollars, the price has gone up very much so now I just buy silver eagles I find they are a much better value than silver dollars, I only bought the common ones, not the rare ones. Jeff

TheHobbyist - Morgans are a beautiful coin and one of my favorites to collect. Condition and mint marks are important to understand value.
Generally speaking, the CC (Carson City) are the most desireable although there are other "key dates" with other mint marks that go into the stratusphere in value.
As a start I'd have you go to any bookstore and pickup a new copy of the "Red Book" - it is about 5"x8" and has spiral back. It is an easy guide to understand and have all U.S. coin values. (remember, it is just a basic guide)
Shoot me a email if I can give you any personal advice or other info

I am humbled and grateful for the responses so far. I have been focusing on the "CC" Morgans because I enjoy the history.

I guess its one of those things. I'm not trying to get rich by any means, but want to ensure I get and pay a fair value.

There were some early Bust dollars I am interested in as well because of the history.

Buy low and sell high. Never pay more than melt price because you'll get screwed in the long run. I can tell you to never pay more than you think it's worth. Check the value of silver every day and check it often. Coin study.com is a pretty good one

Silver prices have been falling from $35 in October to $18.56 today with strong downward pressure on the price. Silver Eagles (1 oz 999 fine silver) are running about $23 now. 90% silver coins vary depending on condition, year, mint mark and other factors so, if you're buying for collecting, 90% coins are fine. If you're buying as bullion, then go with the Eagles or other 1 oz 999 uncirculated coins. Silver prices haven't been this low since 2010.

Memphiscbrider said:

Never pay more than melt price because you'll get screwed in the long run.

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Modern bullion coins, true. Coins with numismatic value, inaccurate. It's not just a hunk of silver, it's a collectible, tangible asset.

OP, if you do delve into the CC issues, look around your local gun shows for GSA-holdered examples. You can often find nice ones in MS63-64 for very fair prices. I found six in the last year, all right around $275-$300 each. Sometimes these coins will grade higher at the services. Scoreboard!

And if you're so inclined toward an odd piece of history with some good CCs in it, try and secure a Morgan from the Redfield Hoard:

Redfield Hoard Increased Collector Supply

The most reliable coin dealer I know has told me there are some very good fakes with a probable origin in Asia showing up in bulk auction lots. Local coin clubs can point you to reputable sources. Sort of like collecting guns the more you can learn and the more trusted the source the better. A current red book is good for what was made but the price guide is rather out of date. An easy way to start would be to pick a quality level you like, then a yaer then collect all the mint marks from that year. Most of all enjoy.

I've been coin collecting for years. My recommendation to any one would be to buy brilliant un-circulated (BU) or Proof only. These grades appreciate most & at a quicker rate.

Find a local mom and pop coin shop. Make yourself known. Go there and buy a book or two. Ask questions. The better they get to know you the better they will open up to you so you can learn more.

Buy the Red Book price guide. There are also some books dedicated to the Morgan that will explain errors, mint marks, die varieties ect....

Buy only slabbed coins for now. And slabbed coins can be faked so only buy from a reputable dealer as mentioned above.

And don't go crazy. By only what you want. Not what you think you need. If you like Morgans then collect only Morgans. If you are fortunate enough to complete your collection then start on another type of coin.

I have been collecting since I was a little guy but didn't get serious about it until 12-15 years ago when I found a local coin shop. They know me well. We have become very good friends. They know what I'm looking for and will quite often hold it for me. They even let me help myself behind the sales counter if they are busy helping another customer.

I have bought coins at coin shows too but they seem to command top dollar much like gun shows so I don't go often.

Lots of good advice so far. As an amature numismatists I also recommend you study up on the subject coin or coins you may be focusing on.

I have a good number of Morgan and Peace dollars, but my favorite and the one I've acquired the most of are Walking Liberty halfs. Frankly, I think they are the most beautifully crafted United States coin ever minted and they have a long window of production which makes it a fertile area for collectors. I also like Ben Franklin halfs.

As for newer silver coins, I like the silver American eagle, but also check out the Australian Kookabura series silver dollars, and I also have accrued a number of Canadian Wolf silver dollars.

Dashriprock said:

Modern bullion coins, true. Coins with numismatic value, inaccurate. It's not just a hunk of silver, it's a collectible, tangible asset.

OP, if you do delve into the CC issues, look around your local gun shows for GSA-holdered examples. You can often find nice ones in MS63-64 for very fair prices. I found six in the last year, all right around $275-$300 each. Sometimes these coins will grade higher at the services. Scoreboard!

And if you're so inclined toward an odd piece of history with some good CCs in it, try and secure a Morgan from the Redfield Hoard:

Redfield Hoard Increased Collector Supply

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Well that's really what i meant. Didn't mean that in the way of coins such as the cc's. just the ones like your run of the mill 1921

I buy them for the silver content when the price is right. If one or two is a rare date then that is a plus. I often wonder how many were melted down when the Hunt brothers were tinkering with silver prices back in the 70's. My father died in 2003. He had a bunch that my brother and I split up. Some were CC's and some O's. I've never had any of them graded. Back in the 60's one of the Hattiesburg banks released several thousand 1878 Morgan dollars. They were uncirculated but I don't know the mint they came from.