Morgan Silver Dollar

1878-1904 & 1921

The Morgan Silver Dollar, which was named after its designer, George T. Morgan, was minted from 1878 – 1904 and then again for one year in 1921. Each Morgan Silver Dollar has a finesse of .900 which gives it 0.77344 troy ounces, or 24.057 grams of silver.
The coin was commissioned after the Bland-Allison Act was passed; which called for the US Treasury Department to buy large amounts of silver, and strike it into coins. This was at a time when the cost of silver was very low due to the Comstock Lode silver strike in Nevada; which to this day is the largest silver strike in history.
Morgan Silver DollarThe Morgan Silver Dollar was minted up to 1904 when there was a large supply of the dollars in circulation and a shortage of silver bullion. Finally in 1918 the Pittman act was passed which required 270 million of the coins to be melted down for their silver content. The Treasury Department would mint the coin one more time in 1921 before it was replaced by the Silver Peace Dollar.
The coin features George T. Morgan’s rendition of Lady Liberty on the obverse side of the coin and an Eagle holding arrows and an olive branch on the reverse side. The mintmarks of the coin are located below the tail feathers of the eagle on the reverse side of the coin between the D and O in Dollar. The mintmark on the coin can be either blank, CC, D, O, or S. Of all the mintmarks the CC mark is considered to be the most valuable as they had the lowest mintages, as well as holding a connection to the west having been minted in Carson City, Nevada.
Morgan Silver DollarThe most collectible Morgan Silver Dollar varieties include:

  • 1878-P: The eagles has 8 tail feathers
  • 1879-CC: Contains a clear CC
  • 1882-O: The O is stamped over the S
  • 1887-O: The 7 in the date is stamped over a 6
  • 1888-O: Double obverse sides
  • 1900-O: The O is stamped over CC
  • 1901-P: Double reverse sides

As for the value of the Morgan dollar, a regular specimen will carry a value anywhere from $30 up into the low thousands. If you are lucky enough to get your hands on an 1895 Proof of the Silver Morgan Dollar you will be looking at approximately $66,000 according to the 2007 Red Book.
Morgan Silver Dollar Specifications:
Minted: 1878-1904 & 1921
Diameter: 38.1 mm
Weight: 26.73 g
Composition: 90% silver 10% copper
Silver Content: 24.057 g
Edge: Reeded
Designer: George T. Morgan
Written by Mike Barton for Coin Collector Guide, Copyright 2008
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Morgan Dollar Mintage Numbers

1878 8TF* — 749,500
1878 7TF — 9,759,300
1878-CC — 2,212,000
1878-S —- 9,774,000
1879 —— 14,806,000
1879-CC — 756,000
1879-O —- 2,887,000
1879-S —- 9,110,000
1880 —— 12,600,000
1880-CC — 591,000
1880-O —- 5,305,000
1880-S —- 8,900,000
1881 —— 9,163,000
1881-CC — 296,000
1881-O —- 5,708,000
1881-S —- 12,760,000
1882 —— 11,100,000
1882-CC — 1,133,000
1882-O —- 6,090,000
1882-S —- 9,250,000
188 ——- 12,290,000
1883-CC — 1,204,000
1883-O —- 8,725,000
1883-S —- 6,250,000
1884 —— 14,070,000
1884-CC — 1,136,000
1884-O —- 9,730,000
1884-S —- 3,200,000
1885 —— 17,787,000
1885-CC — 238,000
1885-O —- 9,185,000
1885-S —- 1,497,000
1886 —— 19,963,000
1886-O — 10,710,000
1886-S —- 750,000
1887 —— 20,290,000
1887-O —- 11,550,000
1887-S —- 1,771,000
1888 —— 19,183,000
1888-O —- 12,150,000
1888-S —- 657,000
1889 —— 21,726,000
1889-CC — 350,000
1889-O —- 11,875,000
1889-S —- 700,000
1890 —— 16,802,000
1890-CC — 2,309,041
1890-O —- 10,701,000
1890-S —- 8,230,373
1891 —— 8,693,556
1891-CC — 1,618,000
1891-O —- 7,954,529
1891-S —- 5,296,000
1892 —— 1,036,000
1892-CC — 1,352,000
1892-O —- 2,744,000
1892-S —- 1,200,000
1893 —— 378,000
1893-CC — 677,000
1893-O —- 300,000
1893-S —- 100,000
1894 —— 110,000
1894-O —- 1,723,000
1894-S —- 1,260,000
1895-O —– 450,000
1895-S —– 400,000
1896 —— 9,976,000
1896-O —- 4,900,000
1896-S —- 5,000,000
1897 —— 2,822,000
1897-O —- 4,004,000
1897-S —- 5,825,000
1898 —— 5,884,000
1898-O —- 4,440,000
1898-S —- 4,102,000
1899 ——– 330,000
1899-O —- 12,290,000
1899-S —– 2,562,000
1900 ——- 8,830,000
1900-O —- 12,590,000
1900-S —- 3,540,000
1901 —— 6,962,000
1901-O —- 13,320,000
1901-S —- 2,284,000
1902 —— 7,994,000
1902-O — 8,636,000
1902-S —- 1,530,000
1903 —— 4,652,000
1903-O — 4,450,000
1903-S — 1,241,000
1904 —— 2,788,000
1904-O — 3,720,000
1904-S — 2,304,000
1921 —- 44,690,000
1921-D — 20,345,000
1921-S — 21,695,000

* TF = Tail Feathers

8 thoughts on “Morgan Silver Dollar”

  1. I have 4 1921 Morgan Silver Dollars minted with a “S” . All are in good condition. Is there a value on them ?

  2. Dear Coin Collector:
    I have one 1883, one 1892, one 1889. and one 1899 Morgan Silver Dollars. I don’t know how to distinguish the O’s, the CC’s, and the S. They all are in very good condition. I don’t feel comfortable giving my address to someone I do not know. No I have used your website before. This is my first time.

  3. I have 4 morgans 1882-s the 2 in the date looks spread out more then the other numbers was that normal for a number to be different than the others it does not look to have been hit with something it is curious thanks for any help you can give

  4. I have a 1921 Morgan Silver Dollar. I think it is minted with an O, but it may be a D. What would one like this be worth?

  5. i have a 1878 p mini morgan silver dollar and its in good condition you can see and read everything perfectly i was wondering how much its worth????

  6. First off, I wanted to say well done on the Morgan history/mintage info. This page is very handy to reference mintages!
    I wanted to comment to everyone here. Seems like the question is – I have xxxx Morgan Dollar, is it work anything? Yes, they’re all worth something. Silver dollars have a nice amount of silver within – almost a full ounce, and with the silver price per ounce between $30-$40/ounce, you know your very low meltdown value is that. Anything regarding condition of the coin.. or scarcity will increase that value greatly. So it’s worth ‘something’ at the very least.
    Again.. great post!
    MD

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