Guides The Morgan & Peace Dollar Handbook: Dates, Mints & Values
Guide · 6 min read
The Morgan & Peace Dollar Handbook: Dates, Mints & Values
Morgan and Peace dollars are the great silver dollars of American coinage, and they turn up all the time in North Texas collections. If you have a few, or a full roll, this handbook covers what drives their value.
In short: some sit near their silver and some run far higher, and the difference comes down to date, mint mark, and grade.
Morgan dollars, 1878 to 1921
Morgan dollars ran from 1878 to 1904 and returned for one year in 1921. Each holds just over three-quarters of an ounce of silver, so even a common one carries a solid melt value plus a steady collector premium.
Check the reverse, below the wreath, for the mint mark: none for Philadelphia, O for New Orleans, S for San Francisco, D for Denver, and the prized CC for Carson City.
Peace dollars, 1921 to 1935
The Peace dollar replaced the design and ran from 1921 to 1935. It holds the same silver and stays in demand, with the 1921 high-relief issue and the low-mintage 1928 among the more wanted dates.
Key dates worth knowing
A short list of dates can be worth many times melt even in modest condition, so the names are worth learning.
- 1889-CC Morgan, a famed Carson City rarity
- 1893-S Morgan, the top key to the series
- 1895 Morgan, known mostly as a proof-only rarity
- 1928 Peace dollar from Philadelphia, the series key
- Any Carson City (CC) Morgan
Grade drives the number
Condition changes the picture entirely. A common date might bring a small premium worn but a large multiple of that in high uncirculated grades. That is why dollars should be read one by one, not weighed together.
And never clean a silver dollar. A cleaned coin can lose most of its premium even as it looks brighter to the eye.
Key takeaways
- Each Morgan or Peace dollar carries roughly 0.77 oz of silver.
- Dates and mint marks, Carson City above all, push value past melt.
- Keys such as 1889-CC and 1893-S sell for many multiples of metal.
- Grade is decisive, so check dollars one by one and never clean them.
FAQ
Common questions
Where do I find the mint mark on a Morgan?
It sits on the reverse, right below the wreath. A blank means Philadelphia, while O, S, D, and CC mean New Orleans, San Francisco, Denver, and Carson City.
Is every old silver dollar valuable?
Each one holds silver and carries at least a melt-based value plus a collector premium. Whether it is worth much more depends on the date, mint mark, and grade, so each gets checked.
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