Expert: Dan Moore - 12/9/2009

Question
QUESTION: I have Morgan dollars from 1878-1900 with the exception of 1894. All are in very good condition, in reading other replies on allexperts I think they would be rated 40 -can see the detail hairlines, minimal wear at wing tips, some are shinier than others and may be rated higher possibly uncirculated.
1878-cc,1879-cc, others have no mint mark. My question is, are they more valuable as a set(although missing 1894, 1901, 1902, 1903, 1904 as far as I can tell) or individually and ofcourse their approximate values.
Thanks for your time!

ANSWER: Alison,

Most dates are going to be worth about $15 in circulated condition -- $25 to $35 in uncirculated condition.

Whether you sell them as a set or individually will not make a big difference.  Prettymuch any (honest) dealer you show them to is going to look for rare dates to evaluate seperately, then just count up the rest in two piles -- circulated and uncirculated.

You can use the following online price guide to pick out the rare date coins you have :

http://www.numismedia.com/fmv/fmv.shtml

The following grading guide should help determine exact grades :

http://statequarters.20m.com/morgandollar2.html

I hope this helps,

Dan

p.s. the 1879-CC, 1893, and 1895 are probably pretty valuable.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I did some looking into what you said. So far, focusing on the 1895 Morgan. Based on the black book (sent my husband to the book store for the RED book- go figure!) looks like it could be valued at 15,000-75,000, then I looked at the website you sent me the link to and I am a little unsure of the value there because I do not have the S or O so does that mean I could only have a proof, which is far more valuable?
After that I went to a site that said its guide will give you "dealer prices" as in what you might expect to get if you sold it to a dealer and that valued it at 16,000 - 35,000. I plan on using your link to try to grade it tonight but really am I right? Could this coin possibly sell to a dealer for at worst 15,000 or have I got this all wrong (I am not getting my hopes up yet)?
Thanks again for your time!!!!!

Answer
Wow, Alison.  If you do have the 1895 Morgan without any "O" or "S" mintmark, and if it is genuine, then you really do have a coin worth at least $15,000

Make sure the design on your coin matches up exactly to the one pictured here :

http://www.coinfacts.com/silver_dollars/morgan_dollars/1895_morgan_dollars/1895_

Double-check the mintmark area with a magnifier to make sure there is no evidence of a mintmark that has been removed.

If your coin looks right, your next step is to get it certified -- I would recommend either PCGS (pcgs.com) or NGC (ngccoin.com).  If you tell me which city you're in, I may be able to direct you to somebody that can help you get it certified.

Also, you should check out your 1893, looking for the "S" mintmark -- if it has one, it could be almost as valuable.

Dan