Expert: PAPAJACK - 2/4/2007

Question
hello mr papajack. :)
My name is Melissa Yates my boyfriends father passed away Jan 19th of this year. :( He was a Very big coin collector. We have some coins but we don't know what they are worth. we have many different ones. Can you give us a price range for when we go to sell them. We have 5 uncirculated Morgan Silver Dollars. They all have different years.1900.1883 this one has an "O" on the back.1898.1889.and 1887. we also have a certificate of authenticity, they are all in cases and never have been open. Can you help us out?
Thank you
Melissa Yates and Thomas Tarrant

Answer
Hello Melissa,  

I am not sure what you mean, when you said "they are all in cases and never have been open" ?
Coins are valued on a scale from 1 to 70. And on how rare a coin is. With no or little experience it is sometimes easier letting another collector look at them, and even most coin shops will help for free.
 
In each series of coin type like  "Morgan Dollars" . there are some quick reference points of wear to be seen on the high points that are known to show wear first. Most of these are covered in the RED BOOK.  The grading details it describes at the start of each coin series is taken from the American Numismatic Association Standard. And uses the 1 to 70 scale recognized by all professionals since the 1970's.

Most circulated coins range from Good (grade-G4) to Almost Uncirculated (grade-AU50) on the scale. So remember a grade of Good is 4 out of a possible 70 is a low grade.

Here's a quick wear/Grading guideline:

GOOD or Grade 4 :
Letters and date clear no feathers on reverse but no wear to the outside rim from letters.

VERY GOOD or Grade 8:
Normal wear, flat looking, very little sharpness remains but all major details visible.

FINE or Grade 12:
All details strong and definition remains on some high areas of the coin.  

VERY FINE or Grade 20:   
Two thirds of hairlines show. Ear is well defined. Feathers on eagles breast worn.

EXTREMELY FINE or Grade 40:  
All hairlines are strong. Only slight wear on eagles breast and wing tips. Some Original Mint Luster shows.

MINT STATE Grades 60 TO 70 :
STRICTLY NEVER CIRCULATED.  NO TRACE OF WEAR. Nice luster on coin.

The Morgan Type silver dollars are 90% silver. This makes the value of an extremely worn coin still worth 8 or 9 times it's face value just due to the precious metal content. Depending on the state of preservation (or Grade) and the Mint Mark (if any) they can vary greatly in value. Common issue dates in circulated condition are plentiful. These are approximate values for common date and mints circulated coins. These are approximate since the coins have to be seen to be properly estimated.

These dates 1883-O from the New Orleans Mint, 1887, 1889, 1898 and 1900 from the Philadelphia mint all have the same value from grade 8 up to grade 64 out of 70 points on the grading scale.

Very Good (Grade-8) = $16.00 for the Philadelphia issue
Fine (grade-12) = $17.00 for the Philadelphia issue  
Very Fine (grade-20) = $18.00 for the Philadelphia issue
Extremely Fine (grade-40) = $19.00 for the Philadelphia
Almost Uncirculated (grade-50) = $23.00 for the Philadelphia issue

Only if the coin is Uncirculated with very little wear there would be a demand for it and the price can vary greatly.
If in a grade of 64 and higher a MINT STATE GRADE it can be worth a good amount. FOR THIS  PRICE DIFFERENCE IT IS WORTH AT LEAST HAVING ANOTHER PROFESSIONAL LOOK AT THE COIN.

That said the Morgan prices realized as listed by one service follows:
for the Philadelphia and New Orleans issues:
MS60=$33,   MS63=$45,   MS64=$60,  MS65=$200 to $300,  

As you see the price jump is a lot for grade 65 and higher. These are approximate values. For coins with no problems. If you need help grading your coin feel free to PapaJack in the coin collecting section.

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Thank You and Good Luck

PapaJack