1878 Morgan Silver Dollar
Circulation strike struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 10,508,800 made
- Mintage
- 10,508,800
- Metal
- 90% silver, 10% copper
- Weight
- 26.73 g
- Diameter
- 38.1 mm
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is an 1878 Morgan Silver Dollar worth?
In worn condition it trades for about its silver content, 0.7735 troy ounces. Uncirculated coins with full luster or attractive toning sell for more. The exception is the 1878 Morgan Dollar: 8 vs 7 Tail Feathers, which collectors pay a large premium for.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- Prooflike or deep mirror fields (PL, DMPL)
- A known variety for the date: 1878 Morgan Dollar: 8 vs 7 Tail Feathers
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Check your coin for the 1878 Morgan Dollar: 8 vs 7 Tail Feathers. It is a known design change for this date and mint.
Quick answers
- Is the 1878 Morgan Silver Dollar rare?
- No. 11 million were made, a typical run for the series. Condition and varieties decide its value, not the date.
- Is the 1878 Morgan Silver Dollar silver?
- Yes. It's 90% silver, 10% copper and holds 0.7735 troy ounces of pure silver.
- Where is the mint mark on an 1878 Morgan Silver Dollar?
- On the reverse, below the wreath and above the letters "DO" in DOLLAR. Philadelphia coins have no mint mark.
- Which Philadelphia dates near 1878 are scarcer?
- The 1881 at 9,163,000. So the 1878 is on the scarcer side for those years.
- How many 1878 Morgan Silver Dollar coins were made?
- 10,508,800.
What to check on your 1878
- There's no mint mark on this one, so the date and condition are what matter.
- Look for the 1878 Morgan Dollar: 8 vs 7 Tail Feathers.
- Don't clean it. Cleaning leaves fine scratches and an unnatural shine that collectors avoid.
- Old coins pick up damage over a long life. Look for holes, bends, scratches or signs of cleaning before you judge the grade, because a damaged coin sells for a fraction of a problem-free one.
- Judge the grade under good light. Look at the hair above Liberty's ear, the cheek and the breast feathers on the eagle. Prooflike (PL) and Deep Mirror Prooflike (DMPL) surfaces add large premiums.
Circulated examples are usually traded for their silver content. Pick out the best ones: original luster and attractive toning lift a coin above melt, while cleaned coins lose most of their collector value.
The story of the 1878
1878 was the first year of the Morgan Silver Dollar. Philadelphia struck 10,508,800 of them. The next year it made 15 million (1879).
1878-CC came to 2.2 million and 1878-S came to 9.8 million, so neither mint's 1878 coin is much scarcer than the other.
Philadelphia struck the Morgan Silver Dollar in 28 issues between 1878 and 1921. By mintage this one lands in the more common half, while the key for that mint is the 1895 (12,000). Within the 1870s it's 6th smallest of 7, between the 1878-S (9.8 million) and the 1879 (15 million).
Bland-Allison dollars (1878 to 1885)
The Bland-Allison Act of February 28, 1878 required the Treasury to buy a minimum value of silver each month and coin it into dollars. George T. Morgan's design went into production within weeks. The first Philadelphia coins show eight tail feathers on the eagle. The count was soon cut to seven. Some dies show seven feathers punched over eight.
Carson City struck its first Morgans in 1878. New Orleans began in 1879. Most of these dollars never circulated and sat in bags in Treasury vaults for decades. When the government sold its remaining Carson City dollars by mail between 1972 and 1980, many CC coins of the early 1880s reached collectors in uncirculated condition, including the scarce 1881-CC and 1885-CC. Bag marks from that long storage are common.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1878
The Bland-Allison Act required the Treasury to buy millions of dollars' worth of silver each month and coin it into dollars. George T. Morgan's new silver dollar was the result and the twenty-cent piece was struck for the last time, as proofs only.
How to recognize it
George T. Morgan's Liberty faces left wearing a cap with wheat and cotton and a band inscribed LIBERTY, with E PLURIBUS UNUM above and the date below. The reverse shows an eagle with outstretched wings holding arrows and an olive branch above a wreath, with IN GOD WE TRUST above it. The mint mark is below the wreath, above the DO of DOLLAR.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Morgan Silver Dollar (1878–present) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1878 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 10,508,800 |
| Face value | $1 |
| Composition | 90% silver, 10% copper |
| Weight | 26.73 grams |
| Diameter | 38.1 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Silver content | 0.7735 troy oz (24.057 g) |
| Designer | George T. Morgan |
Other 1878 Morgan Silver Dollar issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1878 Morgan Silver Dollar | 10,508,800 | Circulation strike | 0.7735 oz |
| 1878-S Morgan Silver Dollar | 9,774,000 | Circulation strike | 0.7735 oz |
| 1878-CC Morgan Silver Dollar | 2,212,000 | Circulation strike | 0.7735 oz |
Mintage: Morgan dollar (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint records and the Guide Book of United States Coins. How we build these pages.