1894-S Morgan Silver Dollar
Circulation strike struck at the San Francisco Mint · 1,260,000 made
- Mintage
- 1,260,000
- 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 1894-S Morgan Silver Dollar worth?
Collectors pay a real premium for this date, worn or not, because far fewer were made than usual. Uncirculated pieces go much higher.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- Prooflike or deep mirror fields (PL, DMPL)
- A die variety or minting error
- Certification by PCGS or NGC, which buyers expect for scarce dates
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1894-S Morgan Silver Dollar rare?
- Somewhat. 1,260,000 were made, fewer than most dates, so collectors treat it as a semi-key.
- Is the 1894-S 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 1894 Morgan Silver Dollar?
- On the reverse, below the wreath and above the letters "DO" in DOLLAR. Philadelphia coins have no mint mark. On this coin the mark is S, for San Francisco.
- Which San Francisco dates near 1894 are scarcer?
- The 1893-S at 100,000, the 1895-S at 400,000, the 1889-S at 700,000, plus 1 more. So the 1894-S is on the scarcer side for those years.
- How many 1894-S Morgan Silver Dollar coins were made?
- 1,260,000.
What to check on your 1894-S
- Make sure the mint mark really is an S. A worn or filled mark can be misread. It's what separates your coin from the 1894 (110,000 made).
- 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.
Never clean it. Collectors pay strong premiums for original surfaces and natural toning on a date like this. A cleaned coin can lose half its value or more. San Francisco Morgan dollars are usually well struck with frosty luster, which is why S-mint coins are popular in high grades.
The story of the 1894-S
San Francisco ramped up hard in 1894: 1,260,000 coins, about 13 times the 1893 run. The next year it made 400,000 (1895-S).
1894 came to 110,000 and 1894-O came to 1.7 million, so neither mint's 1894 coin is much scarcer than the other. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1903-S (1,241,000) and the 1883-CC (1,204,000).
San Francisco struck the Morgan Silver Dollar in 28 issues between 1878 and 1921. By mintage this one lands in the scarcer half, while the key for that mint is the 1893-S (100,000). Within the 1890s it's 12th smallest of 34, between the 1892-S (1.2 million) and the 1892-CC (1.4 million).
Low Philadelphia mintages and the Treasury releases (1894 to 1904)
With the Sherman Act repealed in 1893, the Mint coined silver it had already bought. Philadelphia struck only 110,000 in 1894. For 1895 only about 880 proofs are confirmed, since the business strikes reported for that year have never been found. That makes the 1895 the most famous Morgan date. Output rose again from 1896, with New Orleans passing 12 million in 1899, 1900 and 1901.
New Orleans coins such as the 1898-O, 1903-O and 1904-O were long thought rare until Treasury vault releases in 1962 to 1964 put sealed bags into collectors' hands. Philadelphia's 1899 run of 330,000 and the 1895-O and 1895-S remain scarce. The 1901 from Philadelphia is common worn but rare uncirculated. Coinage ended in 1904 when the bullion bought under the Sherman Act ran out.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1894
The San Francisco Mint struck just 24 dimes dated 1894, one of the most famous rarities in American coinage.
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 | 1894 |
| Mint | San Francisco Mint |
| Mint mark | "S" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 1,260,000 |
| 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 1894 Morgan Silver Dollar issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1894 Morgan Silver Dollar | 110,000 | Circulation strike | 0.7735 oz |
| 1894-S Morgan Silver Dollar | 1,260,000 | Circulation strike | 0.7735 oz |
| 1894-O Morgan Silver Dollar | 1,723,000 | 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.