1895 Morgan Silver Dollar
Circulation strike struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 12,000 made
- Mintage
- 12,000
- 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 1895 Morgan Silver Dollar worth?
This is one of the dates collectors hunt for. A genuine 1895 is valuable in any condition, even well worn. That's exactly why fakes and altered coins turn up so often.
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.
The 1895 Philadelphia Morgan is known only as a proof. Mint records list business strikes, but none has ever been confirmed, making this one of the most famous mysteries in US coins.
Quick answers
- Is the 1895 Morgan Silver Dollar rare?
- Yes. Only 12,000 were made, the lowest of any regular Morgan Silver Dollar.
- Is the 1895 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 1895 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 1895 are scarcer?
- None. Within five years either side, no Philadelphia issue had a smaller mintage than the 1895.
- How many 1895 Morgan Silver Dollar coins were made?
- 12,000.
What to check on your 1895
- There's no mint mark on this one, so the date and condition are what matter.
- Check the date and mint mark under magnification for tooling or added letters. Scarce dates are the ones forgers alter.
- Don't clean it. Cleaning leaves fine scratches and an unnatural shine that collectors avoid.
- Proof or circulation strike? A proof has mirror-like fields and frosted design details and was sold to collectors, not released in change. The 1895 Morgan Silver Dollar Proof (880 made) is the one to compare with.
- 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. Low-mintage dates attract altered and counterfeit coins. Check that the date have not been tooled or added, or buy one already certified by PCGS or NGC.
The story of the 1895
Production at Philadelphia fell off a cliff in 1895. Only 12,000 were made, against 110,000 the year before. That drop is why the 1895 is the one people look for. In 1896 the figure was 10 million.
The other mints made far more that year: 1895-O alone came to 450,000, roughly 38 for every 1895. If you're checking a pile of 1895 coins, the mint mark is the one to look for. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1893-S (100,000) and the 1894 (110,000).
Of the 28 Morgan Silver Dollars Philadelphia struck between 1878 and 1921, this is the scarcest. No Morgan Silver Dollar of the 1890s had a smaller run.
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 1895
Mint records list Philadelphia Morgan dollars struck for circulation in 1895, but none has ever been found. Only proofs are known.
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 | 1895 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 12,000 |
| 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 1895 Morgan Silver Dollar issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1895 Morgan Silver Dollar | 12,000 | Circulation strike | 0.7735 oz |
| 1895 Morgan Silver Dollar Proof | 880 | Proof | 0.7735 oz |
| 1895-S Morgan Silver Dollar | 400,000 | Circulation strike | 0.7735 oz |
| 1895-O Morgan Silver Dollar | 450,000 | 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.