The dates to check first
These are the lowest-mintage Morgan dollars struck for circulation. If you're sorting a jar or an inherited collection, pull these dates out before anything else and check the mint mark carefully.
- 1895 Morgan Silver Dollar: 12,000 made. The 1895 Philadelphia Morgan is known only as a proof.
- 1893-S Morgan Silver Dollar: 100,000 made. The 1893-S is the king of Morgan dollars, with just 100,000 struck and very few surviving in high grade.
- 1894 Morgan Silver Dollar: 110,000 made.
- 1885-CC Morgan Silver Dollar: 228,000 made.
- 1881-CC Morgan Silver Dollar: 296,000 made.
- 1893-O Morgan Silver Dollar: 300,000 made.
Every morgan silver dollar by date and mint
Click any date for its full page: how many were made, the mint mark location, varieties and what to check. Mint marks matter: the same year can be common from one mint and scarce from another.
| Date and mint | Mintage | Value band | Also look for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1878-CC | 2,212,000 | Metal value | |
| 1878 | 10,508,800 | Metal value | 1878 Morgan Dollar: 8 vs 7 Tail Feathers |
| 1878-S | 9,774,000 | Metal value | |
| 1879-CC | 756,000 | Collector premium | |
| 1879-O | 2,887,000 | Metal value | |
| 1879 | 14,806,000 | Metal value | |
| 1879-S | 9,110,000 | Metal value | |
| 1880-CC | 495,000 | Collector premium | |
| 1880-O | 5,305,000 | Metal value | |
| 1880 | 12,600,000 | Metal value | |
| 1880-S | 8,900,000 | Metal value | |
| 1881-CC | 296,000 | Collector premium | |
| 1881-O | 5,708,000 | Metal value | |
| 1881 | 9,163,000 | Metal value | |
| 1881-S | 12,760,000 | Metal value | |
| 1882-CC | 1,133,000 | Collector premium | |
| 1882-O | 6,090,000 | Metal value | |
| 1882 | 11,100,000 | Metal value | |
| 1882-S | 9,250,000 | Metal value | |
| 1883-CC | 1,204,000 | Collector premium | |
| 1883-O | 8,725,000 | Metal value | |
| 1883 | 12,290,000 | Metal value | |
| 1883-S | 6,250,000 | Metal value | |
| 1884-CC | 1,136,000 | Collector premium | |
| 1884-O | 9,730,000 | Metal value | |
| 1884 | 14,070,000 | Metal value | |
| 1884-S | 3,200,000 | Metal value | |
| 1885-CC | 228,000 | Collector premium | |
| 1885-O | 9,185,000 | Metal value | |
| 1885 | 17,787,000 | Metal value | |
| 1885-S | 1,497,000 | Collector premium | |
| 1886-O | 10,710,000 | Metal value | |
| 1886 | 19,963,000 | Metal value | |
| 1886-S | 750,000 | Collector premium | |
| 1887-O | 11,550,000 | Metal value | |
| 1887 | 20,290,000 | Metal value | |
| 1887-S | 1,771,000 | Collector premium | |
| 1888-O | 12,150,000 | Metal value | |
| 1888 | 19,183,000 | Metal value | |
| 1888-S | 657,000 | Collector premium | |
| 1889-CC | 350,000 | Significant rarity | The 1889-CC is the scarcest Carson City Morgan dollar |
| 1889-O | 11,875,000 | Metal value | |
| 1889 | 21,726,000 | Metal value | |
| 1889-S | 700,000 | Collector premium | |
| 1890-CC | 2,309,041 | Metal value | |
| 1890-O | 10,701,100 | Metal value | |
| 1890 | 16,802,000 | Metal value | |
| 1890-S | 8,230,373 | Metal value | |
| 1891-CC | 1,618,000 | Collector premium | |
| 1891-O | 7,954,529 | Metal value | |
| 1891 | 8,693,556 | Metal value | |
| 1891-S | 5,296,000 | Metal value | |
| 1892-CC | 1,352,000 | Collector premium | |
| 1892-O | 2,744,000 | Metal value | |
| 1892 | 1,036,000 | Collector premium | |
| 1892-S | 1,200,000 | Collector premium | |
| 1893-CC | 677,000 | Collector premium | |
| 1893-O | 300,000 | Collector premium | |
| 1893 | 378,000 | Collector premium | |
| 1893-S | 100,000 | Significant rarity | The 1893-S is the king of Morgan dollars, with just 100,000 struck and very few surviving in high grade |
| 1894-O | 1,723,000 | Collector premium | |
| 1894 | 110,000 | Significant rarity | |
| 1894-S | 1,260,000 | Collector premium | |
| 1895-O | 450,000 | Collector premium | |
| 1895 | 12,000 | Significant rarity | The 1895 Philadelphia Morgan is known only as a proof |
| 1895-S | 400,000 | Collector premium | |
| 1896-O | 4,900,000 | Metal value | |
| 1896 | 9,976,000 | Metal value | |
| 1896-S | 5,000,000 | Metal value | |
| 1897-O | 4,004,000 | Metal value | |
| 1897 | 2,822,000 | Metal value | |
| 1897-S | 5,825,000 | Metal value | |
| 1898-O | 4,440,000 | Metal value | |
| 1898 | 5,884,000 | Metal value | |
| 1898-S | 4,102,000 | Metal value | |
| 1899-O | 12,290,000 | Metal value | |
| 1899 | 330,000 | Collector premium | |
| 1899-S | 2,562,000 | Metal value | |
| 1900-O | 12,590,000 | Metal value | |
| 1900 | 8,830,000 | Metal value | |
| 1900-S | 3,540,000 | Metal value | |
| 1901-O | 13,320,000 | Metal value | |
| 1901 | 6,962,000 | Metal value | |
| 1901-S | 2,284,000 | Metal value | |
| 1902-O | 8,636,000 | Metal value | |
| 1902 | 7,994,000 | Metal value | |
| 1902-S | 1,530,000 | Collector premium | |
| 1903-O | 4,450,000 | Metal value | |
| 1903 | 4,652,000 | Metal value | |
| 1903-S | 1,241,000 | Collector premium | |
| 1904-O | 3,720,000 | Metal value | |
| 1904 | 2,788,000 | Metal value | |
| 1904-S | 2,304,000 | Metal value | |
| 1921-D | 20,345,000 | Metal value | |
| 1921 | 44,690,000 | Metal value | The 1921 is the most common Morgan dollar, struck in huge numbers after the Pittman Act melts |
| 1921-S | 21,695,000 | Metal value |
The series in 5 stages
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.
Sherman Act years and the early keys (1886 to 1893)
Philadelphia struck about 20 million dollars a year in the late 1880s, but some branch mint dates were small. The 1889-CC, at 350,000, is a key. San Francisco's 1886-S, 1888-S and 1889-S all fell below one million. The Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890 replaced Bland-Allison with larger silver purchases, though dollar coinage fell once the act stopped requiring it in 1891. Much of the bullion was paid for with Treasury notes rather than coined at once.
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.
The gap, the Pittman Act and the 1921 revival (1905 to 1921)
No Morgan dollars were struck from 1905 through 1920, a gap of sixteen years. The Pittman Act of 1918 melted about 270 million silver dollars so the silver could be sold to Britain for use in India. The same law required the Treasury to buy domestic silver and strike replacement dollars, which set the stage for the 1921 coinage.
A century off and the modern collector coins (1922 to 2024)
After 1921 the Morgan design went unused for a full century. No Morgan dollars were struck from 1922 through 2020 while the Peace dollar and later dollar designs took its place. Federal legislation brought the design back for its centennial.
Decade by decade
- 1870s: 7 issues, 50 million coins. Scarcest: 1879-CC (756,000).
- 1880s: 37 issues, 300 million coins. Scarcest: 1885-CC (228,000).
- 1890s: 34 issues, 135 million coins. Scarcest: 1895 (12,000).
- 1900s: 15 issues, 85 million coins. Scarcest: 1903-S (1,241,000).
- 1920s: 3 issues, 87 million coins. Scarcest: 1921-D (20,345,000).
Where to find the mint mark
- 1878 to 1921: On the reverse, below the wreath and above the letters "DO" in DOLLAR. Philadelphia coins have no mint mark.
- 2021 to 2025: On the reverse, below the wreath. Some modern collector issues carry a D or S mint mark and the 2021 coins included CC and O privy marks honoring the historic mints.
Identifying and grading Morgan dollars
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.
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.
What the value bands mean
- Face value: worth its face in worn condition; only uncirculated coins and varieties carry a premium.
- Metal value: worth its silver content in worn condition.
- Small premium: sells for a little over face or metal value even when worn.
- Collector premium: scarcer than usual, so worn coins sell well above face or metal value.
- Significant rarity: a key date, valuable in any condition and often faked.
Bands describe a coin in ordinary circulated condition. An uncirculated coin with full original luster sits a band or more higher. Recognized varieties can be worth far more than the date itself.
Frequently asked questions
Which Morgan dollars are worth the most?
By mintage, the scarcest circulation issues are the 1895 Morgan Silver Dollar (12,000), 1893-S Morgan Silver Dollar (100,000), 1894 Morgan Silver Dollar (110,000). Varieties and top-grade coins of common dates can also be valuable.
Are Morgan dollars silver?
Yes. Every morgan silver dollar in this chart is 90% silver, 10% copper.
Why does this chart show bands instead of prices?
Prices change with the market and with each coin's grade, so any printed price goes out of date. A value band tells you which coins are worth a closer look; for a current price, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Mintages: Morgan dollar (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint records.