Every Morgan and Peace dollar is worth at least its silver, which is 0.7734 troy ounces of pure silver in a 26.73 gram coin. A dollar is worth more than that when collectors want it, and that comes down to its date, mint mark and grade. Worn common dates trade near melt, while scarce dates, Carson City coins and sharp uncirculated pieces carry a collector premium.
The silver floor under every dollar
Morgan dollars were struck from 1878 to 1904 and again in 1921. Peace dollars followed from 1921 to 1935. Both are 90% silver and 10% copper, both weigh 26.73 grams, and both hold 0.7734 troy ounces of pure silver. That silver sets a floor under the coin's value, and the floor moves with the spot price every trading day.
To get a rough melt figure, multiply 0.7734 by the current silver spot price. A worn Peace dollar from one of the common early 1920s years will sell close to that number, since the Mint made plenty of them and many survive. Treat coins like that as silver with a handsome design on it.
Anything a buyer pays above melt is the collector premium. A careful buyer looks for it coin by coin. A buyer who weighs your whole stack as one lot will miss it, or keep it.
Melt is also the number to watch for damaged dollars. A coin with a hole, heavy scratches, a bent rim or signs of having been worn as jewelry loses most of its collector appeal and sells for its silver. It still carries the same 0.7734 ounces as a perfect example, so it is never worth nothing.
Where to find the date and mint mark
On both designs the date sits on the front, below Liberty's portrait. The mint mark is on the back and it is small, so use a magnifier and a good lamp, and hold the coin by its edges while you look.
On a Morgan dollar, check just below the wreath on the reverse, above the letters DO in DOLLAR. On a Peace dollar, look at the lower left of the reverse, under the word ONE and close to the tip of the eagle's wing. If there is no letter at all, the coin was struck in Philadelphia, which made both series.
Check the letter carefully. A worn mint mark can look like a scratch, and a speck of dirt can look like a letter. Tilt the coin under the light at a few angles before you write anything down. If you cannot decide, write a question mark and leave the call to the buyer.
| Mint mark | Mint | Morgan dollars | Peace dollars |
|---|---|---|---|
| None | Philadelphia | Yes | Yes |
| O | New Orleans | Yes | No |
| S | San Francisco | Yes | Yes |
| CC | Carson City | In some years from 1878 to 1893 | No |
| D | Denver | 1921 only (plus the 2021 collector issue) | Yes |
Why the mint mark changes the number
Read together, the date and mint mark tell a buyer how scarce a dollar is. Some mints made far fewer coins in certain years, and large numbers of older silver dollars were melted decades after they were struck. Two dollars with the same date can sell for very different amounts because one letter on the back is different.
The 1921 Morgan is a common coin from all three mints that struck it. Some New Orleans and San Francisco dates from the 1890s and early 1900s are much harder to find, and harder still in uncirculated condition. A Philadelphia dollar with no mark can be common or scarce depending on the year.
Carson City dollars get extra attention. The Nevada mint ran from 1870 to 1893 and struck Morgans in only some of those years, and collectors like them for their Old West history as well as their scarcity. If you see CC on the reverse, set that coin aside and have someone who knows the dates look at it.
We do not put a value on a dollar from its date alone, because grade can move a coin from near melt to a strong premium. A fair written offer should name the date, mint mark and grade for each dollar you bring.
How grade moves a silver dollar's value
Coins are graded on the 1 to 70 Sheldon scale. Circulated dollars fall below 60, and uncirculated coins start at 60. On a Morgan, wear shows first on Liberty's cheek and the hair above her ear, then on the eagle's breast. On a Peace dollar, look at the hair over Liberty's forehead and the feathers on the eagle's wing.
Uncirculated dollars were usually stored and shipped in canvas bags of a thousand coins, so many carry small nicks called bag marks. Fewer and lighter marks mean a higher grade. Luster also counts. An uncirculated dollar has a soft shine that rolls around the coin like a wheel when you tilt it under a light.
Some Morgans have mirror-like fields around a frosted portrait. Collectors call these prooflike, and the deepest mirrors bring more. Natural toning in even blues and golds can help a coin's value when it is original. Dull gray film or blotchy spots usually do not help.
At the top of the scale, the gap between grades can be hard to see. Two uncirculated Morgans of the same date might grade a few points apart because of one deep bag mark on Liberty's cheek, and that gap can matter more than the date. It is one reason the same coin can draw different offers from different buyers, and a good reason to ask for the grade in writing.
Sorting a stack of dollars before you call
You do not have to grade anything yourself. A quick sort at the kitchen table tells you what you have and shortens the appointment.
If your dollars are sealed in PCGS or NGC holders, note the grade on each label and leave the coin inside. A third party has already set the grade, which makes a slabbed dollar easier to price and easier to compare from one offer to the next.
- Separate Morgans from Peace dollars. The Peace dollar has the word PEACE on the back, under a perched eagle.
- Write the date and mint mark of each coin on a sticky note and set it under the coin.
- Put any CC dollars, and any coin that still shows full shine, in a pile of their own.
- Leave bank rolls, sealed packaging and old holders exactly as they are.
- Keep Eisenhower and Susan B. Anthony dollars apart. All Anthony dollars and most Eisenhower dollars contain no silver.
- Do not polish, wipe or dip any dollar. Cleaning lowers the grade for good.
What a fair silver dollar offer looks like
At our appointments each dollar is examined in front of you for date, mint mark, grade and eye appeal. We confirm the silver with non-destructive testing and weigh on a calibrated scale. Worn common dates are priced from the live spot price, and better dates and high grades are priced from current collector demand.
Your offer comes in writing, one line per coin. If one dollar is a better date, the list says so, so it is never buried in a melt total. You can accept and be paid that same visit, or decline and leave with every coin and the list. Our evaluation costs nothing.
Be careful with anyone who quotes one flat price per dollar for a mixed stack without turning each coin over. A flat price assumes every coin is common, and the buyer keeps the difference on the ones that are not.
An item-by-item list also helps when dollars are being divided among family. Each person can see what every coin is and how it was priced, and anyone who wants to keep a coin from a parent's collection can pull it out before the rest is sold.
Silver dollars and the Philadelphia Mint
Philadelphia has a closer tie to these coins than almost any city. Our Mint struck Morgan dollars from the first year of the series in 1878, and every Peace dollar dated 1921 came from here too. Philadelphia coins of that era carry no mint mark, so a dollar with a blank space under the wreath was made in this city. The Mint that stands on Independence Mall today, near the Liberty Bell, is the fourth Mint building in Philadelphia's history.
Silver dollars turn up all over the region. Some sat for decades in a dresser drawer in a Mayfair or Fox Chase twin, one saved for each grandchild's birthday. Others come out of a closet on the Main Line in old cardboard holders, next to proof sets from the 1950s and 1960s. Families in South Philly rowhouses and in Cherry Hill or Haddonfield ranch homes often find a mix of both designs in one cigar box, worn and bright coins together, and nobody remembers which ones were bought and which were saved from change.
We meet silver dollar sellers one-on-one by private appointment, and the place to meet is set when you book. If an estate holds a large group of dollars or a full collection, ask about a home visit. Bring a government-issued photo ID if you plan to sell, and leave the coins as you found them. Call 215-798-9204 and we will return your call the same business day, from Bucks and Montgomery counties to Delaware County, Chester County, South Jersey and Wilmington. If you are not sure what you have, describe it on the phone in your own words, such as a cigar box of big old silver coins, and we will tell you what to bring.