1893-S Morgan Silver Dollar Value
Mintage: 100,000
Finest Known: MS67 (NGC) MS67 (PCGS)
Auction Record: $735,000 (MS65)
Image: USA CoinBook
The 1893-S Morgan dollar had the lowest mintage of any Morgan dollar, at 100,000 coins. As such, it is truly the key date in the series. This date is also the rarest Morgan dollar in Mint State. Nearly all 1893-S Morgan dollars went directly into circulation. Many of the paltry number of Mint State coins that have survived came out of a single sealed $1,000 bank bag of 1893-S Morgan dollars discovered in Montana in the early 1960s.
A rough estimate of survivors by PCGS gives around 10,000 total coins, with 123 Mint State. 18 of the Mint State coins would grade MS65 or higher. These numbers assumed to be wildly inflated, due to resubmissions. PCGS shows a population of nearly 4,000 1893-S Morgan dollars grading VF15 to Poor 01. The fact that someone spent the money to grade a 1893-S Morgan dollar where you can only see the outline of the head is testament to just how rare and expensive this coin is.
The Value of an 1893-S Morgan Dollar
Being the rarest Morgan dollar, many to most of the highest grade examples move between rich collectors in private sales. Some of these confirmed person to person sales are reported to be for more than a million dollars for the highest MS66–67 grades
One at any grade can cost thousands of dollars.Even a damaged 1893-S Morgan dollar, worn badly enough to be nearly unrecognizable, will often sell for $1,000 or more.
BEWARE OF COUNTERFEITS
The high prices for a 1893-S Morgan dollar had made it the target of counterfeiters for more than a century. In fact, the ultra low number of survivors means that there are probably more counterfeit 1893-S Morgans than there are real ones!
This is a case where the third party grading services are your friend. You can look up the serial number on the case of a graded coin from NGC or PCGS, and see a photo that you can compare to the coin you are thinking of buying. Don't assume that because a coin is in a slab that it's genuine. Modern counterfeiters can make fake slabs and labels as easy as they make fake coins.
1893-S Morgan Dollar Price Guide
| Very Fine 25 | Extremely Fine 45 | About Uncirculated 55 |
|---|---|---|
| $5,550 | $11,900 | $40,500 |
| Mint State 61 | Mint State 63 | Mint State 65 | Auction Record (MS65) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $236,000 | $332,800 | $605,000 | $735,000 |
The information on this page does not constitute an offer to buy or sell the coin(s) referred to. Statistics are for Mint State coins only. Proof and prooflike examples of this issue may have greater or lesser "finest known" and different record auction prices.