Subject: Morgan dollars....
From: (Jim Wild)
Date: 8/26/04 4:52 PM Central Daylight Time
Message-id:

I understand now, how these Morgans are a coveted collection. I have an
interest in starting a collection of these in the future. However some
of these dates are just unreal. I was wondering why I could not find a
place that actually has 1892-1895 for sale. Well, no wonder! I went to
the PCGS price list to have a look at some of these things. The 1892-S
is listed at $225,000 in MS-66. Yikes! The 1895-P has a mintage of
12,880 according to the red book. The 1895-P is not even listed in PCGS.
Does that coin actually exist? Then between 1905 and 1920,,, there are
none. Why did they mint the 1921 after a 14 year break?

I do want a small collection of these beautiful coins. They are $22.00
or so for UNC 'P' mints in Coin World. I can deal with that. I suppose I
will just get a Whitman album with a couple blank dollar pages and fill
them with the P mints. (18 total) My local coin dealer told me that the
Whitman folders do not hold the coins properly. They fall out of their
ports easily. I believe in starting a collection and trying finishing
the book or at least 95% of it. But the CC's and 1892-1895's are more
than I care to deal with. Does anyone have a partial Morgan collection?
But with this coin collecting, I suppose that there are no rules, just
like cooking chili.

Jim


Hi Jim,
I have a year set (one Morgan for each year of issue) in a Dansco Album I
enjoy a lot. They are AU's for the tougher years and Uncirculated for the
rest. I have yet to fill the 1895 hole and the 1893 hole, but I will
eventually. Another Morgan collection I enjoy and add to when I can, is a year
set of certified Morgans. That might be the place for you to start as you can
study the grading characteristics and learn what constitutes a truly
uncirculated coin. Most MS63's are attractive and reasonable for most years.
You also need to read as much as you can and some of your questions will be
answered when you do. I highly recommend the new Morgan Silver Dollar book by
Q. David Bowers. It's a paperback but a nice sized one and only runs about
$17. Well worth it.
Take your time, look at a lot of coins and buy only a few at first. Enjoy
the trip!
All the best, Pete