Rare Coins – Volume One – 1895 Morgan Silver Dollar
I am always asked, “What coins should I be on the lookout for?”. Since this could be a never ending response, I have decided to break it up into different volumes and discuss rare coins that many of us may never see in our lifetimes. Since Morgan Silver Dollars are one of my favorites, I will start with the 1895 Morgan Dollar.
Over there to the right is an example of an 1895 Morgan Silver Dollar graded PF 68 Cameo by NGC. At the time of this post, MintStateGold by 
Stuppler and Co. had this coin listed for sale on EBay for the low “Buy it Now” price of $170,000. Why so much you may ask? Well, thanks to the Pittman Act of 1918, the 12 mint bags that held about 12,000 of the business strikes were sent to the melting pot. All that was left was the 880 proof strikes, of which only about 700 are known to exist today!
There have been a few circulated 1895 Morgans that have surfaced but, most likely, they started out as Proof Strikes and were then put into general circulation. I often have heard the stories of my father, as a child, taking Mickey Mantle rookie cards and placing them in the wheel spokes of his bike to make it sound like a motor cycle. Those rookie cards are worth well over $30k today. Needless to say, he kicks himself to this day for doing that. Imagine having one of these proof Morgans back in the day and spending it as a typical dollar coin! Ouch!
Interestingly, this coin has not always fetched such a high price. I have heard several stories from old time collectors where they had the option to purchase this coin for under $5,000. That was a lot of money when they had that opportunity, but, what an investment that would have been.
Real or Counterfeit?
Every once in a while a circulated 1895 Morgan will surface but typically they are counterfeit. The easiest way to counterfeit one of these coins is to remove the mint mark from an 1895 “S” or “O”. A few other counterfeits have surfaced where the counterfeiter took an “1885” dollar and turned the second “8” into a “9”. If you happen to stumble across one of these, proceed with caution and do not buy it without having it inspected by a professional and ideally graded by a reputable source.
This dollar has become one of the Key Dates for any Morgan collector. Although there are others that may sell for more, this coin is truly a prize. Consider yourself lucky if you ever get the chance to see one in person!