Know the Grading System for Morgan Dollars
December 4, 2008
The grading system for silver dollars helps you find the Morgan dollar to complete or begin your collection. All coin collectors and dealers use a standardized system to grade Morgan silver dollars.
When minting was low the Morgan dollar is valued highly, but other factors – like its condition – also determine what you’ll pay. Key date coins are especially difficult to find because only a few were minted during a certain time or because there may have been an error during production.
Coins may be graded by numbers, such as 1 through 70, 70 being the best condition possible for a coin and 1 being a damaged coin.
Look at photos of the coin if you’re thinking of buying online. Also take into consideration its rating. But beware that a seller may grade a coin too high because they’re inexperienced or want a higher price for the coin.
A Morgan dollar may be graded low because of the following conditions:
Silver Dollars – For Collectors or History Lovers
November 13, 2008
United States silver dollars have long been prized by coin collectors, but they also have a background that’s valued information for lovers of American history.
Thomas Jefferson first proposed minting a silver dollar coin in 1785 and when Treasury Secretary, Alexander Hamilton, projected a monetary system for the emerging United States of America, they began producing the coins, including the Flowing Hair silver dollar in 1794.
Silver dollars were minted in varying degrees of silver content until silver became scarce. When the incredible riches of Nevada’s Comstock Lode were discovered in the late 1850s, silver prices plummeted and the Treasury Department was required by Congress to begin producing silver coins. The Trade Dollar was minted in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania specifically to improve trade with the Orient – mainly China.
Why Carson City Morgan Silver Dollars Are Highly Collectible
November 8, 2008
Carson City Morgans (CC Silver Dollars) demand an indomitable place in American history. After massive quantities of silver were discovered in the 1850s in Carson City, Nevada, the town built and maintained a mintage that produced what became known as the CC Morgans.
The Carson City silver dollars look the same as the Morgan dollars, with the face of Liberty and an eagle on the reverse side, but also display the double C mint mark on the reverse side. This fact makes it extremely valuable to collectors.
Millions of Carson City silver dollars were minted during certain years, but in other years only a few thousands were minted. As a result, Carson City silver dollars total less than one per cent of the total number of American silver dollars that were minted before and after them.
Coin Collecting - Avoid Worthless Silver Coins
October 30, 2008
A worthless silver coin for collecting purposes is any circulated silver coin that is only in fair condition and has value to collectors beyond the value of the silver bullion it contains.
This is an unofficial term used in the United States and Canada. Junk silver is not scrap silver. These coins can still be spent in the US and Canadian markets for the value stamped on the coin. However, coin collectors call them “junk” because they have little numismatic, or trading, value.
The Mercury and Roosevelt dimes, the Washington quarters, and the Franklin and Kennedy half dollars are the most popular US coins collected for junk silver. These coins, minted before 1964, contain 90% silver composition, with 0.7 troy ounces of silver per each dollar of face value. Kennedy half-dollars minted from 1965 to 1970 contain 40% silver composition, so they are collected but are not as popular. The Peace Dollar (minted from 1921 to 1928, then again in 1934 and 1935) is also collected for its silver value, which is high at a little over 90%. However, these are more rare and may have collectible value beyond the value of the silver.
Why Collect Silver Dollars?
October 13, 2008
Silver dollars are a favorite of most US coin collectors. In fact, it is not unusual to find a silver dollar or two away by people who have no particular interest in coins at all. Why is this? What is it about silver dollars that makes people want to collect them or, just hang onto them?
Well, for one thing, they are really Big. And Heavy. And Beautiful,too. (Okay, big, heavy, and beautiful. We are just talking coins here, right? What else?) They are a piece of American History. (Well, I guess so, but what history do you mean?) Pretty much all of it. They were first made in the 1700s, not too long after independence. And they were really a big deal in the days of the Wild West. And how about gambling in Las Vegas? You used to be able to get them in your change there, even if you were just buying gas!
(I see. So why were they made of silver, anyway?)
Because, back when the mint started, in 1792, coins were actually worth the amount of money they stood for. A dollar was made from metal worth one dollar. Silver was the best metal to use, because that way the dollar would still be an easy size in your pocket. Copper would have weighed a ton (not really, but a dollar in copper would have made a better doorstop than a coin. And a gold dollar would be really tiny and easy to lose. (Actually, they tried that in the 1850s. People hated them. They said they were tiny and easy to lose. Go figure.)
