Adivce Needed: Peace vs Morgan Silver Dollar

Hello,
I'm strongly considering starting a silver dollar collection for the first time. When I was younger I had some small collections of circulated coins that weren't worth much and didn't take it very seriously. I'm now considering creating a serious collection both for the enjoyment of it and for a long term investment so I definitely want to consider sell-ability of my collection in the future.

I'm trying to decide whether to collect an entire Peace Dollar set or a subset of the Morgans and would like advice from seasoned collectors. I was leaning towards numismatic coins in the MS-62 or higher variety.
To try to collect the entire Morgan set with all years and dates is obviously incredibly expensive in circulated condition much less uncirculated. Is there a subset of the Morgans that would hold resell value and be affordable that I should look into?

I really like both the Peace Silver dollars and of course the Morgans. I think I prefer the obverse of the Peace and the Reverse of the Morgan. I also notice there is a difference in the coloring of both coins and I'd say generally I have to give a nod to the Morgans there. But something about liberty on the front of the Peace I've always found to be one of the most beautiful designs.

The Peace dollars would be more affordable but I could still easily spend $10k in the long run on an MS-63 set it seems by the time I factor in the key dates.

So here's my questions:
1. With the luster generally being better on Morgans than Peace, I can see needing higher grades of Peace to enjoy the same level of eye appeal? Is this true in practice?
2. If I were to collect Morgans what is a good subset that would be valuable to a collector for resale in the future and would be affordable to do?
3. Is it important to have all the coins in a collection at the same grade (i.e. All at MS-63)? Do buyers tend to look negatively on buying a set with mixed grades? Like would it be foolish to do a Peace set with MS-64 or 65's for common coins and then dip down to say 61 or 62 for the key dates?
4. Is it even reasonable to expect to sell an entire collection or is it more likely if/when I sold in the future I'd have to break the collection up?
5. Should a collection be from all the same grading company (NGC, PCGS, etc)? I tend to like NGC and lean towards going all NGC but I notice there seems to be more PCGS available for Peace dollars for instance.
6. Any other suggestions?

 

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Whenever you're considering an "investment" in coins of any sort, keep in mind that the cards are stacked against you. The dealer or auction house you work with has to make money, so there's a significant spread between what you pay for a coin and what you get when you sell it -- often 30% or more. You need a lot of time, or a lot of luck, for appreciation to overcome that spread.

And appreciation isn't guaranteed. Yes, we've all looked back at old copies of the Red Book, and wished we could buy at 1965 or 1975 prices. But not so much at 1980 or 1990 prices -- there were bubbles at those points, and many prices still haven't recovered to 1990 levels.

If you want to own coins, buy what you're going to enjoy. If you want to make money, buy index funds.

Welcome to CoinTalk!

 

:Lets compare some facts about each series-

Morgans- Hot market right now, prices are inflated, prices may settle in the long run.

Peace- Market not as strong, I believe there will be a large price adjustment within the next 10-15 years

Morgans- Significantly more key dates, more mint marks too. Morgans have P, S, D, O, CC

Peace- less keys and less mint marks only P,D,S

-CB

 

1) Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I often prefer the look of an AU coin over a blazing 64.
2) I think the CC's would be a good subset with future demand. Affordable is relative.
3/4) Usually the sum is lesser than the parts. A buyer would get a price break from buying the whole set at once. A subset gives you a goal, completing it won't give you extra value.
5) This is very important. PCGS seems to go for more because it's a popularity contest. BUY THE COIN, not the holder!!!! You are way better off with a PCI labeled MS62 with a 64 coin in it than a correctly graded NGC 63. Or a 63 with eye appeal than an ugly 64 from the same TPG IMHO. Get real good at grading a series, and buy under-graded coins for your best chance at profit.
6) Start accumulating .999 silver as a long term investment and coins that you like for enjoyment and some potential future price appreciation. I get as much enjoyment out of my one naturally retoned AU cleaned Morgan as I do out of my 1/2 full books.

Like Jeff said, "Whenever you're considering an "investment" in coins of any sort, keep in mind that the cards are stacked against you."
And "Welcome to CT!"

 

If you're considering what the resale value would be for common-date, certified Morgans in MS63 or lower, forget it! You'll probably lose. In MS64, it will probably be a crap shoot. If you strive to find nice examples in MS65-67, you can pretty much be assured that you will come out ahead in the game at the time of resale. So, if your primary concern is whether or not you come out ahead in the game somewhere down the road, don't waste your time with common-date Morgans that grade below MS65, and that would apply to NGC, PCGS and the old white ANACS.

That's my opinion!

Chris

 

Number 1) is my guide. I have some lower grade Morgan's with "character" that you can't get in MS anything.

 

Thank you all for your reponses I greatly appreciate them and will take them seriously into account.
I'm still wondering though for a collection if having all the coins in the same grade matters or not? I guess if the collection is for your own enjoyment and if you plan to sell them individually in the future then it doesn't matter. Sounds like their not a great investment. I already have bullion as an investment but lets me honest its not as much fun as collecting.

@-jeffB Thanks for the warning. This is the kind of information that is hard to hear but important to consider before jumping into this. I appreciate your honesty.

@CoinBlazer are you saying you think Peace dollars are overprices and will correct?

@EdThelorax thanks for your detailed response. Very helpful

@cpm9ball Thanks for the heads up. I didn't even think but instead of a collection I could just collect single rare coins and those might be a better investment and more fun. Although there is something about completing a set.

 

Your profile says that you are 28. Forty years ought to be just about right to make a profit selling your collection. In the mean time, enjoy them!

In real estate, they say that the money is not in selling houses, it is in buying houses. That applies to used cars, antiques, and, of course, coins. If you are patient over years and decades, you can find outstanding coins that are underpriced, and add them to your collection.

Peace Dollars about to hit their centennial year. It might mean something. It might now.

 

No, you don’t need to collect silver dollars in the same grade or in slabs from the same TPG. Buy high grade coins or those who have nice toning and/or outstanding eye appeal. A plus grade, star coin or CAC sticker always helps with re-sale value. I’d buy “special” coins instead of common-date, blazing-white 62/63 Morgans nobody else wants.

 

I prefer Peace over Morgans. The Peace dollar is more artistically composed and executed than the Morgan in my opinion and I prefer the eagle 'at peace' than the Morgan's reverse.

In terms of grades and long term 'value'. I prefer the slight crustiness of high grade circulated (VF-EF). At a recent local show I found a very nice original surface 1928 in EF-45 in a NGC slab for $225, which is a very good buy.

Good luck on your collecting. A big 'pile' of silver dollars (Peace and/or Morgan) is always nice.

 

It really depends on which design you prefer. Of course, I'm biased here.

Welcome to CT!

 

I have a complete circulation set of graded (PCGS) Peace Dollars and a complete date set of ungraded Morgan Dollars.

They are both awesome coins, but I prefer the Peace Dollars. Given the (weak) strike issues often associated with some Peace Dollars, I found it more challenging/fun to put a nice looking set together.

All that said, collect what YOU like and don’t worry about future prices. It’ll be more fun for you!

 

Having owned, sold, and re-owned, and resold complete sets of both Morgan, and Peace dollars, I would NOT advise you to attempt to do a complete set of Morgans now. Certain dates are completely unobtainable, in a reasonably high grade, unless one is wealthy. Anything close to MS for the 1893s, the 1889cc, all 1895 coins, 1894, many of the mid-years s Mint coins (1883s-1889s) in MS condition costs thousands of dollars. In addition, there are other conditional rarities that will run 5 figures in MS. The full Peace dollar set is the opposite—a few key dates (basically 3), that will hurt in the pocket book a bit—1928, 1921, 1934s.

A Peace Dollar MS set can be had in nice MS condition, for less than the cost of one Morgan Key date in MS: 1893s. Morgans are hot now, and will always be popular. Peace dollars, less so. Honestly, you would have to spend six figures or more to assemble a really nice Morgan set, with all the difficult dates. A nice MS set of Peace Dollars will cost approximately $10,000.

You decide which fits your budget better.

 

I too am a fan of both those series. I am trying to complete a Peace Dollar set as I type. 6 more to go (4 San Fran, 2 Denver).

I gave up trying to finish a date and mm Morgan collection. Although I'm 4 away from a date set. I will complete the date set soon.

My first piece of advice. Start by buying the Whitman published book on each series. Then learn how to grade the coins. If you're worried about value, as you should, knowing how to grade the coins is imperative.

Your first coins should all be graded by one of the reputable TPG's. Like you, I prefer NGC, but I own many PCGS graded coins and some ANACS as well. Buying graded coins will minimize any financial mistakes you make. Do NOT buy raw until you know what you're doing.

Both of my collections have coins in different TPG holders and a range in grades. I will complete my Peace Dollar collection in MS64 and higher. I don't care if they are all the same grade or in the same TPG holder. When I go to sell them, it will be by individual coin, not as an entire collection. Eye appeal, eye appeal, eye appeal, not all graded coins are alike.

Learn the series and go slow. There are plenty of each of these coins in the market place. None of them are scarce. Of course there are conditionally rare coins, but not absolute scarcity, except maybe the '93 S Morgan.

Find good buying sources. Visit Heritage auctions and view their Auction Archives. There are hundreds of thousands of Morgans and Peace dollars that you can look at and become familiar with the coins themselves.

Most of all, HAVE FUN! Visit here and ask questions.

 

Not exactly, I don't know if prices will go up or down but I believe that Peace Dollars are at a weird value point that will soon adjust,

 

I've been seeing soft prices for Peace Dollars. Just picked up a '26 P in 65 for much less than I could buy it a few years ago. I'll post a picture soon.

When you say a weird value point, do you think they will adjust up or down?

 

Well,
1888 Morgan Dollar
NGC MS63 -$75
(NGC Price Guide)
Mintage-19 Million

1923 S
NGC MS63 -$101
(NGC Price Guide)
Mintage 19 million

This is just one example, We can all agree that there is a higher demand for Morgans, yet both of these high mintage coins are cheap but the prices don't follow the natural pattern. Is there more of a demand for the 23-S because it is a branch mint coin? It's a possibility. Yet all things considered. I stand strong to my consideration that the price of Peace Dollars will significantly change yet I don't know whether that will be a positive or negative change. Perhaps I will look into it and write a thread on it.

 

Well I just purchased a 1922 Peace dollar, MS-64 on the ebay for $35 that to my eye had nice appeal. I figured I'd buy one cheap one and take a look at it in person before deciding to go down this rabbit hole. If I decide not to collect these I'll still have a pretty coin to hold onto. I've seen a lot of Morgan's in person but not as many Peace's. The only Peace dollar I have was abused in its previous life.

 

Thanks for your response. I appreciate the good advice. I'll look into that Whitman book. Does it help you in identifying grades?

Thanks

 

Make sure to show us some pictures when you get it in hand!