How come a 1903 O morgan dollar is valued so much more than a 1903 P dollar in all grades? The mintage is about the same. Thanks
Demand? I can see demand for a New Orleans mint being higher than for a Philly. I would personally rather have a New Orleans than a Philly.
If fewer 1903-O coins survived, that could also be the reason for difference in value. Does anyone have any survival rate estimates for these?
Prior to 1962, the 1903-O was thought to be extremely scarce. By Q. David Bowers' own admission, he had been a dealer for about 10 years and had never seen one. The 1903-O was worth 10 times the 1889-CC. Then in November, 1962, the Philadelphia Mint opened a vault that had been sealed since 1929 to pull out some silver dollars for the holiday release, and they discovered hundreds of thousands of them. Collectors who had paid large sums for this Morgan prior to that time were seeing the value plummet. Fast forward>> Today, the market still has not fully adjusted to that discovery back in 1962, and the 1903-O is still valued a little higher than it should be. Chris
There are many sources for survival rates. I don't know of any free ones however. From PCGS CoinFacts, here's the estimated survival for these two issues: 1903-P Morgan: 465,000 pieces 1903-O Morgan: 445,000 pieces
The numbers still do not explain why the "O" mints are 5 times the price. I'm going to wait for the demand to go down a bit. I could be waiting for a while!
By the 1961, the 1903-O was priced at $500 (1903- @ $3). In 1964, the 1903-O was $30. BTW, what difference does the mintage make when they had the Pittman act. The question is not how many were made, but how many still exist.
I once read that very few bags of 1903 O were released in 1962, but that was enough to drive the price way down.
Well i just picked up this one for $38: A 1903 O in Fine condition went for over $175! Guess I won't be filling the empty spot in the dansco for a while
I was told that the Mint released them over a number of years rather than all at once. I'd bet there were a few influential collectors who were able to convince the Mint to do this to avoid a "panic" while they quietly unloaded theirs.
