Adivce Needed: Peace vs Morgan Silver Dollar

The 1888 Morgans were put up in bags; the 1923-S Peace dollars, not so much. You linked to the NGC price guide -- look at the population reports. Almost 7 times as many 1888 63's as 1923-S 63's.

 

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Hmmm...Didn't consider differences in mintages and population in this

 

Are you a student of Alan Greenspan?

Not quite irrational exuberence but close! Lol

 

2) The Morgan subset I chose to collect is...
1878 CC
1879 O thru 1904 O
1921 P, D, S

A year set, at least 1 coin from each mint, and all of the New Orleans (where I was whelped) minted Morgans. 30 coins total. A fairly inexpensive way to achieve 3 objectives.

Don't know or care about "sell-ability".

24 Peace dollars are an easy set to collect - nothing too difficult to truly afford. No subset necessary, unless the '28 (P) is a deal breaker - then just do a year set.

 

I think I'm going to go the Peace route. I love Morgans and think they're beautiful coins, but if I'm honest I think I like the design of the Peace dollar the best. I've always found it alluring. I think its the most beautiful depiction of lady Liberty of any coin. And I like the early 1900's style text, rays of light, and eagle.

I think I just need to set a monthly budget and take my time. I already have some money saved up for this so I'm tempted to go for the 1921 Relief next. Its a really pretty coin. Seems like there are many nice lustrous MS64's available on the market right now. Does going after one of the key dates early on seem foolish?

 

That's a sweet subset you're collecting. How far along are you?

 

Well your tagline is definitely correct, you are a critical thinker!

 

Sigh.... I don't exactly consider what I say to be nothing but guessing, I just haven't done enough research to make a more detailed opinion. That's the information I was able to provide in hopes I helped to OP make an informed decision. Don't know what all the criticism is for.

 

I didn’t want to criticize you, but rather point out (in a funny way) that prices and/or demand can’t really be predicted. You can only look at completed auctions and estimate a coin’s value based on that. Go ahead and start a thread on the topic to hear other opinions...

 

Coinblazer, nothing but love my good young man. Mr. Greenspan is a very wise individual and love or hate him you have to respect him. To be compared to him should take as a compliment, as it was intended. Nothing personal just thought it was a Greenspan-like statement!

 

I need 3 coins. 1893 O, 1898 O, 1903 O. The '93 and the '03 are among the most expensive in my subset of course - lol.

 

Going after one of the keys first is a double edge sword. It makes sense to get one of the biggies out of the way first but you need to know what you are doing. There are many '21 Peace Dollars out there with sub-standard strike quality. If you really want to make a wise choice hold out for a well struck example and be prepared to pay more than the price guides publish. A lustrous well struck MS64 example will hold it's value and quite likely appreciate over the years. Look at auction results and pay attention to the strike quality vs prices paid before you dive in. And yeah, most of all have fun and enjoy the hunt...

 

I don't have much useful to add to @Dave Waterstraat's post above, but I can't help myself.

Whenever I see someone here saying "always buy the keys first", I point out reasons that it may not be a good idea:

• You'll be better able to spot good examples once you have more experience
• You may well have more money to spend later
• Keys don't always go up in value over time
• The longer you spend looking, the more likely you are to find rare opportunities

...but for a series as short and simple as the Peace dollars, I feel like the whole question is a bit less of a big deal. (I hesitated to type "simple" there, because it may just mean "I don't know enough about the series to talk".)

But even for a big, intricate series, I wouldn't call the keys-first approach "foolish". I just don't think it's a no-brainer.

 

Here is an interesting thought If you want a Silver Dollar collection that will be somewhat unique start with the American Silver Eagles and match them up with Morgans, that are 100 years older like 1886 and 1986 1887 and 1987... etc That way you can be very selective about pricing and grades. Currently, I have 27 mint year Morgan Dollars (various Mints)from 1878 to 1904 plus the 1921 set almost all in BU condition with the 100 year newer Eagles in BU & MS69 shape. The investment outlay for me over 18 months was about $1800.00 but now the graded value is a good bit higher. It does provide a striking comparison between the Morgan and AA Wiemans designs and in those grades make them very appealing to the eye....Good Luck...WRS

 

You could always buy this bar in Montana.

 

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I've poured over tons of pictures and auctions of the 1921 High Relief and I can definitely see some are struck better than others and some are more lustrous all within the same grade. The hair detail over the ear and feather detail on the center of the eagle especially seem to vary quite a bit within the 64 grade. I read about the die issues and it makes a lot of sense from an Engineering standpoint. Pretty fascinating since my typical view of coins were loss of detail = wear. But this is just a case of poor manufacturing due to limitations in mechanical design of the day. Pretty neat. Kind of makes the hunt for a good one more interesting. (Cited from: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ad...rgan-silver-dollar.332674/page-2#post-3356420)

 

I think that it is acceptable to say that there are many peace dollars that have been graded MS64 and above, If I was putting a set together I would definitely research the individual characteristics of each year and MM. And only buy coins that are well struck and from early dies. Peace dollars are a tough series and strike quality is all over the place. Good luck in the hunt Timewaster.

 

Congrats on your decision and good luck. I agree with you about the depiction of Ms. Liberty on the Peace Dollar. One of my favorites.

I would hold off on the '21 until you've purchased a few of the common dates. Even the common dates vary in strike quality.

Get a book on ANA Grading Standards and the Whitman "Guide to Peace Dollars". You can buy these books from Wizard Coin Supply. I've purchased many books from them. They are a good retailer. The person who wrote the Peace Dollar book participates on the NGC chat boards and the PCGS chat boards.

Let's say you want to buy a common date Peace Dollar, 1922 in MS65. On any given day, you can find hundreds to choose from. I'm not sure what your are budgeting per coin, but you can easily find this coin in 66 as well. My point is that not all MS65's are alike. Some will have luster breaks in distracting areas, maybe a contact mark on the end of the nose or in the middle of the cheek. So the coin might be graded properly from a technical stand point, but eye appeal could be lacking. Then you add in strike quality and luster to the equation and the variables increase.

So after you decide what date and grade you want, I suggest going to Heritage Auctions and looking through their auction archives at coins in the date and grade you desire. You'll also get to see auction realized pricing as well. When searching the archives you will see thousands of coins and get a feel for what a real nice 65 looks like and what a "dog" looks like.

Don't be to anxious to buy a coin right away. I know it's tough to be patient, but if you "reach" before you know what your doing, you'll only be disappointed in the purchase either right away or later on.

 

Not trying to overwhelm you, but at some point you'll likely want to know the basics of Peace Dollar VAM Attribution.