Why does an average morgan cost more money than a peace when there were much more minted? An average morgan goes for 18 - 23 dollars, while an average peace goes for 16, and there were much less minted, why?
They are older. The Morgan design is preferred by most people [or so it seems]. They tone much nicer. The strike is better. A lot of morgans were melted so I don't know how the relative mintages compare to real world availability. Peace dollars just never seemed to capture the imagination of the public the way morgans did.
It doesn't matter how many were minted. What counts is how many survived to the present day. In the post WW I years of 1918, 1919, and 1920, over 270 million silver dollars were melted. Obviously, none were Peace, as those started in 1921. Almost all were Morgans, though some might have been Seated and Trade dollars... :headbang: Another big melt of almost 45 million happened in 1944 - near the end of WW II. Who knows the Morgan / Peace split there... Meltings continued until the Treasury dispersed their silver dollar holdings in 1964.
Even when they were first minted. The VAM book (chapter 11) talks about public reaction at the time. The Wall Street Journal printed an article entitled "Our Flapper Silver Dollar" - not very flattering ! Many felt the new Liberty had a startled or unkempt look. Probably not good for an America inheriting world pre-eminence after the Old Europe powers destroyed each other and lost their empires. Peace dollars often have poor strikes and weak details in Liberty's hair, various parts of the eagle, and the lettering. Branch mints, particularly later dates, are generally weaker than Philly. Personally, I like Peace dollars. But like leadfoot said... it's all about demand.
i like the peace dollar personally. i have absolutely no interest in collecting morgans. im probably in a very small minority of collectors on this but the morgan does nothing for me. i like mercury dimes, not roosevelts. i like walkers and franklins and my first set of halves will most likely be franklins instead of walkers. i think i'm a weird collector. i seem to like the less popular coins, probably because they tend to be cheaper. lol
Like has been mentioned above, ALOT of morgans were melted. Also, as mentioned above, they are just more popular. They remind people pf the old west and whatnot. There are alot more dedicated collectors of morgans, so they are more in demand.
