The great classic is "Encyclopedia of Morgan and Peace Dollars" by Van Allen and Mallis. This is where the term "VAM" comes from. Great read - goes way beyond the coins themselves ! I'm sure there are other good books, but that one is almost mandatory.
I would say "A Guide Book of Morgan Silver Dollars" by Q. David Bowers. I have found it very helpful since I started collecting Morgans several months ago.
Just make sure you get a recent edition. They do update it as new editions are published. Mine's a 1977 (2nd edition) so it's missing a LOT of the newer discoveries. Only good thing about my copy is that it's autographed by Van Allen. But I doubt that makes much difference in value.
I agree with that one. I don't really collect Morgan Dollars as a collection but since I do have some that book is great.
another excellent one is by john highfill called the comprehensive silver dollar encyclopedia. a good source of used books is www.alibris.com best wishes...steve
no qrestion that the autograph raises the value...you would be shocked at some of the premiums they bring.....all the other books are excellent choices as well....steve
The Encycopedia of Morgan & Peace dollars is a great book ,it starts with the history of minting coins,through VAMS,GPA sales of Carson City sales,grading,and the detection of counterfiet and altered coins. rzage
I agree that this is a good source for general information about each date and mintmark. However, it is lacking in my opinion when it comes to ideas about how to collect morgans. It just says buy the best you can afford and look for high end specimens. Now, that's pretty standard and good advice, but not worth paying for. Bowers could have really helped collectors with separate advice targeted toward low-end sets, medium-grade sets, high-end sets, short sets, toning in sets, etc... I got the impression that Bowers doesn't really care about the average or beginner collector and would probably use a circulated coin to put under the short leg of a table to keep it balanced.
I agree about the guide book. If you collected each coin in the optimal grade/value range they suggest, you would have a hodgepodge of coins from Ag to UNC. Which might happen anyway if keys are involved. I think it is a great book though, with lots of history and info.
If you have a second edition , they included a card for you to write in & recieve updates. If you don't I'm sure there must be a place to write in to,sorry I can't look it up for you as my copy got wrecked when my basement flooded. I'm sure some one else has that information. rzage
my morgan set is the prime example of "hodgepodge, w/ the eventual inclusion of grades from ag3 thru ms65dpl....i am more than content w/ that outcome....steve
