I have a number of silver dollars my Father left me years ago. I am trying to determine if they have any value beyond the "dollar" indicated. The list: three 1878 four 1879 three 1880 three 1881 two 1884 three 1885 three 1886 two 1887 four 1888 three 1889 one 1890 one 1891 one 1898 one 1900 and a bunch of early 1900's When a description is asked for, what should I include (the Liberty Head and the Eagle are pretty straight forward). Of course, I have no way to grade them. Do I have to wind up going to a coin store to gather information? If I do, how do I find a reliable one? Thanks for any help.
I'd find one and tell them you have no interest in selling at the moment, that you would like them graded, and find out the mintmarks on them, CC , S , etc.... after that we can probably help you determine if there are any ultra pricey ones
Welcome to the forum Joe. Excellent advice. BTW, at current silver prices they are worth about $5 as bullion, but except for very, very circulated examples, they are all probably worth more, depending on grade and mint - possibly a whole bunch more. . Look on the reverse, under the eagle on the Seated Liberty coins (pre-1878) and below the wreath on the Morgans. You may find either an "O" for New Orleans or a "CC" for Carson City on the early ones. If they don't have either mark they are from Philadelphia. The Morgans may have "CC", "O", or "S" for San Francisco. It doesn't sound like you have any from 1921, the only year that Morgans were minted in Denver ("D").
Circulated Morgan Dollars are regularly purchased by dealers for around $9 a piece assuming they are common dates in average circulated condition. Lower grade examples may bring around $7 per. As mentioned, you do need to check the mint marks though as a number of Morgan Dollars, including those minted in Carson City (cc) are going to be worth more (possibly substantially) than the numbers noted above. Further, the condition is really going to make a big difference in value. If they appear to still have mint lustre and the hair is defined and all of the eagle's feathers present on the reverse, then they may be AU/uncirculated examples which could easily bring $18 or more per.
Hi, joegri and welcome to the forum. It sound like you have a nice collection of coins, but in order to give you an intelligent answer we will need a lot more info. about your coins. As said before the mint mark is needed as well as what type of coin (Trade Dollars or Morgan), and what type of condition (Good, Fine, or Mint State). If you can post a picture of one coin this will help or you can go to a local book store and pick up a few book that will help. The Official Blue Book U S Coins, One Minute Coin Expert, or The Insider's Guide to U.S. Coin Values 2005 will help. Good Luck.
