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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Morgandude11, post: 1888341, member: 37839&quot;]Having collected Morgans for most of my life, I would love to offer some tips for new collectors to the series.&nbsp; Once again, feel free to jump in and offer your own suggestions.&nbsp;&nbsp; This is based on years of collecting, and having bought and sold the complete series multiple times.&nbsp; However, collecting the entire series is a massive and expensive undertaking, and I would NOT recommend trying to do that, unless your passion for Morgan Dollars is extremely strong.&nbsp; We are talking about prices running into high 5 and 6 figures for a nice set, and that simply isn&#039;t practical for most folks.&nbsp; However, the easier dates make for lots of fun and a venture into one of the most popular and historically interesting series (the coins were minted in the &quot;Wild West&quot; days;&nbsp; multiple mints (P, S, O, CC and even one date in D) existed for the series, and it spanned the 1870s through the twentieth century.</p><p><br /></p><p>First, decide what grade of coin you can afford.&nbsp; Most collectors go for uncirculated coins (since common date Morgans are easy to find cheaply, due to high mintages and good uncirculated storage).&nbsp; I recommend going for the easy dates in MS 63-65, as one has a coin that is generally affordable, and will look attractive.&nbsp; The dates I would start with are:</p><p><br /></p><p>Philadelphia: 1879-1890, 1903, 1904</p><p>San Francisco: 1878-1883 (these coins are nicely struck and easy to find attractive examples)</p><p>New Orleans: 1880-1888, 1898-1904, except 1903o, which is tough.</p><p>Carson City: 1882, 1883, 1884 (all the others get tough, due to high prices and lower mintages).</p><p>ALL&nbsp; versions of 1921.&nbsp; They&#039;re all common.</p><p><br /></p><p>This gives a good starting point for collectors, and one can pick up quite a variety of coins.&nbsp; No sense starting out with 1893s, 1889cc, or 1884s in MS condition--or any of the 1892-1895 coins.&nbsp; Those take many years to acquire, and one has to settle for badly worn &quot;place holder&quot; coins, or details coins, in lieu of spending a fortune.&nbsp; Get the nice looking common coins, and get what you like to look at.&nbsp; If you like blast white coins, many Morgans are market acceptable being white and generic.&nbsp;&nbsp; MS 64 grades for most of the above mentioned dates are quite reasonable in cost.</p><p><br /></p><p>In terms of acquiring Morgans, a RELIABLE source of coin acquisition is essential.&nbsp; Cleaning, whizzing, and over dipping is quite common for those coins, as is counterfeiting.&nbsp; Now, one may ask, why counterfeit an 1884o Morgan that is so common?&nbsp; Answer--because they are easily sold in volume, and nobody asks too many questions about a date that common.&nbsp; Morgans are one of the most faked series in creation, so I strongly recommend BUYING CERTIFIED COINS ONLY, until one develops considerable expertise in grading and evaluation of eye appeal, and whether or not a coin is cleaned.&nbsp; It was popular to clean that series, and many unscrupulous dealers do exactly that--so having the TPG seal of approval makes sense if one isn&#039;t dead on familiar with Morgans.</p><p><br /></p><p>Raw coins can be collected once somebody gets good at the series, but be careful--there are fakes that would fool experienced collectors from the far East.&nbsp; They are struck, are in Silver, and look pretty good.&nbsp; This is why I recommend starting with certified coins only from REPUTABLE dealers.&nbsp;&nbsp; Don&#039;t necessarily avoid E bay, as one can find many good buys there for common Morgan Dollars, as there is a lot of competition.&nbsp; However, if you do buy there, make sure the dealer is esteemed and reputable--ask many of us, as we know these dealers personally, in many cases.&nbsp; I won&#039;t discuss toned coins here, as that is an art and a specialty, and should only be done by an experienced collector who knows what he/she is doing with regard to the series.</p><p><br /></p><p>I hope this is some help for newbies to the exciting series of Morgan Dollars.&nbsp; Please feel free to add suggestions, comments, and additions.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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