"What is my Morgan dollar worth?" is the most common question we hear at the counter — and the honest answer starts with good news: this is one of the most transparent coins in the world to price. The Morgan dollar was struck from 1878 to 1904, and once more in 1921, in enormous numbers. Millions survive. That means real sold data is everywhere, and a fair price is never a mystery. Here is how dealers actually work the number out.
The coin at a glance
- Designer: George T. Morgan
- Years: 1878–1904, plus a final issue in 1921
- Mints: Philadelphia (no mintmark), New Orleans (O), San Francisco (S), Carson City (CC), and Denver (D — 1921 only). The mintmark sits on the reverse, above the "DO" in DOLLAR.
- Weight: 26.73 grams
- Purity: .900 fine silver
- Actual silver weight: 0.7734 troy oz
- Diameter: 38.1 mm
Step one: the melt floor
Every Morgan dollar contains 0.7734 oz of silver, so its floor value is 0.7734 multiplied by the current silver spot price. A worn, common-date Morgan in average circulated condition trades close to that floor, and no honest buy offer for such a coin should start below it. Everything above the floor is condition, date, and mintmark.
Step two: common dates in collector grades
Most Morgans a family inherits or a shop buys over the counter are common dates — high-mintage years from Philadelphia, San Francisco, or New Orleans. For these, the market is deep and the sold data is clear. When we priced our own common-date Brilliant Uncirculated Morgan from completed eBay sales in late October 2026, the average sold price came to $73.93 — that is the level real buyers actually paid, not a dealer's asking price, and it is the benchmark we set our shelf price from.
Certified coins climb from there. Common-date Morgans graded MS-65 by PCGS or NGC routinely sell in the high one-hundreds to high two-hundreds depending on the date and the look of the coin — in our own case right now, an 1883-O graded PCGS MS-65 and an 1899-O in the same grade sit at that level. MS-66 examples of the well-struck San Francisco dates (1880-S, 1881-S) go higher again. Past common dates, two things change the math entirely: a Carson City mintmark, which adds a premium at every grade, and the genuine key dates, which are a specialist market of their own.
What kills a Morgan's premium
- Cleaning. The single biggest value-killer. A cleaned BU coin drops toward circulated money. Original skin is worth real dollars — never polish a Morgan.
- Wear on the high points. Check the hair above Liberty's ear and the eagle's breast feathers; that is where wear shows first and where BU separates from AU.
- Confusing asking with sold. Morgans are listed online at every imaginable price. Completed sales are the only numbers that count.
Frequently asked questions
How much silver is in a Morgan dollar?
0.7734 troy ounces — 26.73 grams at .900 fine.
What is the most valuable Morgan dollar?
The 1893-S is the famous key date of the series and the coin most top sets chase. But most Morgans are common dates; check yours against the melt floor and the BU sold benchmark first before assuming a jackpot.
Is it worth grading a common-date Morgan?
Only if the coin is truly uncirculated and problem-free. Grading costs money; a common date that comes back MS-63 may not recover the fee over a raw BU price, while a genuine MS-65 or better usually does.
Morgan or Peace dollar?
We compared the two series head to head in our Morgan vs. Peace dollar guide.
Morgans in stock at Juyou Finds
We stock common-date BU Morgans priced from real eBay sold data, plus certified examples graded by PCGS and NGC:
- Morgan Dollar (1878–1904) — BU
- 1883-O Morgan Silver Dollar — PCGS MS-65
- 1899-O Morgan Silver Dollar — PCGS MS-65
- 1881-S Morgan Silver Dollar — NGC MS-66
Bring a Morgan into our Menlo Park office and we will weigh it, check the date and mintmark, and price it against the same sold data used in this guide — in front of you, no obligation.
