1893-S Morgan dollar

The 1893-S Morgan dollar is a United States dollar coin struck in 1893 at the San Francisco Mint. It is the lowest mintage business strike Morgan dollar in the series. The 1893-S is considered to be a key date in the Morgan dollar series: examples of the coin in both mint state and in circulated condition are valuable.

Morgan dollar
United States
ValueOne dollar
Mass(4121⁄2 gr)
Diameter(1.5 in)
Thickness(0.09 in)
EdgeReeding
Composition
  • 90.0% Silver
  • 10.0% Copper
Years of minting1893 (1893)–1893 (1893)
Mint marksSan Francisco
Circulation100,000
Obverse
DesignLiberty
DesignerGeorge T. Morgan
Design date1878
Reverse
DesignEagle clasping arrows and olive branch
DesignerGeorge T. Morgan
Design date1878

The high value of the coin has made it a target for counterfeiters. Many fake 1893-S Morgan dollars have been created. Knowledgeable coin collectors can identify a fake based on the variations in the dies which were used to strike the coins.

Background

The 1893-S Morgan dollars were struck at the United States San Francisco Mint. Only 100,000 coins were struck, making it the lowest mintage of any business strike Morgan Dollar.[1] It is thought that few survived in mint state because the majority of the coins were circulated.[2] The coins are struck using blanks which are ninety percent silver.[3] The 1893-S is known as the key date in the Morgan series.[4]

History

One reason few examples of the coin have survived is the Panic of 1893. Amid the failure of United States banks the mints produced fewer coins. Later the 1918 Pittman Act called for many silver dollars to be melted.[5] It is thought that many of the 1893-S Morgan dollars were melted as a result of the Pittman Act.[6] Examples of the coin were also circulated heavily in the Western United States as it was developing. The coin is both rare and valuable and it is collected even in circulated grades.[7] Numismatic News has estimated that there are less than 100 1893-S Morgan dollars in uncirculated condition. The two largest coin grading companies, PCGS and NGC, have graded 47 in higher grades.[6]

In 2014 the Eliasberg 1893-S Morgan dollar sold for US$646,250 at auction. It is a Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) graded coin in MS-65.[1] In 2021, a PCGS graded An 1893-S Morgan dollar in MS-67 sold for US$2,086,875.00.[5] The coin is considered to be the finest known and it is named the Vermeule 1893-S.[1] In March of 2023 an 1893-S graded by Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC), in a MS-64, grade sold for US$372,000.[8]

Counterfeits

Examples of the coin have been counterfeited: NGC has listed it among the top ten most counterfeited coins. One of the most common methods of counterfeiting the coin involves using adding the letter S to the reverse of a 1893 Morgan dollar from the Philadelphia Mint. The Philadelphia minted Morgan is used because that mint does not have a mint mark.[9] The numismatic magazine Coin World has stated that the United States marketplace has seen the introduction of thousands of fake 1893-S Morgan dollars. The magazine has stated that the counterfeiters have used dies which were made using real Morgan dollars. They have also used the correct composition of metals in the coins so that they are more difficult to detect.[3] Knowledgeable collectors can detect a fake because all 1893-S Morgans struck using the same obverse die, and only two different reverse dies. The dies have specific variations which counterfeiters have not incorporated into their fakes.[10]

See also

References
  1. Reynolds, Greg (15 October 2015). "CAC buys Eliasberg 1893-S Morgan Silver Dollar for $646,250 at auction in Las Vegas". Coin Week. Archived from the original on 29 May 2023. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  2. "1893 S $1 MS". NGC Coin. Numismatic Guaranty Company. Archived from the original on 31 January 2023. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  3. Fahey, Michael (28 October 2016). "Identifying a fake key-date 1893-S Morgan dollar". Coin World. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  4. "Key Date 1893-S Morgan Silver Dollar Offered at GreatCollections". Coin Week. 31 May 2019. Archived from the original on 6 June 2023. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  5. Roach, Steve (3 September 2021). "Top 1893-S dollar brings series record $2,086,875". Coin World. Archived from the original on 29 March 2023. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  6. "September Long Beach U.S. Coin Auction brings in $18.2 Million". Numismatic News. 17 September 2019. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  7. Ivy, Steve; Howard, Ron (1984). What Every Silver Dollar Buyer Should Know. Dallas, Texas: Heritage Capital Corporation. p. 88. ISBN 978-0-933372-01-6. Archived from the original on 2023-09-15. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  8. Roach, Steve (7 March 2023). "Market Analysis: Uncirculated 1893-S $1 in Heritage sale". Coin World. Archived from the original on 13 May 2023. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  9. "10. 1893-S Morgan Dollar". NGC Coin. Numismatic Guaranty Company. Archived from the original on 30 January 2023. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  10. St. Julien, Paul (21 June 2017). "How to Spot a Fake 1893-S Morgan Silver Dollar". Coin Parade. Archived from the original on 27 June 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
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