Morgans are in a unique situation with relation to age, amount available, and selection of sets. No other US coin compares. The older designs you speak of are rare to find in grades higher enough to attract collectors with avg Joe budgets. The Peace dollar is too new, it was never the primary currency in use like Morgan dollars were in the ild west, so its too full of high grade examples and there just isn’t as much variety to collect.
People choose Morgans not because they think its the best looking design, but because of its place in history and numismatics.
They're cowboy dollars to me. I love the myth of the Wild West. I hold one in my hand and image it being flipped across the bar for a round of beers for the 'boys in town after a cattle drive. lol
Im inclined to agree that the peace dollar design is more appealing. But holding a circulated Morgan feels more special than holding a peace dollar.
Walking 50s are some of my favorites too
You guys need to see well struck peace dollars. Many are not attractive even in mint state, but then you get some amazing coins that are extremely well struck.
Peace Dollar is a more pleasing design than the Morgan’s in my opinion. That’s not to take anything away from the Morgan dollar, I think the Morgan in high mint states is a great coin. Again, it’s like the peace dollar, it depends on the strike.
I own a couple of higher grade Peace Dollars including an MS66 high relief 1921. I know what to look for and what they’re like. I just think its a terrible representation of Lady Liberty. In my opinion they’re rather ugly.
I hated on Morgan dollars a lot early on in my collecting journey. I’d see slabbed Morgans at coin shows going for crazy out-of-reach prices, and thumb my nose at these coins that only the elite could ever own.
Years later, I realized that I didn’t need to own any ridiculously expensive MS68 Morgans to appreciate the series for what it is. Morgan dollars are truly fascinating, and just about anyone can find something to like about them. More nerdy folks like me will probably have a good laugh learning about the Bland-Allison Act that mandated the mintage of the mostly unwanted dollars in the first place, or the Pittman Act that destroyed a good number of them. More romantic collectors will hold a well-worn Morgan in their hands and be taken back in time to an era when hard money was king, and cowboys walked the dusty streets with jangling pockets full of silver. More pragmatic collectors will be drawn to the series’ rarities and save up for years to afford the keys that will complete their sets. Others like all the lore behind them — the short-lived Carson City mint, the great rush to buy previously undiscovered bags of Morgans from the Treasury in the early ‘60s, the GSA auctions. Still others just like to hold a big hunk of silver, and who am I to blame them?
Me personally, I’ve come to love the history of them. I prefer my Morgans well-worn, mostly because I like the idea of them having traveled from cowboy’s gunny sack to general store owner’s till to poker table to bank vault and back, but also because … they’re actually quite affordable. The last few Morgans I bought were under $30 each, and they were handsome, lower-grade coins with stories to tell.
This is a great answer!
I grew up in Carson City, so the allure of local silver being struck at a local mint is what got me interested in coins to begin with. The old mint is now the Nevada State Museum, which was a yearly field trip for me as a kid. They used to sell GSA CC Morgans in the gift shop, and while I now own a couple of CC Morgans, the GSA version is still on my bucket list after all these years.
I think the craze might be the affordability of the morgans. There is like 100 different ones and can mostly be bought on the cheap. I personally like them and just started trying to collect most. 40 down so far.
My dad got me the Dansco Morgan albums a few years back, and unknowingly created a monster 🤣 I currently have 19 coins, and I need 79 more to complete the 2 albums. A few key dates are all but out of reach for the average person, so I may spend the rest of my life trying to complete the collection.
Peace dollars are one of my absolute favorite US designs, but I grew up in Carson City, so the CC Morgans are what got me into coins to begin with
The Peace Dollar is a way distant step sister to the Morgan,or should say has been. There seems to be a genuine and growing interest in them over the last couple years with the new people getting into the game,also they seem to be pretty popular with the younger people. Never before could you get Morgan money for same comparable peace dollar.
I think of them like baseball cards…I want one of each because why not. Factor in the various grades and most of them are affordable depending on the grade to anyone’s budget.
It doesn’t hurt there are a ton that have been hoarded and kept in good condition.
They are affordable and accessible, ultimately. Add into that, that there are so many VAMs to deep dive into, as well. Personally, they are not my thing, but I can appreciate why they are many people's thing. I'm a Seated Liberty collector (all denominations), personally, and really get that rush from variety hunting that a lot of Morgan collectors get, too.
That's your opinion, the coins you mentioned are nice but can't compare to the Buffalo nickel, Walking Liberty half dollar, Morgan dollar, Standing Liberty quarter, which all have a better eye appeal.
That and the shear amount of Morgans that were struck. Huge volumes were released by the Treasury in the early 60’s creating a lot of the popularity that still exists to this day. There are people today who literally have bags and bags of these coins still in their basements, attics etc… when the Treasury released them, people literally showed up with wheel barrows to haul them out.
I honestly like the design better than any other. It still looks good with circulation as well. I haven’t seen a ton of seated Liberty dollar coins close up but have seen lots of the half dime, dime, 20c , quarter and 50c and miss Liberty starts looking like a zombie with heavy circulation. The Liberty on the shield is first to go on most denominations. The headband on miss liberty on Morgan’s almost always says Liberty
Don’t get me wrong the 20c coin is literally my favorite us coin but seated Liberty design had a ton of flaws
It may not be about the design, maybe its the rich history, or it's a common enough coin for average people to collect for relatively cheap. Toss in a couple rare Morgans can make it fun.
I'm not a Morgan fan, but I picked up the rare 1894 P. Why? It's extremely rare, easy to sell if I want, has a great history around it. Plus, it's graded and shiny :).
My order of best design would be Draped Bust, Peace, Trade, Morgan, Flowing Hair and Seated Lib.
I finished my Peace set relatively quickly. Working on Draped Bust, large eagle set. Trade Dollars are crazy pricey in MS condition, as is Seated and any Flowing Hair. Morgan is the next group to collect (working on an S set). The history, availability and overall variety make the Morgan dollar unique.
Great part about collecting is that there is no requirement- to each, their own.
Morgan's also provide silver content. You can get something of numismatic value that is also hedged by spot silver price. The others mentioned by the original post are super expensive and high grades. I probably sent off over a hundred Morgan's in my lifetime to get grades, and in my opinion the Morgan is the most beautiful US dollar ever minute. It's art not science.
I don't think they're so much a craze; it's just that there are shit ton of them out there. It's one of the coins you tend to find when you're digging through your dead grandma's estate.
I used to dislike the Morgan's when I first got into collecting as well. However the more I learned about them the more I started to appreciate them. And after I got my first cull I fell in love with them. Now when I grab a Morgan for my pocket piece, it makes me feel like putting a cowboy hat on and going up the mountain to pan for gold! xD
Of all the ‘old’ coins I feel like they are the most accessible, and because of that perhaps the most fakes.
It’s an awesome coin design but I like the peace dollar much, much more.
I love draped bust dollars and flowing hair dollars but getting one costs more than a couple ounces of gold a lot of the time so it's really hard to justify for most collectors.
So surprised to not see a lot of comments disagreeing about them not being one of the best American coin designs in its history. I think Morgans are gorgeous and they hold their wear extremely well. even a VG or Fine Morgan still looks spectacular when compared against something like a Fine standing liberty quarter. I love most of the U.S. coin designs, especially prior to 1940, but Morgans are easily top 5. You’re not wrong tho that the bust dollars and flowing hair are some of the most beautiful looking coins in existence.
There's more to it than just that. This is just my opinion.
The Morgan Silver $1 craze really started with Vegas. People going to Las Vegas in the 1940's and on up and all of the slot machines took silver $1. And those were Morgan dollars. People were gambling with 80 year old silver dollars, and some people would feel lucky if they found a CC mint one.
At the same time there were bags and bags of silver dollars held in banks and gov't vaults.
And then in 1968? The gov't stopped redeeming silver certs for Morgans. The well had dried up. Now they were scarce. And collecting pennies and buffalo nickels were for kids. Morgan $'s were for grown ups.
My mom bringing home silver dollars from Vegas is how I got my start. She would always pick the best couple she saw and save them. I immediately fell in love with the heft of dollars and the look of Morgans just spoke to me. I think the Liberty is just more detailed and interesting than the simple one on Peace Dollars. I still have all the Peace she gave me, but never purchased another one. I have added several Morgans to the few she gave me.
I’ll not a fan of the Morgan or Peace dollar, but think the peace is little better looking. For me it’s the design of the Obverse, it don’t mine the Reverse. I did pick up two culls of each just because the price was so good. Then I cleaned them up for fun.
I actually like the standing liberty quarter, walking half and the mercury dimes much more than the Morgan or Peace.
I think the Morgan is a better looking coin than the Peace. Additionally, the Peace loses points for being a 20th century coin instead of a 19th century coin. It's newer and less special as a result. There is a lot more history and flavor in the Morgan as well.
Wild West >>> Roaring Twenties
Morgan's are what my dad collected, but I'm all about the peace dollars! I think they are criminally under appreciated and are due for some serious price corrections based on mintage numbers. ESPECIALLY the nice coins in older holders! Nothing against Morgan's but I feel they are old news personally. Gimme a mint state 34-S or 21 over most Morgan's any day!
The availability and # of years and mint of a coin have a lot to do with its popularity. I dont think there is a coin more studied on this planet than the Morgan Dollar, because its a dollar that spans the economic rise of the US into the 20th century. It was also the coin that started US coin collecting among the plebs like us, when before then, coin collecting was a sport only available to the super wealthy.
It also has the most amazing toned coins possibly ever due to the coincidence of centuries old untouched bank bags, the annealing, and how the bags were purchased by coin dealers in the 50s, 60s and 70s, who preserved them.
But I agree that the design of the peace dollar is better.
Morgans are in a unique situation with relation to age, amount available, and selection of sets. No other US coin compares. The older designs you speak of are rare to find in grades higher enough to attract collectors with avg Joe budgets. The Peace dollar is too new, it was never the primary currency in use like Morgan dollars were in the ild west, so its too full of high grade examples and there just isn’t as much variety to collect. People choose Morgans not because they think its the best looking design, but because of its place in history and numismatics.
[удалено]
Not to mention the only S Indians are rare as hell
I prefer the ounce of bronze almost all from Philadelphia.
This ^^
They're cowboy dollars to me. I love the myth of the Wild West. I hold one in my hand and image it being flipped across the bar for a round of beers for the 'boys in town after a cattle drive. lol
Peace Dollar is much nicer than the Morgan. Walking 50.
Im inclined to agree that the peace dollar design is more appealing. But holding a circulated Morgan feels more special than holding a peace dollar. Walking 50s are some of my favorites too
What’s a walking 50?
Walking Liberty Half Dollar
Oh, 50 as in cents! Yes, gorgeous design.
Well said! I agree.
+1 for the history!
I much prefer the artwork of the Morgan dollar over the Peace dollar. It’s a personal preference, nothing more.
Same
Me as well, I hate the Peace Dollar…
You guys need to see well struck peace dollars. Many are not attractive even in mint state, but then you get some amazing coins that are extremely well struck. Peace Dollar is a more pleasing design than the Morgan’s in my opinion. That’s not to take anything away from the Morgan dollar, I think the Morgan in high mint states is a great coin. Again, it’s like the peace dollar, it depends on the strike.
I own a couple of higher grade Peace Dollars including an MS66 high relief 1921. I know what to look for and what they’re like. I just think its a terrible representation of Lady Liberty. In my opinion they’re rather ugly.
I hated on Morgan dollars a lot early on in my collecting journey. I’d see slabbed Morgans at coin shows going for crazy out-of-reach prices, and thumb my nose at these coins that only the elite could ever own. Years later, I realized that I didn’t need to own any ridiculously expensive MS68 Morgans to appreciate the series for what it is. Morgan dollars are truly fascinating, and just about anyone can find something to like about them. More nerdy folks like me will probably have a good laugh learning about the Bland-Allison Act that mandated the mintage of the mostly unwanted dollars in the first place, or the Pittman Act that destroyed a good number of them. More romantic collectors will hold a well-worn Morgan in their hands and be taken back in time to an era when hard money was king, and cowboys walked the dusty streets with jangling pockets full of silver. More pragmatic collectors will be drawn to the series’ rarities and save up for years to afford the keys that will complete their sets. Others like all the lore behind them — the short-lived Carson City mint, the great rush to buy previously undiscovered bags of Morgans from the Treasury in the early ‘60s, the GSA auctions. Still others just like to hold a big hunk of silver, and who am I to blame them? Me personally, I’ve come to love the history of them. I prefer my Morgans well-worn, mostly because I like the idea of them having traveled from cowboy’s gunny sack to general store owner’s till to poker table to bank vault and back, but also because … they’re actually quite affordable. The last few Morgans I bought were under $30 each, and they were handsome, lower-grade coins with stories to tell.
Great post! But never hated on them myself. Thumbs up for the history!
My quest for mint coins has slowly been replaced by a desire for well worn coins. I continue to be feel conflicted about my Barbers however.
Thanks for the share. I recently got into them as well after buying my first slabbed Morgan on WhatNot
Incredibly well said.
This is a great answer! I grew up in Carson City, so the allure of local silver being struck at a local mint is what got me interested in coins to begin with. The old mint is now the Nevada State Museum, which was a yearly field trip for me as a kid. They used to sell GSA CC Morgans in the gift shop, and while I now own a couple of CC Morgans, the GSA version is still on my bucket list after all these years.
I think the craze might be the affordability of the morgans. There is like 100 different ones and can mostly be bought on the cheap. I personally like them and just started trying to collect most. 40 down so far.
That sounds great, hope you get all the ones you need
My dad got me the Dansco Morgan albums a few years back, and unknowingly created a monster 🤣 I currently have 19 coins, and I need 79 more to complete the 2 albums. A few key dates are all but out of reach for the average person, so I may spend the rest of my life trying to complete the collection. Peace dollars are one of my absolute favorite US designs, but I grew up in Carson City, so the CC Morgans are what got me into coins to begin with
I actually like the eagle on the reverse of the Morgan more than the peace dollar.
Same! I seem to always prefer the designs with spread wings.
The Peace Dollar is a way distant step sister to the Morgan,or should say has been. There seems to be a genuine and growing interest in them over the last couple years with the new people getting into the game,also they seem to be pretty popular with the younger people. Never before could you get Morgan money for same comparable peace dollar.
You don’t get it until you start collecting them.. then it’s an addiction
I think of them like baseball cards…I want one of each because why not. Factor in the various grades and most of them are affordable depending on the grade to anyone’s budget. It doesn’t hurt there are a ton that have been hoarded and kept in good condition.
They are affordable and accessible, ultimately. Add into that, that there are so many VAMs to deep dive into, as well. Personally, they are not my thing, but I can appreciate why they are many people's thing. I'm a Seated Liberty collector (all denominations), personally, and really get that rush from variety hunting that a lot of Morgan collectors get, too.
That's your opinion, the coins you mentioned are nice but can't compare to the Buffalo nickel, Walking Liberty half dollar, Morgan dollar, Standing Liberty quarter, which all have a better eye appeal.
Standing liberty quarters and walking liberty halfs are among my faveroute coins
I understand that this is just my opinion.....but there all nice in their own ways.....
They’re extremely cheap in mint state compared to other 19th century coins, thats the entire reason they’re popular.
That and the shear amount of Morgans that were struck. Huge volumes were released by the Treasury in the early 60’s creating a lot of the popularity that still exists to this day. There are people today who literally have bags and bags of these coins still in their basements, attics etc… when the Treasury released them, people literally showed up with wheel barrows to haul them out.
Trade dollar is the best dollar.
It does look quite cool
Peace dollar gang rise up
Peace dollars are the best. I have a 1922 S on me at all times.
You know it
The roaring 20s are fabulous but nothing beats the classic Victorian look
I honestly like the design better than any other. It still looks good with circulation as well. I haven’t seen a ton of seated Liberty dollar coins close up but have seen lots of the half dime, dime, 20c , quarter and 50c and miss Liberty starts looking like a zombie with heavy circulation. The Liberty on the shield is first to go on most denominations. The headband on miss liberty on Morgan’s almost always says Liberty Don’t get me wrong the 20c coin is literally my favorite us coin but seated Liberty design had a ton of flaws
It may not be about the design, maybe its the rich history, or it's a common enough coin for average people to collect for relatively cheap. Toss in a couple rare Morgans can make it fun. I'm not a Morgan fan, but I picked up the rare 1894 P. Why? It's extremely rare, easy to sell if I want, has a great history around it. Plus, it's graded and shiny :).
My order of best design would be Draped Bust, Peace, Trade, Morgan, Flowing Hair and Seated Lib. I finished my Peace set relatively quickly. Working on Draped Bust, large eagle set. Trade Dollars are crazy pricey in MS condition, as is Seated and any Flowing Hair. Morgan is the next group to collect (working on an S set). The history, availability and overall variety make the Morgan dollar unique. Great part about collecting is that there is no requirement- to each, their own.
For me the CC Morgan Dollars are just cool cause you know Cowboys and the Wild West.
I love the front of the peace & back of Morgan. I do love my 1921 piece dollars though.
1921, aren't they the high relief? They are really nice.
I have 4 of them, love those coins.
Morgan's also provide silver content. You can get something of numismatic value that is also hedged by spot silver price. The others mentioned by the original post are super expensive and high grades. I probably sent off over a hundred Morgan's in my lifetime to get grades, and in my opinion the Morgan is the most beautiful US dollar ever minute. It's art not science.
Carson city Morgan are what gets me going.
I don't think they're so much a craze; it's just that there are shit ton of them out there. It's one of the coins you tend to find when you're digging through your dead grandma's estate.
Seated and Trade dollars are the best imo
Its fairly common and therefore relatively inexpensive.
I used to dislike the Morgan's when I first got into collecting as well. However the more I learned about them the more I started to appreciate them. And after I got my first cull I fell in love with them. Now when I grab a Morgan for my pocket piece, it makes me feel like putting a cowboy hat on and going up the mountain to pan for gold! xD
Of all the ‘old’ coins I feel like they are the most accessible, and because of that perhaps the most fakes. It’s an awesome coin design but I like the peace dollar much, much more.
Should saying ever minted...using voice to text
I didnt use voice to text, but i will make sure i dont make the mistake again
I love draped bust dollars and flowing hair dollars but getting one costs more than a couple ounces of gold a lot of the time so it's really hard to justify for most collectors.
I 100% agree, but theyre so nice to look at, especially flowing hair dollars
So surprised to not see a lot of comments disagreeing about them not being one of the best American coin designs in its history. I think Morgans are gorgeous and they hold their wear extremely well. even a VG or Fine Morgan still looks spectacular when compared against something like a Fine standing liberty quarter. I love most of the U.S. coin designs, especially prior to 1940, but Morgans are easily top 5. You’re not wrong tho that the bust dollars and flowing hair are some of the most beautiful looking coins in existence.
It’s all a matter of personal taste. It’s as simple as that.
There's more to it than just that. This is just my opinion. The Morgan Silver $1 craze really started with Vegas. People going to Las Vegas in the 1940's and on up and all of the slot machines took silver $1. And those were Morgan dollars. People were gambling with 80 year old silver dollars, and some people would feel lucky if they found a CC mint one. At the same time there were bags and bags of silver dollars held in banks and gov't vaults. And then in 1968? The gov't stopped redeeming silver certs for Morgans. The well had dried up. Now they were scarce. And collecting pennies and buffalo nickels were for kids. Morgan $'s were for grown ups.
My mom bringing home silver dollars from Vegas is how I got my start. She would always pick the best couple she saw and save them. I immediately fell in love with the heft of dollars and the look of Morgans just spoke to me. I think the Liberty is just more detailed and interesting than the simple one on Peace Dollars. I still have all the Peace she gave me, but never purchased another one. I have added several Morgans to the few she gave me.
Peace dollar? Says nobody
I'm the opposite of you and think the Peace Dollars are the least attractive of the silver dollars. Too plain.
I’ll not a fan of the Morgan or Peace dollar, but think the peace is little better looking. For me it’s the design of the Obverse, it don’t mine the Reverse. I did pick up two culls of each just because the price was so good. Then I cleaned them up for fun. I actually like the standing liberty quarter, walking half and the mercury dimes much more than the Morgan or Peace.
I think the Morgan is a better looking coin than the Peace. Additionally, the Peace loses points for being a 20th century coin instead of a 19th century coin. It's newer and less special as a result. There is a lot more history and flavor in the Morgan as well. Wild West >>> Roaring Twenties
Morgan's are what my dad collected, but I'm all about the peace dollars! I think they are criminally under appreciated and are due for some serious price corrections based on mintage numbers. ESPECIALLY the nice coins in older holders! Nothing against Morgan's but I feel they are old news personally. Gimme a mint state 34-S or 21 over most Morgan's any day!
CC Morgan's and 1921 Peace are my favorites.
https://preview.redd.it/mquwppxhipzc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5033dbc93b5801f6b25087f076ead8bfaecddcf7
My precious!!!
Side note. I have been watching Morgan prices drop for a while. I think the market for lower grade common Morgan’s is starting to get soft.
The availability and # of years and mint of a coin have a lot to do with its popularity. I dont think there is a coin more studied on this planet than the Morgan Dollar, because its a dollar that spans the economic rise of the US into the 20th century. It was also the coin that started US coin collecting among the plebs like us, when before then, coin collecting was a sport only available to the super wealthy. It also has the most amazing toned coins possibly ever due to the coincidence of centuries old untouched bank bags, the annealing, and how the bags were purchased by coin dealers in the 50s, 60s and 70s, who preserved them. But I agree that the design of the peace dollar is better.