Morgan Silver Dollar Value Chart: The $50 Floor and the Mintmarks Above It
Every Morgan starts around $50 — nearly an ounce of silver in the most collected classic US coin. The chart of key dates, why every CC is a keeper, and how bank-vault hoards scrambled the rarity math.
The Morgan silver dollar (1878–1904, plus 1921) is the most collected classic US coin, and its value logic is beautifully simple: every Morgan starts at about $50 in circulated grades — nearly an ounce of silver in a big, historic coin — and the mintmark decides everything above that. Same date, different mint, hundred-fold difference.
The floor, then the ceiling
A common-date Morgan carries 0.7734 oz of silver — about $40.17 of metal at today's spot price — and the catalog's $50 circulated baseline sits on top of it. Every coin page floors its grade values at live melt automatically. Check the mintmark under the wreath on the reverse: nothing (Philadelphia), O (New Orleans), S (San Francisco), D (Denver, 1921 only) — or the two letters that make hearts beat faster, CC (Carson City).
The key dates
| Issue (mintage) | G-4 | F-12 | XF-40 | MS-63 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1893-S (100k) | $3,200 | $5,000 | $13,000 | $320,000 |
| 1889-CC (350k) | $700 | $1,600 | $5,000 | $40,000 |
| 1895 (880 proofs) | The "King of Morgans" — proof-only year, ~$21,000 even worn, $70,000+ in PR-63 | |||
| 1893-O (300k) | $260 | $390 | $900 | $11,000 |
| 1879-CC (756k) | $260 | $600 | $2,400 | $10,000 |
| 1893 (378k) | $160 | $240 | $370 | $2,600 |
Values shown match LuckyCoin's catalog at the time of writing. Click any coin for the full Sheldon ladder, and see the key-dates deep dive for each coin's story. Verify with current dealer pricing for any transaction.
Every CC is a keeper
Carson City struck Morgans in small numbers from Nevada's Comstock silver, and the mint's Wild-West mystique puts a premium on every CC date — the most common (1878-CC) starts around $170 in Good. Many uncirculated CCs survive in the government's GSA hoard holders from the 1970s; a Morgan in a black GSA case is worth more in the case than out of it.