The 1893-S is the rarest regular-issue Morgan dollar: only 100,000 were struck. Even a worn, problem-free example is a four-figure coin.
It is the coin Morgan sets are built around — the lowest business-strike mintage in the series, from the mint that struck the best Morgans, in the year the silver market collapsed. This breakdown covers why it is rare, what each grade is worth, and the fakes every buyer has to know about. It anchors the key-date table in our Morgan dollar key dates guide.
Why Only 100,000 Exist
1893 was the year the floor fell out of silver. The Panic of 1893 crashed the economy, Congress repealed the Sherman Silver Purchase Act that had forced the government to buy silver and strike dollars, and mint production of silver dollars nearly stopped. San Francisco’s entire Morgan output for the year was 100,000 coins — against millions in a normal year — and most of them went straight into circulation in the West, where they worked hard. Low mintage plus hard use is the whole story: the survivors are few, and nice survivors are genuinely rare.
1893-S Values by Grade
| Grade | Typical value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Good to Fine (worn, problem-free) | About $2,000–$4,500 | The entry point — and the grade where fakes concentrate, so certification matters most here |
| Extremely Fine | About $6,000–$9,000 | Strong detail survivors thin out fast above Fine |
| About Uncirculated | About $15,000–$30,000 | True AU coins are scarce; many “AU” raw coins are cleaned or overgraded |
| Mint State (MS60–MS63) | About $40,000–$90,000 | A few hundred certified mint-state examples are believed to exist |
| Gem Mint State (MS65+) | Six figures | Among the most valuable Morgan dollars of any date at auction |
| For reference: the silver in it | About $40.27 | 0.7734 oz at $52.07 spot, checked November 7, 2026 — rarity, not metal, is 99% of this coin’s price. Data by Bullion Price Check |
The Fake Every Buyer Must Know
The classic 1893-S fraud is an altered coin: take a common 1893 Philadelphia dollar (378,000 struck, worth a few hundred dollars) and add an S mint mark, or alter an 1898-S or 1903-S. Added mint marks sit slightly wrong — wrong position, wrong shape, sometimes with tooling marks around them under magnification. Genuine 1893-S coins also carry known die markers, including the die line through Liberty’s cap area that specialists check. The defenses are boring and absolute: buy the coin already certified by PCGS or NGC, and verify the certificate number against the grading service’s own record before money moves — our certification verification guide walks through exactly how, and the grade context for the rest of the series is in the Morgan dollar value guide.
What to Do If You Have One
Do not clean it, do not polish it, and do not test it with anything abrasive — a cleaned 1893-S can lose a third of its value in one wipe. If it is raw, professional grading is not optional at this level: the certification both authenticates the coin against the altered-mint-mark problem and pins the grade its price depends on. If it is already certified, verify the number (above) and price it against recent auction results for the exact grade, because at this level two coins with the same grade can differ by thousands on eye appeal alone.
1893-S Morgan Dollar FAQ
How many 1893-S Morgan dollars were made?
100,000 — the lowest business-strike mintage in the Morgan series, struck at San Francisco in the Panic year of 1893 after the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act.
How much is an 1893-S Morgan dollar worth?
About $2,000–$4,500 in worn problem-free grades, $15,000–$30,000 in About Uncirculated, and six figures in gem mint state. Every price assumes a genuine, certified coin.
How can you tell a real 1893-S from an altered coin?
Check the mint mark’s shape and position under magnification and look for the genuine die markers; added S marks are the classic fraud. The reliable answer is certification — buy it in a PCGS or NGC holder and verify the certificate number.
What is the rarest Morgan dollar overall?
The proof-only 1895 (880 struck) has a lower mintage, but the 1893-S is the rarest Morgan a collector can find as a regular circulating issue — which is why it is called the king of the series.
Values are typical market ranges for genuine, problem-free coins as of November 7, 2026 and vary with grade and eye appeal; certification is the pricing basis at this level. This guide is educational, not financial advice.