The Morgan dollar was struck from 1878 to 1904, and once more in 1921. Every coin holds 0.7734 ounces of silver, worth about $40.27 in melt tonight.
This guide breaks the whole series down: the key dates that carry the value, the five mints that struck them, and the hoards and meltings that decided which coins are rare today. Prices use silver spot of $52.07 an ounce, checked November 7, 2026. Data by Bullion Price Check, checked November 7, 2026.
The Series at a Glance
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Years struck | 1878–1904, plus 1921 (and a modern revival since 2021) |
| Designer | George T. Morgan — Liberty modeled on Philadelphia teacher Anna Willess Williams |
| Silver content | 0.7734 troy ounces of 90% silver — about $40.27 melt tonight |
| Size | 38.1 mm, 26.73 grams |
| Total struck | More than 650 million, across five mints |
| Melted by law | The 1918 Pittman Act melted 270,232,722 of them — which is why mintage alone does not set rarity |
Morgan Dollar Key Dates: The Breakdown
Twelve coins carry most of the series’ value. Everything not on this list is a common date — worth melt plus a collector premium that turns on grade, covered in our Morgan dollar value guide.
| Coin | Mintage | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1893-S | 100,000 | The king of the business strikes — lowest regular mintage in the series; even worn examples are four-figure coins. Full breakdown: 1893-S Morgan dollar |
| 1895 (Philadelphia) | 880 proofs | Proof-only year. Business strikes were reportedly made but none has ever been confirmed — every genuine 1895 is a proof |
| 1894 (Philadelphia) | 110,000 | The scarcest Philadelphia business strike |
| 1893-CC | 60,000 | Lowest Carson City mintage — the mint closed that year |
| 1885-CC | 228,000 | Most never circulated; the supply came out through the GSA sales |
| 1893-O | 300,000 | The toughest New Orleans date in high grade |
| 1889-CC | 350,000 | The Carson City key — the CC most collections never complete |
| 1879-CC | 756,000 | Scarce anyway; the capped-die variety is the true rarity |
| 1892-S | 1,200,000 | A condition rarity: affordable worn, genuinely rare uncirculated |
| 1884-S | 3,200,000 | The other great condition rarity — big mintage, almost none saved in mint state |
| 1878-CC | 2,212,000 | The first Carson City Morgan — first-year-of-issue demand on top of the CC premium |
| 1903-O | 4,450,000 | Was considered the rarest Morgan of all until Treasury bags surfaced in 1962 and collapsed the price |
The Five Mints, and Where the Mint Mark Sits
The mint mark is on the reverse, below the wreath and above the D and O of DOLLAR — and it is the single biggest value lever after grade. Philadelphia coins carry no mark and include both proof-only rarities and the 1894 key. Carson City (CC) coins, struck 1878–1893 in Nevada silver country, carry a premium on every date; the Treasury’s leftover CC stock became the GSA Carson City hoard sold in the 1970s, and original GSA-holder coins like our 1880-CC GSA dollar at $810.90 trade above the same coin raw. New Orleans (O) struck the softest coins — weak strikes make high grades scarcer than mintages suggest. San Francisco (S) struck the best-made Morgans and, in 1893, the rarest. Denver (D) struck Morgans only in the 1921 revival year.
Why Mintage Is Only Half the Story
Two government decisions rewrote Morgan rarity. The Pittman Act of 1918 melted over 270 million coins — disproportionately destroying some dates while others sat untouched in vaults. Then, in late 1962, the Treasury began releasing bags of uncirculated Morgans that had slept in vaults for sixty years; dates catalogued as rare, like the 1903-O, turned out to exist by the bag, while dates nobody released stayed rare. The practical lesson is the one the key-date table shows: rarity in this series means surviving rarity, and the 1884-S and 1892-S prove a multi-million mintage can still be a five-figure coin in mint state.
Common Dates, the 1921 Revival, and the Modern Coins
Everything outside the key list trades as a common date: circulated examples run about $45–$65 against tonight’s $40.27 melt, uncirculated examples more — the per-grade math is in the value guide, and the final-year coins get their own treatment in our 1921 Morgan dollar value guide. The series returned as a modern collectible in 2021 and continues in the Mint’s annual releases, covered in our 2026 Morgan and Peace dollar guide. For a graded classic in hand today, our pre-1921 Morgan in NGC MS66 is $340.46.
Morgan Dollar FAQ
What are the Morgan dollar key dates?
The 1893-S leads the series at 100,000 struck, followed by the proof-only 1895, the 1894, 1893-CC, 1885-CC, 1893-O, and 1889-CC. The full list with mintages is the table above.
How much silver is in a Morgan dollar?
0.7734 troy ounces — a 90% silver coin weighing 26.73 grams. At tonight’s $52.07 spot that is about $40.27 of silver in every coin, common or key.
Where is the mint mark on a Morgan dollar?
On the reverse, beneath the wreath and above the DO in DOLLAR. CC, O, S, and D marks appear there; no mark means Philadelphia.
What is the rarest Morgan dollar?
By mintage, the 1895 proof (880 struck) and the 1893-S (100,000) lead. By surviving price records, top-grade examples of the 1893-S and the 1889-CC are the series’ most expensive coins.
Are Morgan dollars a good buy at melt?
Common dates trade at a modest premium over melt in circulated grades, which is why they are the classic way to hold silver with collector upside. The premium story by grade is in the value guide linked above.
Melt figures use spot checked on November 7, 2026 and move with the markets; mintages are the U.S. Mint’s production figures. This guide is educational, not financial advice.