Silver Dollar Values: What Are Your Silver Dollars Worth?

The Morgan silver dollar was designed by George T. Morgan and first struck in 1878. Production ran continuously through 1904, stopped entirely when silver reserves were exhausted, then resumed for one final year in 1921 before the Peace dollar took over. Morgans were produced at five mints: Philadelphia (no mint mark), New Orleans (O), San Francisco (S), Carson City (CC), and Denver (D, 1921 only). The mint mark appears on the reverse, below the wreath and above the letters "DO" in "DOLLAR."

Common-date Morgans from the Philadelphia mint in the 1880s and 1890s are the most available. In circulated condition — meaning they show wear from handling — these trade well above face value. In uncirculated condition with original luster, they bring considerably more. The jump in price between circulated and uncirculated is consistent across most dates because collectors strongly prefer coins that were never spent. A bag-marked uncirculated Morgan with average luster is worth two to three times what the same date brings in Very Fine condition.

The key to Morgan dollar values is the combination of date and mint mark. The 1893-S is the undisputed king of the series — only 100,000 were struck, and it is rare in any grade. A circulated 1893-S sells for $3,000 to $50,000 depending on condition. In Mint State, auction records exceed $500,000. The 1889-CC is the scarcest regular-issue Carson City Morgan, with just 350,000 minted. Circulated examples bring $500 to $5,000, and uncirculated pieces trade for $10,000 to $50,000. Even common Carson City dates like the 1882-CC and 1883-CC carry premiums of $100 to $250 in circulated condition because collectors pursue the CC mint mark specifically.

GSA (General Services Administration) Morgans deserve special mention. In the 1970s, the U.S. government sold roughly 2.8 million silver dollars from Treasury vaults through the GSA — many of them Carson City Morgans in original government-issued hard plastic holders. GSA Morgans in their original holders carry premiums above raw coins of the same date and grade because the holder guarantees authenticity and provides a provenance story that collectors value. If you have a silver dollar in a black or clear GSA holder, do not remove it — the holder itself adds to the value. If you also have half dollars from this era, many of the same mintage and condition factors apply.

Eisenhower dollars are the large dollar coins minted from 1971 to 1978 featuring President Dwight D. Eisenhower on the obverse and an eagle landing on the moon on the reverse. Most Eisenhower dollars struck for circulation at Philadelphia and Denver are copper-nickel clad — they contain no silver and are worth $1 to $3 depending on condition and date. They are big, heavy coins that people assume must be valuable because of their size, but standard clad Ikes are among the most common modern U.S. coins.

The exceptions are the 40% silver Eisenhower dollars produced at San Francisco for collectors. The 1971-S, 1972-S, 1973-S, 1974-S, and 1976-S silver issues were sold in special blue and brown packaging. These contain 40% silver and are worth $8 to $20 depending on the date and whether they are proof or uncirculated. The 1973-S silver Ike is the scarcest, as it was only available in collector sets. The other variety to know is the 1972 Type 2 Philadelphia issue, where the Earth on the reverse shows distinctly different continent detail from the standard Type 1. A genuine 1972 Type 2 brings $50 to $500 in uncirculated condition, making it the sleeper of the Eisenhower series.