What is the melt value of a Morgan & Peace Silver Dollar (90% Silver)?

Approximately $53.40 at recent spot prices; this page recalculates from live prices.

SILVER $69.11GOLD $4,604GOLD/SILVER 66.6PLATINUM $1,887PALLADIUM $1,371COPPER $6.47BTC $77,243SNAPSHOT○

Melt Values/ Silver / Morgan & Peace Silver Dollar (90% Silver)

FACE $1.0026.73 G0.77344 OZT AG

Overview The story Key dates Specifications Grading Questions

Melt Intelligence0.77344 ozt AgFace $1.00

Morgan & Peace Silver Dollar (90% Silver)

~657 million Morgans struck — then the 1918 Pittman Act melted 270 million of them; survival, not mintage, sets rarity.

Designer

George T. Morgan (1878); Anthony de Francisci (Peace, 1921)

OBSERVED

Years Struck

Morgan 1878–1904, 1921; Peace 1921–1935; both revived 2021–

OBSERVED

Mints

Philadelphia, New Orleans (O), San Francisco (S), Carson City (CC), Denver (D)

OBSERVED

The story

Born of the Bland-Allison Act's silver-purchase mandate, the Morgan dollar was struck in quantities the economy never needed and sat in Treasury vaults for generations — which is why gem examples exist by the million and why the GSA's 1970s Carson City sales electrified the hobby. The Peace dollar closed the arc: commemorating the end of the Great War, its last circulating year (1935) ended the silver dollar as money. Every ounce-heavy 'cartwheel' carries 0.7734 ozt — and more history per gram than anything else in the melt table.

Morgan's Liberty was modeled by Philadelphia schoolteacher Anna Willess Williams — she was hounded by the press when identified and reportedly lost her anonymity but kept the job.

Key dates worth real money

Check these before treating any coin as melt. Think you have one? Check recent auction records before selling, and read the grading basics first.

DateWhy it matters

1893-S Morgan100,000 minted — the circulation king; six figures in mint state

1889-CC MorganCarson City's rarest

1895 Morgan'King of the Morgans' — proof-only survivors

1921 Peace High ReliefFirst-year high relief, one year only

1928 PeaceLowest Peace mintage (360,649)

Specifications

SpecificationValue

Diameter38.1 mm

Weight26.73 g

EdgeReeded

Composition90% Ag, 10% Cu

Actual silver weight0.77344 ozt

Grading and authentication

Grading: where wear shows first

Wear lands first on Liberty's cheek and the hair above her forehead; on Peace dollars, the hair over the ear. The cheek is why so few circulated Morgans grade high - every pocket rub shows.

Never clean a coin. Ever. Cleaning permanently destroys collector value — dark original toning is worth more than shiny damage.

Counterfeit check

The most-counterfeited classic US coin, mostly cast/struck Chinese fakes of common AND key dates. Weight (26.73 g), diameter (38.1 mm), and the ring test catch most; key dates (1893-S, 1889-CC) deserve certification, period.

Gear that settles it: an electromagnetic verifier, a calibrated scale and calipers — counterfeit basics.

Questions people actually ask

Is my Morgan dollar rare?

Probably not - hundreds of millions survive, and common dates trade near melt plus a premium. But check date + mint mark against the key-date table above before selling: an 1893-S in any condition is a five-figure coin.

Should I clean a Morgan dollar?

Never. A cleaned Morgan loses most of its collector premium permanently. Dark toning is original skin - collectors pay MORE for it.

What is a common Morgan worth at melt?

0.7734 ozt of silver - about $53 at $69 spot - but even worn common dates usually bring a few dollars over melt because demand for the design never dies.

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