Q. David Bowers
Market Prices by Date and Mintmark Each of the dates and mintmarks of Morgan dollars in the following listings is accompanied by a chart of market prices at five-year intervals since the time of issue. The prices for dates before about 1940 are smoothed out averages based upon auction real-izations, catalogue listings, availability, and my esti-mate of what a coin might have sold for had it been available. As noted earlier, actual price quotations varied widely, often with the same seller in the same year.
After about 1940, listings are based upon prices adapted from such sources as the Standard Catalogue of u.s .Coins, A Guide Book of u.s. Coins (after 1946), The Coin Dealer Newsletter (first published in 1963), and market information in Numismatic News and Coin World, in addition to advertisements and auction results. In modern times there has been a veritable deluge of market information, and yet in the early 1990s, there is no such thing as a fixed, standard price for even a common 1881'S dollar in MS- 65 grade. Prices are apt to vary by 10% to 20% or even more. For anything rare, the variation is apt to be much larger.
Even though many Morgan dollars, especially those in worn grades, were not worth more than face value until after the early 1960s, dealers sold them for a slight premium to reflect stocking and handling costs. Because of this, common Morgan dollars are listed in the price charts under the heading Market Values for each date at no less than $1.10 per coin for market listings before 1940, and at no less than $1.25 per coin for listings 1940 and later.
The price listings to follow in the individual date and variety listings are more comprehensive than anything that has heretofore appeared in print.