Silver Dollars & Trade Dollars of the United States - A Complete Encyclopedia
Q. David Bowers
1887-S Morgan: Market Values
1887-S Morgan: Summary of Characteristics
Business Strikes:
Enabling legislation: As earlier, plus Act of February 28, 1878
Designer: George T. Morgan
Weight and composition: 412.5 grains; .900 silver, .100 copper
Melt-down (silver value) in year minted: $0.758 Dies prepared: Obverse: 20; Reverse: 13
Business strike mintage: 1,771,000; Delivery figures by month: January-May: none; June: 16,000; July: none; August: 420,000; September: 400,000; Oc-tober: 450,000; November: 400,000; December: 85,000.
Estimated quantity melted: Probably hundreds of thousands under the 1918 Pittman Act.
Approximate population MS-65 or better: 700 to 1,200 (URS-11)
Approximate population MS-64: 4,000 to 7,000 (URS-14)
Approximate population MS-63: 12,000 to 20,000 (URS-15)
Approximate population MS-60 to 62: 40,000 to 60,000 (URS-17)
Approximate population G-4 to AU-58: 50,000 to 100,000 (URS-17)
Availability of prooflike coins: Readily available as one-sided prooflikes (obverse), nearly always with numerous die finish lines. DMPL coins are rare and are mostly MS-63 DMPL or lower.
Characteristics of striking: Striking varies. Some are sharp, but many show weak details on the hair above Miss Liberty'sear and on the eagle's breast feathers.
Known hoards of Mint State coins: Many bags were distributed from the San Francisco Mint from the early 1940s through the early 1950s. An estimated 5 to 10 bags were later in the Redfield hoard and were primarily MS-60 to MS-63.
Proofs:
None
Commentary
The 1887-S is relatively available in low Mint State grades but is elusive in MS-65. By analogy with 1880 overdates, an 1887/6-S may exist.
Additional Information
Distribution of Silver Dollars
The Annual Report of the Director of the Mint, 1887, told of the distribution of silver dollars at the San Francisco Mint: On hand June 30, 1886 $19,229,530: coinage of fiscal year 1887 766,000; transferred to the United States Mint at Carson, 25,000; available for distribution 19,970,530; in mint June 30, 1887, 18,788,015; distributed from mint: 1,182,515.
The following told of a silver dollar transfer. Apparently, more dollars were needed in Carson City:
Carson City: Transferred from United States Mint at San Francisco, 25,000; in mint June 30, 1887,9,821; distributed from mint: 15,179.