Silver Dollars & Trade Dollars of the United States - A Complete Encyclopedia
Q. David Bowers
1890 Morgan: Market Values
1890 Morgan: Summary of Characteristics
Business Strikes:
Enabling legislation: As earlier, plus Act of February 28, 1878 and the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of July 14, 1890
Designer: George T. Morgan
Weight and composition: 412.5 grains; .900 silver, . 100 copper
Melt-down (silver value) in year minted: $0.80927
Dies prepared: Obverse: 48; Reverse: 49
Business strike mintage: 16,802,000 (9,802,000 under the Act of February 28, 1878 and 7,000,000 under the Sherman Silver Purchase Act)(The year 1890 saw coinage under two legislative acts, the Bland-Allison Act of 1878 and the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890, at each of the four mints. The silver dollar totals for the year for all four mints combined equaled 28,228,792 struck under the BlandAllison Act and 11,734,125 under the Sherman Silver Purchase Act. These cannot be distinguished.)as follows. Delivery figures by month: January: 1,350,000; February: 1,700,000; March: 1,800,000; April: 1,800,000; May: 1,200,000; June: 1,200,000; July: 600,000; August: 152,000 (Coinage to and including this figure under the 1878 Bland-Allison Act; other, later monthly totals under the 1890 Sherman Silver Purchase Act. These cannot be distinguished.) + 1,000,000; September: 1,300,000; October: 1,500,000; November: 1,600,000; December: 1,600,000.
Estimated quantity melted: Millions, probably mostly under the 1918 Pittman Act.
Approximate population MS-65 or better: 400 to 800 (URS-10)
Approximate population MS-64: 12,000 to 20,000 (URS-15)
Approximate population MS-63: 60,000 to 120,000 (URS-17)
Approximate population MS-60 to 62: 300,000 to 600,000 (URS-20)
Approximate population G-4 to AU-58: 1,250,000 to 2,500,000 (URS-22)
Availability of prooflike coins: Readily available, but usually lightly struck at the center, of low contrast, and in grades MS-60 through 63. DMPL coins MS-65 or finer are extremely rare.
Characteristics of striking: Varies. Most are poorly struck, but sharp coins also exist .
Known hoards of Mint Statecoins: Many bags were released by the Treasury in the 1950s and 1960s.
Proofs:
Dies prepared: Obverse: 1 or more; Reverse: 1 or more.
Proof mintage: 590 (465 under the Bland-Allison Act of February 28, 1878 and 125 under the 1890 Sherman Silver Purchase Act); Delivery figures by month: January: none; February: none; March: 265; April: none; May: none; June: 200(Coinage to and including this figure under the 1878 Bland-Allison Act; December Proofs were struck from metal from the 1890 Sherman Silver Purchase Act.); July-November: none; December: 125.
Approximate population Proof-65 or better: 118+/ - (URS-8)
Approximate population Proof-64: 90+/- (URS-8)
Approximate population Proof-63: 77+/- (URS-8)
Approximate population Proof-60 to 62: 130+/- (URS-9)
Commentary
This Philadelphia Mint Morgan dollar is very common in low Mint State levels but is quite rare in sharply struck MS-65.