Silver Dollars & Trade Dollars of the United States - A Complete Encyclopedia
Q. David Bowers
1893-S Morgan Dollar
Coinage Context
Low-mintage issue: Among Morgan dollars the 1893-S, with a mintage of 100,000 coins, has the lowest business strike production figure, except for the 1895 Philadelphia Mint dollar (of which 12,000 were struck, but of which no examples are known today). It may have been that tens of thousands of 1893-S dollars were melted under terms of the 1918 Pittman Act. Still, many thousands were released into circulation.
Numismatic Information
Commentary: The 1893-S is the rarest of all Mor-gan dollars in higher grades. In terms of all grades combined, the Proof-only 1895 Philadelphia dollar is rarer, as only 880 Proofs were struck. However, in higher grade levels there are more 1895 dollars in existence in Proof-60 or better grade than there are 1893-S dollars in MS-60 or better preservation. That the 1893-S is not an "impossible" rarity is because thousands of worn specimens survive. I recall being offered a group of over 250 circulated pieces in 1987, the average grade being Very Fine.
I have never personally seen a quantity of Mint State 1893-S dollars. In fact, I don't recall ever seeing even two side by side until the Antelope Valley Silver Dollar Collection was consigned to us in Oc-tober 1992 for auction in January 1993. However, 20 examples of 1893-S are said to have been found mixed in with a bag of Uncirculated 1894-S dollars which came to light in Great Falls, Montana in the early 1950s (reported by Wayne Miller). These were sold into the market over a period of years, and all were gone by the mid-1970s. Harry Warner told Walter Breen that he knew of a mint bag of 1,000 1893-S dollars, but this has not been seen. As Walter Breen commented to me, if it remains, it is in storage somewhere (this apocryphal bag is not included in my population estimates). In the early 1970s, dealer Aaron Stollman told Maurice Rosen that he had handled a brilliant Uncirculated roll of 1893-S.(Undated commentary from Maurice Rosen, received by the author November 2, 1992.)
In his Morgan and Peace Dollar Textbook, Wayne Miller devoted two pages to the 1893-S. He noted that a great increase in the market value of the 1893-S in Mint State-from $5,000 in 1972 to $75,000 in 1980-failed to entice more than a dozen or so coins onto the market. If anyone is holding a quantity, either they have great will power or don't need the money!
Circulated grades: In 1925, numismatist E.S. Thresher reported that despite searching since 1919, he had not been able to find an example in circulation; one of just eight coins absent from his Morgan dollar collection (the others were 1884-CC, 1885-CC, 1889-S, 1892, 1894, 1897, and 1899). How this statement reconciles with the oft-held opinion that most 1893-S dollars were probably released into circulation near the time of striking is one of the mysteries of the series. Inasmuch as Very Fine seems to be about the norm grade for a circulated 1893-S dollar, and very few are known in lower grades such as Fair, Good, and Very Good, it may have been the case that many were released in circulation in the mid-1920s, and circulated extensively in the West after that time. As there was virtually no interest in collecting mintmarked Morgan dollars in Mint State at the time, never mind worn pieces, the situation would not have been noticed.
Nearly all old-timers remember the days of the 1950s and early 1960s when a bag of mixed worn Morgan dollars would usually yield a few 1893-S coins. The typical specimen is apt to grade Very Fine. Even so, in the context of Morgan dollars the 1893-Sis considered scarce in circulated grades and is exceeded in this regard only by the 1885-CC, 1903-O, and 1898-O. Occasionally, small groups of worn pieces come on the market. I believe that about 4,000 to 8,000 circulated 1893-S dollars exist, but this estimate may be on the low side.
Mint State grades: In Mint State the 1893-S dollar is the most desirable coin in the Morgan series. Over the years it has acquired a special aura, a fame all its own. The offering of even an MS-60 coin at auction will inevitably cause a flurry of excitement. When an MS-63 or finer coin comes up for bidding, all bets are off-and anything can happen.
Most Mint State 1893-S dollars are well struck, have a pleasing lustre that is a cross between frost and satin, have few bagmarks, and are quite attractive. Probably about 100 to 200 Mint State coins exist, although there are differences of opinion in this regard. Weimar W. White suggested that the total population is no more than 30 coins, and that grading service populations have been inflated by resubmissions.' Wayne Miller estimated that a dozen or so Uncirculated coins came on the market in the eight-year period from 1972 to 1980.
Among Mint State coins, most are in lower levels of MS-60 to 62, in which category I estimate that 50 to 100 are known. At the MS-63 stage, the population may be about 25 to 50, followed by only 10 to 15 MS-64s, and 12 to 25 that grade MS-65 or better.
Unlike its kissing cousin the 1892-S, the 1893-S has always had a sterling reputation with collectors.
Several Mint State coins discussed: During the decade of the 1970s, four exceptional 1893-S dollars were examined by Wayne Miller: