1879 Morgan Silver Dollar (bright white)

The 1879 Morgan Silver Dollar has a value of between $30 and $30,000+
Type: Morgan Dollar
Value: $30.00 to $30,000.00
Silver Value: $61.25.
Mintage’s: 756,000 @ CC, 2,887,000 @ New Orleans, 9,110,000 @ S, 14,806,000 @ P (no mint mark)
Metal Content: 90% silver, 10% copper
Raw Weight: 26.73 g
Silver Weight: .7735 oz
Face Value: $1.00
Diameter: 1.5 in
Edge: Reeded
Years Minted: 1878 to 1904 and then again in 1921

Expert Advice

As with all silver coins of this era, the 1879 Morgan Silver Dollar is composed of 90% silver and 10% copper to comply with the Coinage Act of 1873 which standardized metal content for coins among other things. These were minted at New Orleans, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Carson City with the Carson City mintage being the most valuable. Look for a CC over CC error as well this year.

Values

CC’s worth $100 to $30,000, O’s worth $30 to $4,000, S’s worth $33 to $100, No Mint Mark’s worth $30 to $800 all depending upon condition, market, and time.

For even more information on the Morgans check Wikipedia, or one of the image or tagged links below with related content.

1878 Morgan Dollar (90% silver)

The 1878 Morgan Silver Dollar has a value of between $30 and $60,000
Type: Morgan Dollar
Value: $30.00 to $60,000.00
Silver Value : $61.25 USD
Mintage’s: 9.7 million in San Francisco, 2.2 million in Carson City, and 10 million in Philadelphia
Metal Content: 90% silver, 10% copper
Raw Weight: 26.73 g
Silver Weight: .7735 oz
Face Value: $1.00
Diameter: 1.5 in
Edge: Reeded
Years Minted: 1878 to 1904 and then again in 1921

This was the first year the Morgan Silver Dollar was minted. Due to differences in where the coin was minted and which dies were used, these coins have a variety of values. There are 8 feathered (8TF), 7 feathered (7TF), 7/8 feathered and those with a 1879 reverse. These were minted in both Carson City and in San Francisco and, at the higher end of the grading scales can have significant value.

1921 Peace Dollar

The 1921 Peace Dollar has a value of between $125 and $6,500
Type: Peace Dollar
Value: $125 to $6,500
Silver Value: $61.25 Mintages: 1 Million
Metal Content: 90% silver, 10% copper
Raw Weight: 26.73 g
Silver Weight: .7735 oz
Face Value: $1.00
Diameter: 1.5 in
Edge: Reeded
Years Minted: 1921–1928 and 1934,1935

The 1921 Peace Dollar was the first of these fine silver dollars to be issued. The coin was designed by Anthony de Francisci as an alternative to the Morgan Dollar, and in honor of the peace accords following World War I. Because of the Pittman Act in 1918, millions of silver dollars were to be minted and, in 1921, production of the Morgan Dollar, and then the Peace Dollar began. From 1921 until 1928 when the fulfillment of the Pittman Act took place, millions of Peace Dollars were struck.

Read more about Peace Dollars

U.S. Coin Melt Values

The following page displays silver coin melt values for United States minted coins commonly in circulation. While the collectability, also known as the numismatic value, might be hard to memorize the silver content of the coins in terms of percentages % is fairly easy to remember. Here it is quickly and then we will break it down below. Most Dollars, Half Dollars, Quarters, and Dimes (but not nickels) minted before 1965 are 90% with a few variances to the rule. If you have a small scale you will want to set it to measure in Oz / Troy Oz if possible. 1 troy oz = 31.1034768 grams or $79.55 at the current spot price.
1 Silver Dollar is worth $79.55 (90% Silver)

Peace Dollar

1 Pre 1965 Silver Half Dollar is worth $28.77 (90% Silver), while a half dollar minted between 1965 and 1970 (40% silver) is worth less at $11.77

1964 Kennedy Half Dollar

1 Silver Quarter is worth $14.38 (90% Silver)

Washington Quarter

1 Silver Dime is worth $5.75 (90% Silver)

Roosevelt Dime

1 Silver War Nickel (1942 to 1945) is worth $4.48 (35% Silver)

Silver War Nickel

There are as you might have noticed a few caveats that we need to mention and here they are.

Silver nickels are only issued between 1942 and 1945
Half Dollars are only 90% until 1964 after that 1965 to 1970 they are sadly only 40% silver.

That pretty much sums it up. If you want to know more about any of those items above simply click the desired link and go to the page.

Barber Quarter

The Barber Quarter was issued between 1892 and 1916 and has a current melt value of $14.38

As part of the aftermath of the Coinage Act of 1890, the silver coins, the dime, quarter and half dollar, were all redesigned. These designs, were done by then U.S. Mint Chief Engraver, Charles E. Barber for whom this series of coins is named. The Barber series of coins was issued from 1892 until 1916, although no half dollars were minted in 1916. The Barber Quarter was replaced in 1916 by the Standing Liberty Coin when the Barber Quarter was “retired” after a 25 year run.

There became a consistent public call to replace the Seated Liberty Quarter in the late 1880’s since that series of coinage had been in use since the 1830’s. Coin specifications were established over the previous years by government regulation such as the Coinage Act of 1834 and the Coinage Act of 1872. This meant the Barber Quarter was 90% silver and 10% copper with a diameter of 24.3 millimeters and a weight of 6.3 grams.

The Barber Quarters were minted at Philadelphia, New Orleans and San Francisco as well as Denver. However, production of Barber Quarters from the Denver Mint didn’t begin until 1906 and production at the New Orleans Mint ceased in 1909 when it was shut down. While common Barber Quarters in Good condition run in the $10 to $20 range for commons, there are notable exceptions with additional value, mostly due to low mintages. These are the 1897-S and 1914-S which run in the $70 range and the 1896-S in the $1000 range for Good, the 1913-S in the $1700 range and, of most note, the 1901-S in the $6000 range for Good and a huge step to around $13,000 for Very Good. The reason for the majorly increased value for the 1901-S is due to the fact that only 72,664 Barber Quarters were minted in San Francisco that year.