Key date coins are generally harder to find than other dates within a coin series. These key dates also tend to be more valuable and more sought after by collectors and investors. Collectors Dashboard is evaluating the key date of the prized 1893 S Morgan Dollar.

One critical issue to consider in evaluating the 1893 S Morgan Dollar is that this coin is the king of the Morgan Dollar series. The 1893 S has the lowest mintage for any Morgan Dollar struck for circulation. It also holds the title of being a key date in any grade.

PCGS estimates the total survival of all grades at just 9,948 coins. The original for circulation mintage was 100,000 coins. In short, very few coins exist and this adds to the scarcity factor that helps drive the value of investments within the collectibles sector.

With collectability at every condition the 1893 S is a coin for new collectors, experienced collectors and for the investors who are simply looking to make a profit down the road.

The known auction record was from a May 2018 Sotheby’s sale realizing $735,000.00 for an MS65 graded coin. A PCGS population of 5 for the MS65 grade. Only 1 PCGS example grades higher at MS67 and was sold privately on October 14, 2008 by Summit Rare Coins for a price reported to be in excess of $1,000,000.

Lower grades of the 1893 S in G-6 PCGS capsuling sold for $2,393.00 on an eBay sale that lasted from March 28, 2021 to April 3, 2021. The PCGS population for the grade is 710 and 5,682 examples exists in PCGS grades higher. Heritage Auctions sold an identical G6 grade in April 2021 for $2,400.00. The PCGS price guide for the condition of both coins is $2,500.00.

Nicer examples of the 1893 S can still be found on eBay. A coin in XF45 grade sold on eBay for $13,645.00 in April 2021. Here are the prices and recent dates of sales in XF condition:

• Heritage Auctions April 2021 $13,200.00,
• eBay Auction March 2021 $10,800.00,
• November 2020 Heritage Auction $9,000.00,
• and Goldberg Auctioneers September 2020 $9,300.00.

NGC graded examples in XF for the 1893 S have not seen the same recent activity in sales as tracked by PCGS. In February 2020, a sample sold in a Heritage Auctions sale for $9,600.00. And in December 2019, Heritage Auctions sold a XF NGC graded coin for $9,000.00. Three sales of an NGC XF graded 1893 S Morgan Dollar are as follows for the month of November 2019:

• Sotheby’s $6,600.00,
• Sotheby’s $7,800.00,
• and Scotsman for $8,050.00 in auction.

The 1893 S Morgan Dollar is a coin with collectability in every grade and should be on everyone’s radar at some point in coin collecting and investing in coins. Finding a rough very worn example as a family heirloom is an applicable win compared to the bullion understandings of most Morgan Dollar dates in worn examples.