Morgan dollar coin, 1887

The coin

This piece is an 1887 Morgan dollar, struck at San Francisco. The obverse shows Liberty’s bust facing left, with the coronet LIBERTY, E PLURIBUS UNUM above, thirteen stars, and the date 1887. The reverse carries Morgan’s eagle with a shield, an olive branch, and arrows, the laurel wreath, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, In God we trust, and ONE DOLLAR. The letter under the bow, above DOLLAR, is the S mint mark. Both faces are photographed upright, full frame. The surfaces look dark. Marks show on the portrait — on the face — and in the fields. The photographs are not enough for a numerical grade, or for PL or DMPL, or for a VAM. The edge is outside the frame. The example was not weighed or measured. PCGS (7180) and Numista (N# 1492, KM# 110) give, as type figures, .900 silver, 26.73 g, 38.1 mm, and a reeded edge. The piece is raw, with no PCGS, NGC, or other holder. Authenticity is not confirmed from photographs alone.

Legends

Obverse

E · PLURIBUS · UNUM · LIBERTY on the coronet · thirteen stars · 1887.

Reverse

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA · In God we trust · ONE DOLLAR · S mint mark under the bow.

History

The Bland-Allison Act of 28 February 1878 ordered the purchase of silver and its conversion into legal-tender dollars. Morgan prepared the dies; San Francisco used them from the first year of the series. In 1887 that house struck 1,771,000 dollars with the S mint mark, per PCGS (7180) and Numista: fewer than Philadelphia or New Orleans in the same year. The same date exists with no mark, with O, and with S; this piece carries the S. PCGS treats the 1887-S as a better date, scarcer in high grades than when worn. That note describes the type, not a grade of this example. The Pittman Act of 1918 melted a large share of the silver dollars held in vaults: mintage is not survival. PCGS notes that the Redfield hoard included examples of this date; that issue history does not establish Redfield provenance for this piece. This record describes the photographed object; it does not value the issue or assert authenticity.

Scarcity and type

PCGS CoinFacts (7180) publishes the San Francisco mintage: 1,771,000. Numista (N# 1492) lists the same figure on the 1887 S line. The same record estimates 180,000 survivors in all grades, 60,000 in MS-60 or better, and 1,300 in MS-65 or better: expert-opinion averages, distinct from the mintage and from a slab census, and the categories overlap — they are not additive. For the date, PCGS lists VAM-2 (S/S, Top 100) and the doubled-date VAM-4 and VAM-11 (Hot 50); these photographs do not support that attribution. No price is published. The 1887 with no mint mark and the 1887-O are other pieces.

Certification

No holder and no certification number. This module carries no serial number. The identity of this record is the photographed object: date 1887, S mint mark, Morgan type. The dark surfaces and the marks on the portrait and the fields remain visible; no details grade is assigned here, and cleaning is not asserted. No VAM, PL, or DMPL is attributed. Authenticity is not confirmed from photographs alone. If it is later slabbed, the cert number will replace this note.

Related pieces

Another piece in the United States collection.

• Morgan dollar · Carson City · 1891
• Morgan dollar · Carson City · 1885
• Morgan dollar · Philadelphia · 1893
• Morgan dollar · Philadelphia · 1883