Morgan dollar coin, 1893

The coin

This piece is photographed as an 1893 Morgan dollar with an S mint mark. The obverse shows Liberty facing left, in a Phrygian cap with cotton and wheat, the band LIBERTY, E PLURIBUS UNUM, thirteen stars, and the date 1893. The reverse carries the eagle with spread wings, arrows and an olive branch, IN GOD WE TRUST above the bird, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA on the arc, and ONE DOLLAR under the wreath. The letter under the bow, above DOLLAR, reads S. PCGS numbers the 1893-S business strike 7226. The type is 900-fine silver, 26.73 g and 38.10 mm, with a reeded edge: those are issue standards, not a weight or a caliper reading of this example. The photographs do not show the edge. The type carries an M for Morgan on the neck truncation and on the reverse bow; these photographs do not show that letter clearly enough to record it. No VAM variety is assigned. The genuine 1893-S is catalogued as two reverses (VAM-1 and VAM-2) with a single obverse; these photographs are not enough for that die pair. PL and DMPL are not assigned either. The piece is raw, with no holder. Scratches cross the portrait — on the cheek and chin — and the fields show uneven texture. That is not a numerical grade, and it does not confirm a cleaning or authenticate the piece. This date is imitated with added mint marks and reworked dates. The photographs do not resolve the die scratch through the upright of the T in LIBERTY or the “rabbit ears” at the left foot of the R. Authenticity is not confirmed from photographs alone.

Legends

Obverse

E PLURIBUS UNUM · LIBERTY on the band · thirteen stars · 1893.

Reverse

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA · IN GOD WE TRUST · ONE DOLLAR · S mint mark under the bow.

History

The coinage act of 1873 dropped the standard silver dollar. On 28 February 1878 Congress overrode the veto and passed the act that authorizes it again, known as Bland-Allison. George T. Morgan engraved the type. San Francisco marks its Morgans with an S, under the bow. The 1893 date falls in the banking panic of that year. In July 1890 the Sherman Silver Purchase Act had raised the monthly purchase to 4.5 million ounces; Treasury Notes of 1890 were redeemed in gold, and the gold reserve fell through the legal floor. Grover Cleveland called a special session and, late in 1893, Congress repealed the purchase clause. Without new silver, the mintages of 1893 to 1895 went short. PCGS (7226) and Numista (N# 1492) give the 1893-S a mintage of 100,000: the lowest of the original-run circulation issue. The accounts place it paid out at once into California and Western trade, not held in vaults. The Philadelphia 1893, the 1893-CC, and the 1893-O are other coinages. This record describes the photographed object; it does not assert authenticity or publish a price.

Scarcity and type

PCGS CoinFacts (7226) publishes the San Francisco mintage: 100,000. Numista (N# 1492) lists the same figure on the 1893 S line. The same PCGS record estimates 9,948 survivors in all grades, 123 in 60 or better, and 18 in 65 or better. Those are expert-opinion averages — they include raw pieces and coins certified by any service — distinct from the mintage and from a slab census, and the categories overlap — they are not additive. Commentary on that record warns that the high-grade figure may be high, and places Bowers between 6,000 and 12,000 survivors in all grades. None of this fixes the state of this piece or authenticates the photographed object. This record publishes neither a slab census nor a price. The Philadelphia 1893, the 1893-CC, and the 1893-O are other coinages.

Certification

The example is raw, with no PCGS, NGC, or other holder, and with no certification number. This module carries no serial number. The identity of this record is the photographed object — date 1893 and an S under the bow — not a certificate. The scratches on the portrait and the uneven texture show in the photographs; they do not confirm authenticity, a prior cleaning, or a numerical grade. The photographs do not resolve the scratch in the T of LIBERTY or the “rabbit ears” on the R. No VAM, PL, or DMPL is assigned. The weight and diameter on this record are the type standards, not a measurement of this piece. If it is later slabbed, the cert number will replace this note.

Related pieces

Another piece in the United States collection.

• Medal · First steam coinage · 1836
• Morgan dollar · Carson City · 1893
• 1 dollar · American Silver Eagle · 1988
• Morgan dollar · Philadelphia · 1893