Are you wondering how much an 1879 Morgan silver dollar is worth? Well, one thing’s for sure, it’s worth much more than its face value and you’d be delighted to know that that tiny coin can be worth a small fortune. In this article, we talk about the different varieties of the 1879 Morgan dollar and see just how valuable they are.
The 1879 Morgan dollar is the second coin in the Morgan silver dollar series designed by George Morgan. Its composition is 90% silver and 10% copper.
1879 Morgan Silver Dollar: Grading and Value
The 1879 Morgan Silver Dollar had a low mintage of just 27.52 million. Add to that the number of years since the release, and the result is the coins are scarce and difficult to come by. And this scarcity drives up the coin’s value.
1879 Morgan Silver Dollar Value Chart |
||||
| Mint | Good
(G4) |
Extremely fine (XF40) | Uncirculated
(MS60) |
Brilliant uncirculated
(MS65) |
| 1879 Dollar | $36 | $46 | $90 | $625 |
| 1879-O Dollar | $36 | $52 | $150 | $2,750 |
| 1879-S Dollar | $34 | $44 | $75 | $265 |
| 1879-CC Dollar | $260 | $1,750 | $5,500 | $26,500 |
| 1879 Proof Dollar | _ | _ | $2,250 (PR)
$2,600 (DCAM) |
$7,000 (PR)
$9,500 (CAM) $25,000 (DCAM) |
| 1879-O Proof Dollar | _ | _ | _ | $340,000 (BM) |
The No-mint mark 1879 Morgan dollar coins are valuable. Low-quality circulated coins cost $36, while a brilliant uncirculated coin goes for $625.
Similarly, the 1879-O dollar also starts out at $36 for circulated coins, but the value spikes for uncirculated coins. A brilliant uncirculated 1879-O dollar costs $2,750, considerably more than a no-mint mark costs.
However, the most expensive business strike 1879 Morgan silver dollar coins are the 1879-CC coins. These cost ten times as much as the other mint marks, starting at $230 and ending at an impressive $26,500 for an MS65.
But even these are not as pricey as the proof coins, which start at $2,250 and get up to $45,000 a gem PR68.
The most valuable 1879 Morgan dollar coins are the 1879-O proofs at a whopping $340,000 for a PR65.
1879 (P) Morgan Silver Dollar: Grades and Value
In 1879, the Philadelphia Mint released 14 million Morgan dollar coins. Like most Philadelphia coins, these didn’t have mint marks and were the highest number of Morgan dollars minted that year.
While the coins aren’t rare, mint standard uncirculated specimens are very scarce and difficult to come by. Prices for uncirculated coins start at $36, while uncirculated coins start at $90 and max out at $12,100 for MS66.
There are also the rarer Proof-like (PL) coins, which are business strikes that look like proofs. These coins are more expensive and start at MS60 for $160.
The rarest and most expensive 1879-P Morgan coins are the Deep mirror proof-like (DMPL) coins. An MS60 costs $265, while an MS66 costs $30,500.
Surprisingly, the auction record for the 1879-P dollar is not for a DCMPL or even a PL but for a normal MS67 uncirculated coin, which sold for $46,000 in April 2007.
1879 (P) Morgan Dollar Value Table |
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| Grading | MS | PL | DMPL |
| Good (G4) | $36 | _ | _ |
| Very good (VG8) | $38 | _ | _ |
| Fine (F12) | $39 | _ | _ |
| Very fine (VF20) | $41 | _ | _ |
| Extremely fine (XF40) | $46 | _ | _ |
| About uncirculated (AU50) | $55 | _ | _ |
| Uncirculated (MS60) | $90 | $160 | $275 |
| MS61 | $110 | $210 | $$300 |
| MS62 | $115 | $275 | $525 |
| MS63 | $150 | $325 | $675 |
| MS64 | $260 | $650 | $1900 |
| MS65 | $625 | $2,600 | $16,000 |
| MS66 | $12,100 | $5,500 | $30,500 |
1879-CC Morgan Silver Dollar: Grading and Value
The 1879-CC dollar was minted in Carson City, and with just 756,000 coins produced, it has the lowest mintage of all the 1879 dollar mintmarks. From this you can already tell that mint-state uncirculated coins are extremely rare.
And because numismatic rarity has a direct impact on price, the 1879-CC dollar coins have the highest value of all business strikes of the 1879 Morgan dollar.
Low-grade circulated coins are worth $260, an MS60 costs $5,500, and an MS65 will cost you $26,500.
Naturally, the PL and DMPL coins are even more expensive. MS65 costs $35,000 and $90,000 for PL and DMPL grades, respectively.
Furthermore, there is a capped die variant of the 1879-CC. Although capped dies are technically error coins, the 1879-CC capped die dollar coins are favorites of collectors and numismatists. They cost the same amount as the regular 1879-CC Morgan dollar.
But the similarities in prices don’t extend to auctions. The record for a capped die 1879-CC dollar is $63,250 sold in 2010. This amount is no doubt impressive, but it’s nowhere near the $192,000 paid for an MS66+ 1879-CC dollar auctioned by Heritage Auctions in January 2023
1879-CC Morgan Dollar Value Table |
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| Grading | Regular | Capped Die |
| Good (G) | $260 | $260 |
| Very good (VG) | $340 | $345 |
| Fine (F) | $460 | $500 |
| Very fine (VF) | $650 | $675 |
| Extremely fine (XF) | $1,750 | $1,650 |
| About uncirculated (AU50) | $3,200 | $2,850 |
| Uncirculated (MS60) | $5,500
$5,850 (PL) $6,350 (DMPL) |
$5,250
$6500 (PL) $8,000 (DMPL) |
| MS63 | $9,250
$10,500 (PL) $14,000 (DMPL) |
$9,750
$12,000 (PL) $14,500 (DMPL) |
| MS64 | $14,000
$17,500(PL) $33,500 (DMPL) |
$16,000
$21,00 (PL) $62,500 (DMPL) |
| MS65 | $26,500
$35,000 (PL) $90,000 (DMPL) |
$47,500 |
1879-O Morgan Silver Dollar: Grading and Value
1879 Morgan dollar coins were among the first mints of the newly reopened New Orleans mint. The mint was shut down during the civil war, and reopening, it produced about 2.8 million Morgan dollar coins.
You can easily find uncirculated and About Uncirculated (AU) grades of the 1897-O as they are fairly common. These grades will cost you between $36 to $70.
The lower MS grades are scarce, but you can still find them around. You’ll pay $150 for an MS60 and $750 for an MS64. But from MS65, the coins become rare, and the value spikes to $2,750 for an MS65.
Similarly, the PL and DMPL grades are scarce at the lower mint state grades but become rare at MS65. You will get an MS60 PL for $275, and a DMPL for $400.
But at MS65, the prices shoot up to $11,500 and $28,000 for PL and DMPL respectively. Despite that high amount, the most expensive 1879-O dollar isn’t a DMPL. The auction record for an 1897-O dollar coin is a regular MS66 gem that sold for $29,900 at a Heritage Auction auction in September 2005.
1879-O Morgan Dollar Value Table |
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| Grading | MS | PL | DMPL |
| Good (G4) | $36 | _ | _ |
| Very good (VG8) | $37 | _ | _ |
| Fine (F12) | $38 | _ | _ |
| Very fine (VF20) | $42 | _ | _ |
| Extremely fine (XF40) | $52 | _ | _ |
| About uncirculated (AU50) | $70 | _ | _ |
| Uncirculated (MS60) | $150 | $275 | $400 |
| MS61 | $185 | $375 | $650 |
| MS62 | $260 | $500 | $900 |
| MS63 | $475 | $675 | $2,250 |
| MS64 | $750 | $1,900 | $5,500 |
| MS65 | $2,750 | $11,500 | $28,500 |
| MS66 | $12,000 | _ | $40000 |
1897-S Morgan Silver Dollar: Grading and Value
The 1879-S coins were the San Francisco Mint’s version of the 1879 silver dollar. They made approximately 9.1 million dollar coins with the S mint mark. And it’s estimated that about 2 million of them still survive today.
The most common of these survivors are Uncirculated coins which cost $34 to $55. Even low-end circulated 1879-S dollars are also fairly common and cost between $75 to $140. But things change after MS65, the coins become scarce and the value shoots up to $265 for an MS65 and $5,500 for an MS68 gem.
1879-S Morgan Dollar Value Table |
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| Grading | 1879-S | 1879-S reverse |
| Good (G4) | $34 | $80 |
| Very good (VG8) | $36 | $100 |
| Very fine (VF20) | $40 | $150 |
| Extremely fine (XF40) | $44 | $215 |
| About uncirculated (AU50) | $55 | $275 |
| Uncirculated (MS60) | $75
$100(PL) $160(DMPL) |
$625
$1,100(PL) |
| MS63 | $110
$200(PL) $450(DMPL) |
$1900
$5,150(PL) |
| MS64 | $140
$260(PL) $775(DMPL) |
$4,250
$8,500(PL) |
| MS65 | $265
$425(PL) $1,400(DMPL) |
$10,000
$15,500(PL) |
| MS66 | $460
$725(PL) $4,750(DMPL) |
$52,500 |
| MS67 | $1,100
$2,800(PL) $12,500(DMPL) |
_ |
| MS68 | $5,750
$10,000(PL) |
_ |
Unlike the other Mints, San Francisco had two versions of the 1879-S dollar. The two versions have the same obverse design but slightly different reverse designs.
Some coins have the reverse from the previous year, while others have the reverse of 1789 that all other Mints used. Unsurprisingly, 1789-S Coins with the reverse of 1788 are significantly less common and more expensive. MS60 costs $625, and MS65 costs $10,000.
1879 Proof Morgan Silver Dollar: Grading and Value
Proofs of the 1879 Morgan dollar were made in Philadelphia. And there were a total of 1100 coins made. That might not seem like much, but it remains one of the highest proof mintages of the Morgan series.
The most common proof coins are the PR grade, which starts at PR45, worth $775. At PR60, the price triples to $2,250, and at grade PR68, an 1879 proof will cost you $40,000.
After the PR coins, is the Cameo (CAM) proof. These coins have more shine and luster, making them more valuable. CAM coins are worth $2,600 for PR60, $9500 for PR65 and $52,000 for PR68.
But the best of the bunch are the Deep Cameo (DCAM) proofs. These coins have strong frosting against clear mirror-like fields. An 1879 DCAM proof of grade PR67 is worth an impressive. $45,000, and a PR68 could be worth about $105,000.
Despite all of that, the auction record for an 1879 dollar proof is not a DCAM but a CAM coin. The PR68 CAM was auctioned by Stack’s Bower for $45,600 in 2021.
1879 (P) Morgan Dollar Proof Value Table |
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| Grading | PR | CAM | DCAM |
| Extremely fine (XF45) | $775 | _ | _ |
| About uncirculated (AU50) | $1,050 | _ | _ |
| PR60 | $2,250 | $2,600 | _ |
| MS61 | $2,450 | $3,000 | _ |
| MS65 | $7,000 | $9,500 | _ |
| MS66 | $9,250 | $12,000 | $25,000 |
| PR67 | $17,000 | $18,000 | $45,000 |
| PR68 | $40,000 | $52,500 | _ |
1897-O Proof: Grading and Value
Apart from Philadelphia the New Orleans mint also produced Proof coins, although In a much smaller quantity–12. As you’d expect from such a small mintage, the coins are extremely rare and valuable, and there are only four known specimens.
A PR64 is worth $275,000, and a PR65 is $340,000, making these the most valued 1879 Morgan dollar coins.
But the auction record for this coin is nowhere near the present value. Bowers and Mareena auctioned a PR64 1879-O proof for $184,000 in 2010. This price difference is good news for whoever bought the coin, as it means that the coin has increased in value over the years.
1879-O Proof: Value Chart |
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| PR64 | $275,000 |
| PR64+ | $285,000 |
| PR65 | $340,000 |
1879 Morgan Dollar: Error Coins
You will find 1879 error coins for all four mint marks. But, the 1879-P and 1879-S tend to have higher errors due to the large mintage.
Perhaps the most famous error coins are the 1879-CC capped die coins, which, while extremely valuable.
Other errors include lamination, broad strikes, and strike-through errors.
Obverse Struck Through
Here, we have an MS 64 1879-S dollar with a struck-through error.
This type of error occurs when an object gets between the die and the planchet. The result is a coin with an imprint of the object.
On this coin, the error is shows up as scratches on the chin of the image. The coin is priced at $895.
Struck Through Reverse
Here is another struck-through Morgan dollar, an 1879-S this time. This coin has a discolored area below the eagle on the reverse. Still, it has a PCGS grading of M63 and costs $499.
Reverse Lamination
This is another 1879-S Morgan dollar with a lamination error.
Lamination errors are caused by contaminants in the alloy, causing the surface of the coin to crack or flake.
Despite the error, this NGC-certified coin l will set you back $166.6
Capped Die
This 1879-CC Morgan Silver Dollar has a capped die error. The error is visible on the CC mint mark on the reverse, making It appear rough and crusty rather than smooth.
This Capped die error happened when a rusty die was used to strike the coin. There are a handful of these 1879-CC error coins available in different grades, but this one is a PCGS certified MS64 DMPL and priced at $77,220.
Jenson is a professional numismatist, a dedicated coin collector, a graduate of the College of Business at Oregon State, a life member of the American Numismatic Association (ANA), and an overall coin nerd. He is the founder of Coin Value List.