I began collecting coins in 1955 when I was 12. Over the years I accumulated many. Now that I am older I am disbursing the coins. It is time to hold onto fewer things. It is time to turn the stewardship of the coins over to the next generation of collectors. I really enjoyed this Morgan Dollar collection. It was not full of rarities or many high-end examples. Rather it was an average collector's collection.

In 2012 and 2013, I sold my Morgan dollars on eBay. I ended up with many fine photos. The pictures were too nice to discard. I decided to make this book so I could continue to enjoy the collection. And you benefit from it because you, too, can enjoy the collection in book form. In the end, the 72 coins went to collectors in 27 states, Canada, Australia, and Malaysia. The listings include the location where I sent each coin. A dash anywhere in the data means I no longer have that data.

I acquired several of the coins in the sixties for face value before silver was taken from our coins. I would take my check down to the bank and cash it for silver dollars. I kept the ones I needed in my Whitman folders and spent the rest for face value. Over the years I upgraded some coins; but many remained the examples I got from the bank in the beginning.

I have included buy and sell prices here to illustrate that one can make money on a collection of common coins held over a long period—if one buys smartly and then sells the coins in the right market at the right time. I have no records of early purchases; so I use the date ‘60s and value $1 for the coins I bought in the ‘50s and ‘60s. I bought almost all at face value in those days. The great differences in buy/sell prices for those early coins are because I sold them when the silver was $30 to $40 and an ounce. The listed prices over $5 are rounded to the nearest dollar. All sell prices are net, after I paid eBay fees, fees which averaged 16 per cent.

The descriptions and conditions I give here are generally the same descriptions and conditions I advertised the coins for in eBay. I am not an expert in grading though I have graded many coins over the years. I could only give my estimations and let the buyers judge from the pictures, the same pictures that you see here in this book.

I also estimated VAM numbers for several coins. I am in no way an expert on VAM classifications. In fact, this was my first detailed look into VAM numbers. So treat them as the work of a rank amateur in a new field. I said the same on all sales listings.

Like most US coins, the Morgan Dollar was minted in coin orientation. That is, you flip it top to bottom to see the opposite side upright. Its specifications are

Size: 38.100 mm
Weight: 26.73 g.
Metal: Silver (0.900 fine)
ASW (actual silver weight): 0.7734 Troy ounces

Enjoy!

Mike Metras
November 2015