Coin collecting is far more than a hobby. The items collected are oftentimes extremely valuable. Sometimes, it’s the value of the bullion that gives coins their worth. A gold or silver bullion coin, for instance, can always be traded at the going rate for the metal of its manufacture, whether it was stamped an hour ago or 1,000 years ago.
One of the amazing things about gold is that, if the coin was struck 1,000 years ago, it will still shine as brilliantly as it did on the day it was struck. This makes gold coins particularly good ways to preserve, and to experience, history, modern or ancient.
Many coin enthusiasts start out small. There are a number of coins on the market, such as the Morgan silver dollar, which are valuable and collectable, but which are still within the price range of the average individual. Those who move up in the coin collecting world tend to move toward pricier items, such as rare gold coins.
While such items may be too expensive for the casual collector who’s just getting started out, they are excellent investments for anyone looking to place their money somewhere where it will retain its value, and likely grow. This second motivation for coin collecting, pure investment, combines the security of one of the best investment types available, precious metals, with the enjoyable pursuit of rare coinage. It takes a practiced eye to identify rare coins, however, and this takes time to develop.
Because of their history and interesting mint-made errors, Morgan dollars are particularly interesting – and valuable – coins to buy and sell. It’s important to research each individual coin that you’re going to buy, though, since different coins will be worth different amounts. Doing the research on what different varieties of the Morgan dollar should cost at any given time will save you from overpaying for a commoner version of the coin.
The first thing to do is to check the year and the mintmark on the coin. The year is easy to find, and the mintmark is located right under the eagle’s feathers on the reverse side of the coin. The coins were minted in Philadelphia, Carson City, Denver, New Orleans, and San Francisco, and each city will have its own mintmark. Coins from Carson City are generally more valuable because fewer were minted there, but coins from the other cities can be more valuable depending on other factors.
For one thing, the year in which the coin was minted can make a big difference. The most valuable Morgan dollars were minted in 1895, but other years also contain valuable coins, too. Other coins of special value include the special varieties and the coins with mint-made errors, as well as the deep mirror coins, which are extra reflective and shiny.
If you’re unsure about why a Morgan coin is valued like it is, you should talk to a rare coin dealer, who will be able to tell you why the coin is of greater or lesser value than one that looks almost the same to you.