The Top Five Morgan Silver Dollars

Why waste everyones time? Lets skip Archie Comics appetizers and get to Tragg and the Sky Gods meaty stuff right now: The Morgan silver dollars poised to increase the most in value in the years ahead are the 1895, 1892-CC, 1894, 1878-CC, and the 1883-CC. Pretty bold prediction, eh? At this point, the reader now has three options: (1) Stop reading and act upon this information, (2) Stop reading and get on with life, or (3) Continue on, evaluate the analytical approach to identify the Top Five Morgan dollars, and then implement a variation of (1) or (2) above. If youve gotten this far, we encourage you to continue on with option (3).

First, a little background info on the Morgan silver dollar

The Morgan silver dollar is today one of the most popular of all collector coins. First minted in 1878 following the passage of the Bland-Alison Act, the new dollar was named after its designer, George T. Morgan. Political pressure by powerful silver mining companies, in a gambit to stabilize the price of their commodity at artificially high levels, created the impetus driving the legislative action. Bland-Alison led to the overproduction of silver dollars, resulting in millions of these unused cartwheels languishing in bank and Treasury vaults. Indeed, few coins have ever been released under more dubious circumstances than Morgan silver dollars. Minting continued until 1904, and then again for one more year in 1921, when the series finally came to a close.

For decades thereafter, Morgan dollars were largely snubbed by hobbyists. Many dates, including those in mint state condition, could be obtained for as little as $1.00. This situation shifted dramatically in 1962, when the US government began selling original 1000-piece silver dollar Treasury bags to the public at face value. Stories of rare dollar finds circulated widely, touching off a veritable Morgan mania. Within a matter of months, all but a small fraction of the federally owned coins were transferred from government vaults to private hands, consequently expanding the Morgan dollar collector base far beyond anything seen previously.

Since then, Morgan silver dollars have proudly perched themselves atop the catbird seat of the numismatic world. Their physical size, availability, beauty, and historical significance have consistently attracted herds of new buyers. Numerous boom-turned-bust cycles have come and gone, sometimes driven by pure speculative motives, but from a long-term perspective, most Morgan dollar prices have trended somewhat positive.

Unlike some controversial promoters in the past, I do not propose purchasing Morgan silver dollars simply as investment vehicles. However, for collectors hoping to satisfy their numismatic yearnings AND acquire coins destined to be worth substantially more in the future, Morgan dollars do present a few opportunities. As noted above, as a whole, Morgans have gained moderately in value over the years. The crucial challenge, then, is to identify which members of this series have enjoyed the best growth patterns in the past. The underlying logic is clear: coins that have demonstrated the strongest gains over a long period of time are the coins best positioned to show similar price advancements with the continued passage of time.

In order to measure past performance and thus visualize Morgans most likely headed toward a bullish future, I developed a systematic approach. First, I researched individual Morgan dollar retail prices as they existed in 1950, for a broad range of conditions, and entered this data on a computer spreadsheet. Moving forward in time, values from the years 1980, 1995, and 2000 were likewise recorded. Finally, estimated selling prices in 2005 were juxtaposed with counterpart data from those earlier years. Because grading terminology has evolved over the 55 year period, certain assumptions were made to progressively track price movements throughout the time spectrum (e.g. an Uncirculated value in 1950 is equivalent to the MS-60 of today).

For each date and condition, compounded annual return rates were computed from 1950 to 2005. [Editorial note: compounded annual return rate is the accepted yardstick for comparing investment performance. Of course, coins do not grow at a guaranteed uniform rate, such as bonds do, but if a coin is purchased at a certain price, and that price is compared with the value of the coin at some later date, the compounded annual return rate can be calculated for the time period in between]. Return rate computations were made from 1980 to 2005, 1995 to 2005, and 2000 to 2005. For each Morgan dollar, the data was placed in tabular format.

Next, I calculated a composite score for each date by averaging all the compounded return rates computed for that date. I then ranked all the composite scores. The Morgan silver dollars with the highest scores are as follows:

Date: Score:

1895 11.37

1892-CC 10.54

1894 10.43

1878-CC 10.28

1883-CC 10.25

So, it would appear, based on past performance over a period of 55 years, the 1895 is the Morgan silver dollar with the best hope of appreciating significantly in the years ahead, followed by the 1892-CC, 1894, 1878-CC, and 1883-CC. Not surprisingly, dollars of the Carson City Mint occupy 13 of the top 16 positions, thanks to persistent collectors scrambling for bona fide artifacts of the romantic American West. On the opposite end of the rankings, Morgan silver dollars having the bleakest long term prospects include the 1898, 1899-O, 1884, and the 1888-O, followed by the 1897 coming in dead last with a score of 2.66.

Anyone whose dual objective is to acquire Morgan silver dollars with a bullish future ought to begin looking at the Top Five above. Purchase coins in the best condition you can afford, but be sure the coins are clean, problem-free, and CERTIFIED by a reputable grading service. Be prepared to hold for at least five years. Morgan dollars have skyrocketed in value in the last three years, so some cooling off may be in order before the next upward cycle.

If a polling firm were to survey the population of US coin collectors, it is very possible that Morgan silver dollars would win the vote as the most appealing coin in American coinage history. These beautiful coins have been the heartbeat of the hobby for many years, with no retreat in sight. Ironically, these same coins spent the better part of a century hidden away in government vaults, unseen, unwanted, and unloved. My, how times have changed!

Author Daniel J. Goevert is the webmaster of US Coin Values Advisor (http://www.us-coin-values-advisor.com), specializing in coin value trends and listing bullish US coins. Other offerings include detailed coin collecting advice as well as an illustrated history of the United States and the US Mint.

Woodworking Projects - Paint As a Finish

In designing any woodworking project, one of the first things you need to define is how you are going to finish it. The finish will help define the type of wood to be used. You would not want to use an exotic hardwood with a beautiful grain pattern, and then cover it with paint. In my mind that would down right criminal. You also would not want to use a common pine for a project that you intend to stain.

There are several options available to you when you paint your project, oil based paints, Latex paints and Milk paints.There have been a recent addition to these choices, Low Barbie doll No VOC paints.For years oil based paint was the choice of most professional painters however, Latex seems now to be the more popular choice.

Milk paints are a throw back to earlier times. The authentic colors are often seen on many antiques.Unlike oil or latex paints that come premixed, Milk paint is sold only in a powdered format.Using Milk paint is easy; simply mix the powder with water. Mix only the amount you need as powdered Milk Paint will not keep. A new option for Milk paint is the Pre Mixed Milk paint from General Finishes. There is a top coat available for both options that protects and deepens the finish.

Low or No VOC paints, are the newest entry to the paint options, as an answer to the desires for a greener planet.VOC or Volatile Organic Compounds are part of the air pollution problem.Adding colors to some of the No VOC paints, adds VOC back into the paints, so be sure to check with the manufacturer of the paint you choose. The Low/No VOC paints and the Milk Paints are safe for use around children, and those allergic to the latex or oil paints.

Ask any professional painter, what is the most important thing about any painting project, and the answer will be preparation.To get a good finish on your project, be sure that you completely sand and clean the project. I sand a painted project to 200 Grit, unlike a stained project, which I only sand to 180 grit; romance comics much sanding for a stain finish will cause the stain to set on top of surface instead of penetrating into the wood.

The other thing the pro's will tell you, use quality primer paint.The old school of thought was the primer must match the final coat, oil primer for oil paint.The current thoughts are to use a good latex primer for all interior projects, and reserve the oil primer for exterior projects.The oil primer will seal the wood better then the latex primer.Latex is the preferred topcoat paint for both interior and exterior.

Let the primer dry completely and then sand it again.The residue will be chalky, so it is recommended that you use a good vacuum to clean the surface before applying a topcoat.One more thing, use a good quality brush. Save the cheap throw away brushes for applying stain.There is no reason to ruin a project with a brush that comes apart while you are painting.

The Jersey Woodworker has been a successful woodworker for over 30 years. To read more of his tips, tricks, projects and reviews please visit his blog at Sawdust on the Floor.