1881, Morgan Dollar

The 1981-S MS Morgan is not considered a rare coin and there are thousands that grade MS-60 or better. The 1981-S Morgan that I just purchased was certified by PCGS and graded MS-62. Why would I buy a common date Morgan in MS-62? My Morgan collection is built around trying to fill the voids in most mints and dates from MS-60 to MS-65 and the '81-S at MS-62 was a filler buy. No.....I do not have a MS '92 or '93-S and I am not going to pay $2,300 for an UGLY '93-S AG-4.

The seller listed the coin as MS-62 proof like (PL). When I received the coin and examined the quality, there was no question in my mind that the coin should have been graded PL. This under grading of coins by PCGS is not a rare thing and my guess is they would rather be a little conservative than join the ranks of the ICG, NTC, SEGS, PCI and etc. etc. of this world.

The 1981-S MS-62PL is a much rarer coin (in my opinion) than the MS-62, even though the price of the two coins are within a few dollars of one another. The moral to this review is to realize that even PCGS, who is considered to be the number one coin grading services around, can under (in this case) or over grade collectable coins. Do not be afraid to re-submit coins graded by PCGS back to NGC and visa-versa. This re-submitting action could pay off in big dividends for your efforts and costs. Last but not least, always buy mint state coins on Ebay that are certified by PCGS or NGC and even ANACS (Do not rule them out. I have sent many ANACS graded coins to PCGS for re-grading and only one has come back with a lower grade). These grading services are not perfect, but they take alot of the guess work out of buying non-certified mint state coins that can come back to haunt you with a vengence when you try to re-sell them.

First of all, if you want to buy investment grade morgan silver dollars, buy ones that have been professionally graded, and are in a "SLAB". For those of you that have knowledge in morgan grading yourself, the pictures are so superior to those of just a few years ago, it is now easier to get those close up pictures so needed to buy with confidence ! Over the past year I myself have been able to buy coins with visible mint mistakes and VAMS, that before, it was a shot in the dark. Buy with confidence because of new picture clarity. Any silver coin is a good invest ment, mainly price of silver on spot market is rising. When our founding fathers started minting our own U>S> currency etc. The ratio was set at 15 to 1. other words 1oz. GOLD was equal to fifteen oz. SILVER. so, do you see the Light?

A year or so ago I started looking at some method of buying a little silver or gold. I decided on silver coins. What better way to buy silver than US coins. Not only does the value increase with the price of silver, but also as collectors look for certain coins. I like the Morgan better than the peace dollar, but will buy either from time to time. I give these often to grand kids at birthdays and Christmas as some little gift to put into their sock.

This 1881 Morgan Silver Dollar coin was just as described and I am very pleased with the quality of this coin. Many of our silver coins are being melted down for the silver and are getting more rare by the day. I like holding a piece of my nation's history from 1881 in my hand.

The 1881 Morgan dollar in MS 64 or above should be strongly considered as a date in your Morgan silver dollar collection. Most experts agree that any MS 65 Morgan dollars should be invested in today. There are a few MS64 grade Morgan dollars that should be included in this categority. The 1881 P is one of the date that should be collected in the MS 64 grade.