1886-O MORGAN DOLLAR AN ANOMOLY
An anomaly: Among Morgan dollars, the 1886-O is somewhat of an anomaly. The mintage figure of 10,710,000 circulation strikes is overwhelming and even puts in the shade such common coins as the 1883-O, 1884-O, and 1885-O. By all rights, like these other coins, a million or more 1886-O dollars should have come to light in the great Treasury release of 1962-1964, and today a beautiful MS-65 1886-O should be in every collection.
Not so. It didn't happen. What did happen isn't known, at least not with certainty. At or near the time of striking in the nineteenth century, probably a few million coins, say two to four million, were placed into circulation and saw commercial use. Probably, millions of other coins, perhaps as many as six to eight million pieces, went to the melting pot under the terms of the 1918 Pittman Act. Whatever happened, apparently no more than a few bags dribbled onto the market in the 1940s and 1950s-enough to keep the issue in the $6 to $10 range for most of the period 1945-1960. I recall that few dealers wanted to stock 1886-O dollars, for Uncirculated pieces were usually ugly and, technically, were probably on the order of what would be called MS-60 or MS-61 today. In the Treasury release of 1962-1964 probably a few bags came out, but I have obtained no specific record of them. The issue was regarded as slightly on the scarce side in the 1960s, and Harry J. Forman's price of $375 per roll ($18.75 per coin) in May 1965 was an offer that few others could match, for few had quantities to offer. Harry recalled that he never had an intact bag of 1886-O dollars, but he did find several hundred "minimum Uncirculated" coins in a bag containing various dates.
Despite its prodigious mintage, the 1886-O is a rarity today in the 1990s, in MS-65 grade, while its contemporaries, the 1883-O, 1884-O, and 1885-O, are very common.
Circulated grades: In worn grades the 1886-O is not hard to find, although it is not among the commonest issues. I estimate that 175,000 to 350,000 remain.Read full review
