1882-1885 Morgan Dollars

For each year from 1882 to 1885, the Morgan Silver Dollar was struck at four different mint facilities. This included the primary facility at Philadelphia and the three branch mints located at San Francisco, New Orleans, and Carson City. The Philadelphia Mint struck more than 10 million pieces for each year, while production at the remaining locations was more variable.

This portion of the series included the 1885-CC, which had the seemingly scant mintage of only 228,000 pieces. However, the ultimate rarity of the issue was impacted by a hoard of coins auctioned by the General Services Administration in the 1970’s. The hoard included more than half of the original mintage, ensuring its availability to collectors.

A number of conditional rarities are found in this portion of the series including the 1883-S and 1884-S. Both issues are common in lower circulated grades, but exceedingly rare in higher mint state grades. At the time of issue, these higher mintage coins were distributed to the channels of commerce where they circulated for many years, leaving very few survivors in pristine condition.

Additional Information About the 1882 to 1885 Morgan Dollars: