How to Identify the Morgan Dollar

Start with the obverse. A Morgan Dollar shows Liberty's head in profile facing left, wearing a cap with a LIBERTY band and a headdress of cotton and wheat. Look for thirteen stars ringing the lower half of the rim, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA across the top, and the date below the neck. On the example shown that date reads 1879. This left-facing, star-framed portrait is the quickest confirmation of the type.

Turn the coin over. The Morgan reverse shows an eagle with wings spread wide, grasping an olive branch and arrows, enclosed by a wreath, with E PLURIBUS UNUM above and ONE DOLLAR below. This is how you separate a Morgan from the later Peace Dollar, which instead shows a radiant Liberty head on the obverse and a perched, folded-wing eagle on the reverse. If the eagle is standing with wings closed, it is a Peace Dollar, not a Morgan.

Check size and weight. A genuine Morgan is large and heavy — about 38.1 mm across and roughly 26.7 g — struck in 90% silver with a reeded edge you can feel as fine grooves. A dollar-sized coin that is noticeably lighter, non-silver in tone, or has a plain smooth edge is a replica or a modern clad piece rather than a silver Morgan.

Find the mint mark on the reverse, below the wreath and above the DO in DOLLAR. The possibilities are S, CC, O, D, or none (Philadelphia). Because date plus mint mark determines rarity, read it under magnification. Be cautious with prized issues — Carson City (CC) coins and famous dates like 1893-S and 1889-CC are frequent targets for altered mint marks and outright counterfeits. Any coin that appears to be a key date, or whose mint mark looks tooled, re-punched, or stylistically wrong, should be authenticated by a reputable grading service such as PCGS or NGC before you accept it as genuine.