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1893-1897 New Orleans Morgan Dollars

By Rob Lehmann

In order to fully appreciate and understand the rarity of the 1893-97 New Orleans Morgan Dollars, one must first review the history of this period.
The Depression of 1893 was one of the worst in American history, with unemployment exceeding 10%. The National Bureau of Economic Research estimated that the economic contraction began in January 1893 and continued until June 1894. The economy grew until December 1895, but was then hit by a second recession that lasted until June 1897. The depression had been blamed on the deflation dating back to the Civil War, the gold standard and poor monetary policy. The economy was the subject of great debate in the political arena. While campaigning for president in 1896, Williams Jennings Bryan made his famous proclamation, “You shall not crucify mankind on a cross of gold.” The issue was whether to endorse the free coinage of silver at a ratio of silver to gold of 16 to 1.
The overall production of all branches of the U.S. Mint dwindled during this period, and most would-be collectors opted for spending their coins in lieu of saving them. These factors were responsible for creating several numismatic rarities, amongst them the New Orleans minted Morgan Dollars from 1893 to 1897.
Since the circumstances and details differ for each year of production, we will examine these New Orleans dollars on a case-by-case basis, starting with the 1893-O.
1893-O Morgan Dollar
With 300,000 coins struck, the 1893-O Morgan Dollar has the lowest mintage of any New Orleans minted Morgan Dollar, and is the 5th lowest overall mintage for the series. Scarce in circulated grades, it becomes very scarce in uncirculated condition and downright rare in gem uncirculated condition. The average uncirculated 1893-O can vary from flatly struck to well struck but seldom is fully struck, especially on the obverse. The luster ranges from indifferent to acceptable. Surface abrasions and bag marks tend to be a major problem. Although some small hoards of this date have surfaced, no original rolls have been reported. In prooflike, the 1893-O is very rare. Examples usually have little contrast between fields and devices and can be poorly struck. Perhaps the New Orleans Mint favored polishing worn-out dies in lieu of replacing them. Three obverse dies and two reverse dies were responsible for striking the entire mintage. The PCGS and NGC combined population for specimens graded MS-60 or higher is approximately 1250 pieces, with only 108 pieces graded MS-64, 11 graded MS-65 and a single coin graded MS-66. The PCGS and NGC combined prooflike population is a paltry 39 pieces. Deep mirror prooflikes are rarer yet, with only 21 pieces graded by both services. Two of the most remarkable 1893-O dollars known are the Amon Carter/Jack Lee specimen graded MS-65 DMPL by PCGS and the Eliasberg specimen graded MS-66PL by NGC. It should be noted that neither coin is fully struck over Liberty’s ear. Suffice to say, a fully struck, prooflike 1893-O would be a great find, if such a coin even exists. Greysheet currently values MS-60 specimens @ $1800.00 bid, a level at which this author believes is a bargain. MS-63 graded pieces jump to $5500.00 bid, MS-64’s bid at $13,500.00 with MS-65’s bidding at $155,000.00. For the collector trying to assemble a high quality Morgan set on a budget, a premium quality MS-64 specimen would present the best value, even if it meant paying a significant premium over the current bid levels. Greysheet bids for MS-63 to MS-65 DMPL examples range between $8,000.00 and $160,000.00, a very small premium over the regular mint state prices. I think it would be all but impossible to lure a DMPL specimen into the marketplace at these optimistic numbers. To illustrate this, the aforementioned Jack Lee coin traded privately several years ago, for in excess of $250,000.00. Although Wayne Miller stated that investors should avoid this date, I believe that this trend has changed. The 1893-O Morgan, at current levels, represents an excellent value, especially when compared to its much more common (and almost equally expensive) CC counterpart.

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