GSA Morgan Dollars
When Morgan Dollars we're still in circulation (late 19th and early 20th centuries), they were actually not very popular! The public didn't like them, so many Morgan Dollar bags went into banks storage systems. Until the 1970s. The treasury ran an audit, and the long forgotten Morgan Dollars were uncovered. Soon, the General Services Administration (GSA) took hold of the project to get the Morgan Dollars out. Before the treasury found this hoard, the 1903-O Morgan Dollar was very rare. But now, it is very common in high grades. The hype built up, and soon there was lines of people with wheelbarrows trying to get ahold of a few bags worth of dollars. But after the sudden increase in demand, the lines slowly stopped, and the GSA still had a lot of Morgans (most of which were the Carson City kind) to get rid of.
The GSA came up with a mail-bid program, and in 1972, the plan was launched. The remaining dollars were packaged and prepped for shipping. The bids started at $15, and anyone could mail in a bid. When the deadline of that coin was up, they would have the highest bidder sent in the money, and the GSA would ship out the coin. This went on until 1974. Some dates, like the 1879-CC, the 1890-CC, and the 1891-CC all sold extremely fast. But some other dates didn't. In 1979, after the mail-bid program closed in 1974, the program reopened for the last time, and the remaining silver dollars were sold.
Uncirculated Carson City Morgans are by far the most common. Here are the Carson City dates that the GSA sold along with their retail value :
1878-CC: $420
1879-CC: $6,500
1880-CC: $600
1881-CC: $4951882-CC: $235
1883-CC: $215
1884-CC: $225
1885-CC: $675
1889-CC: $40,000
1890-CC: $875
1891-CC: $775
1892-CC: $1,950
1893-CC: $6,750
(Retail Values for MS-63 Morgans {not GSA encapsulated}, 2019)
As most collectors took the Morgans out of the GSA holders to plug into albums or folders, the dollars still in the GSA holders offer a slightly higher premium than the ones that are not housed in a GSA holder.
Keep collecting,
thatcoinguy
P.S. Newest update coming out sometime this week!
Comments
Long Beard
Level 5
The best part is that NGC grades them in their holder, increasing the value even more.
thatcoinguy
Level 5
PCGS does that too, although they are sometimes accused of breaking the coin out of the holder. I don’t know about you, but I like NGC slabs better. Especially the fat ones.
I. R. Bama
Level 5
I've always enjoyed the Morgans
Mike
Level 7
There is a list on the web of all the coins the G.S.A. found. Some were not happy. That was rare was now not. They came in special packaging. Some in a plastic bags! Thanks for your info. I enjoyed it very much.
thatcoinguy
Level 5
No problem!
TheNumisMaster
Level 5
I also dont have any GSA yet haha. And WOW you sound a lot different than you did before I left! Good work, my brother!
thatcoinguy
Level 5
Thanks! And, yeah, my blogs are much better.
Golfer
Level 5
Don't have any GSA ! I need to find a couple! Like the Morgans for sure.
Kepi
Level 6
That wasn't a very long program. The GSA holder should be a must for any collection. Good blog! ; )
thatcoinguy
Level 5
No problem! And, yeah, if you don’t have one, and you can afford it, go get one. They are beautiful coins with an amazing history.
AC coin$
Level 6
Excellent acquisition You are a fines collector. Good hunting congrats!
thatcoinguy
Level 5
Thanks! Mine is the 1885-CC.
"SUN"
Level 6
Sure was a difference way for the gov't to dispose of the coins
thatcoinguy
Level 5
Yeah, who here wouldn’t pay $15 for a BU CC Morgan?
Longstrider
Level 6
It was a great program unless you were a collector that had a rare coin until the release of a toon of more of the same. Thanks.
thatcoinguy
Level 5
LOL, yeah!