David Kellogg’s Top 50 List of The Best Buys in Morgan and Peace Dollars
By Terry King

David Kellogg has been a serious collector of coins since the 1960's with an emphasis on silver dollars from 1794 to 1935. He was one of the first collectors to complete a full date set of silver dollars except for the 1804. He became one of the first members of the Beverly Hills Coin Club in 1987, when he began interviewing and taking polls, along with Chris Aable in order to ascertain which dates/mints were the 50 most popular and affordable. They recognize that most collectors could not afford every single issue and that some collectors and investors prefer to collect or hoard some issues more than others. Consistently, these 50 show up on most collector/investors "want lists" probably because they are within reach of the majority of collectors and investors who, according the questionnaire, spend $10,000 to $50,000 per year, and in some cases less, on their collections/investments.

While there have been many books and articles written about “Top 100”,”Top 20”, etc, the criteria for selecting the top, has often been highly subjective and elites. For examples, many such list feature varieties that are rarely asked for or even unknown to most collectors, and there for evidently cannot be considered the most popular. The following list is based on a decade of interviews and thousands of emails from collectors, investors and dealers from all over the nation.

Although no poll can be 100% perfect, an effort was made to be objective as possible based on the defining criteria of
1.) Affordability (coins available to most collectors in the $50 to $2,000 range, but mostly well under $1,000)
2.) Availability; keeping in mind that a coin cannot be widely popular as an investment vehicle if it’s not scarce yet relatively available with some searching compelled by desire and demand.
3.) Scarcity; because while the coins may be available and still affordable the current prices may be relatively low compare to others as their true scarcity in certain particular grades may be unknown by most collectors now and a growing population of collectors in the future.

Thus, the following coins are chosen based on questions asked to more advanced collectors and dealers regarding what they thought were the most under priced issues based on current prices, current availability and current demand, as well as foreseeable future demand and prices. At an attempt at further objectivity it was decided to list these in chronological order instead of attempting to define which coins among these 50 were more popular than the others listed. Particularly noteworthy is the fact that, based on estimated survivor, population reports and collectively decades of experience all of these were found to be about 10 to 20 times more scarce than their next lower grade yet sold for only about 2 or 3 times more. Hence these "Top 50" are deemed by those who voted on them to be the best buys in the Morgan and Peace dollar series.

The prices given are the estimated range based on what collectors and investors said they have paid or will pay in quantity. Most people surveyed that grades higher than the ones posted below would be out of reach to most collectors and investors and thus the higher grade have reached their investment peak for the next few years whereas the lower grades posted have plenty of room for affordable price increases.

The prices posted below are also David's recommended buy prices which I and others agreed with being careful to note that coins with exceptionally nice strikes, luster or toning can bring as much as two or three times the prices posted.

1.) 1878 8 Feather. This date was often cited for it’s relative scarcity (which mean relative to its low price in particular grade) but because it’s essentially a one-year type coin. MS60 $120-$150, MS64 $400-$500
2.) 1878 7 Feather. MS64 $250-$300, MS65 $1,000-$1,250
3.) 1879-CC both regular and Capped-die varieties. VF $250-$300, XF $600-$750, AU $1,500-$2,000
4.) 1879-O MS60 $75-$100, MS63 $150-$200, MS64 $500-$600
5.) 1880-O MS60 $65-$75, MS63 $300-$400, MS64 $1,400-$1,500
6.) 1883-S AU $100-$125, MS60 $500-$600
7.) 1884-S XF $40-$50, AU $250-$300
8.) 1885-S XF $60-$75, AU $100-$125
9.) 1886-O AU $60-$75, MS60 $600-$750
10.) 1889-O MS60 $110-$125, MS63 $350-$400. Note: This coin is almost always poorly struck even in the highest grades. Fully struck coins are extremely difficult to find and command 5-10 times more when they can be found. This applies to 1886-O, 1890-O and 1894-O as well. 
11.) 1890-O MS64 $250-$300, MS65 $1,800-$2,000
12.) 1891-O MS63 $300-$350, MS64 $650-$750
13.) 1892-CC XF $400-$450, AU $650-$750, MS60 $1,200-$1,500
14.) 1892-S VF $125-$150, XF $300-$350, AU $1,500-$2,000
15.) 1893-CC VF $600-$650, AU $1,250-$1,500
16.) 1893-O VF $300-$350, XF $500-$600, AU $750-$850
17.) 1894-O XF $80-$90, AU $250-$300
18.) 1894-S AU $400-$500
19.) 1895-O AU $1,000-$1,250
20.) 1895-S VF $750-$850, XF $1,000-$1,250, AU $1,750-$2,000
21.) 1896-O AU $140-$150, MS60 $1,250-$1,500
22.) 1896-S XF $200-$225, AU $750-$850
23.) 1897-O AU $90-$100, MS60 $600-$700
24.) 1897-S MS65 $500-$600
25.) 1898-S AU $90-$100, MS60 $200-$225, MS63 $400-$450
26.) 1899 MS65 $850-$950
27.) 1899-S XF $50-$60, AU $100-$125, MS63 $450-$500
28.) 1900-O/CC VG $40-$50, Fine $55-$65, VF $70-80, XF $85-$100, AU $150-$200, MS63 $700-$800
29.) 1900-S XF $35-$40, AU $70-$80, MS63 $350-$400
30.) 1901-S XF$45-$50, AU $175-$200, MS60 $450-$500
31.) 1902 MS65 $400-$450
32.) 1903-S VF $175-$200, XF $350-$400, AU $1,500-$1,750
33.) 1904 MS63 $200-$225, MS64 $500-$600
34.) 1904-S VF $75-$85, XF $175-$200, AU $500-$600, MS60 $1,250-$1,500
35.) 1921-D MS63 $125-$150, MS65 $350-$400
36.) 1921-S MS63 $60-$75, MS64 $125-$150, MS65 $1,250-$1,500
37.) 1921 Peace MS63 $400-$450, MS64 $650-$750
38.) 1922-S MS64 $200-$250, MS65 $2,000
39.) 1923-D MS63 $125-$150, MS65 $1,000-$1,250
40.) 1923-S MS60 $55-$65, MS64 $300-$350
41.) 1924-S MS60 $150-$175, MS63 $450-$500, MS64 $1,250-$1,500
42.) 1925-S MS60 $65-$75, MS63 $175-$200, MS64 $750-$850
43.) 1926 MS65 $400-$450
44.) 1926-D MS63 $150-$175, MS64 $275-$300, MS65 $750-$850
45.) 1926-S MS60 $40-$50, MS63 $75-$85, MS64 $200-$250, MS65 $900-$1,000
46.) 1927 MS63 $150-$175, MS64 $450-$500
47.) 1927-D AU $65-$75, MS60 $125-$150, MS63 $300-$350, MS64 $750-$850
48.) 1927-S AU $65-$75, MS60 $125-$150, MS63 $300-$350, MS64 $750-$850
49.) 1928-S AU $50-$55, MS60 $125-$150, MS63 $450-$500, MS64 $750-$850
50.) 1934-S Fine $45-$50, VF $75-$80, XF $150-$175, AU $375-$475, MS60 $1,500-$1,750

 
 

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