1892-S $1 MS PL

Key to Collecting: Years ago, worn 1892-S dollars were common in dealers’ stocks, and little attention was paid to them. Then, after the 1962 through 1964 Treasury releases were analyzed, and no cascade of Mint State 1892-S dollars had been found, a great demand arose for circulated pieces to supply the date and mint. The few Uncirculated coins that did exist mounted to ever-higher market levels, while more than just a few AU pieces were sold as being in Mint State (casting a pall on the market for this rarity). Today, most collectors will opt for an inexpensive VF or an affordable EF, the 1892-S often being one of the few Morgan dollars in a set that is not Mint State.

Surface Quality: Usually above average and quite good. Typically seen with satiny luster or somewhat prooflike.

Prooflike Coins: Among high-grade 1892-S dollars, many are somewhat prooflike (not at all DMPL), perhaps half of the population.

Mintage and Distribution: Delivery figures by month: January, 100,000; February, 100,000; March, 100,000; April, 100,000; May, 100,000; June, 100,000; July, 100,000; August, 100,000; September, 100,000; October, 100,000; November, 100,000; December, 100,000, the last concluding a unique record of consistent monthly coinage for an entire year. Many 1892-S dollars were placed into circulation in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Others were stored in the San Francisco Mint. At least one bag was paid out in 1925 and 1926, but little numismatic notice was taken of the coins.

I am not aware of any bags of Mint State 1892-S dollars released after the 1930’s, although now and again a few pieces would be found mixed with other coins. For a long time the 1892-S, although rare in Mint State, was not greatly desired. In 1982, Wayne Miller noted that a half dozen or so Uncirculated coins had come to light in recent years, and that “probably fewer than 200 specimens exist in choice BU [MS-63] or better condition.”

Miller also noted that “most” investment advisory letters stated that the 1892-S dollar “is one of the few key date Morgans which is not instantly saleable in choice BU condition.” In 1992, Maurice Rosen suggested that the lack of demand was probably because many AU coins were offered as “Uncirculated,” although true Uncirculated coins were rare. Philosophies change, and today a gem would, indeed, find a ready market.

Varieties include VAM-2 (date slightly doubled) and VAM-7 (92 of date doubled), as well as various mintmark positions and orientations. For a long time this variety existed in small but suffcient quantities to satisfy collector demand.