1887-S $1 MS DMPL

Key to Collecting: The 1887-S dollar is a delight to own, as a coin selected with care will be well struck and very attractive. This date and mint is somewhat scarce in the series, but hardly a “stopper.” A grade such as MS-63 offers a lot of coin for the money.

Surface Quality: Usually seen well struck; with few exceptions a no-problem issue. However, some are light at the centers, most noticeably on the eagle’s breast. Usually seen with attractive frosty luster.

Prooflike Coins: Prooflike coins are occasionally encountered. Nicks and marks can be a problem due to storage and repeated handling in bags. Several hundred were in the Redfield hoard dispersed after 1976.50

Mintage and Distribution: Delivery figures by month: January–May, 0; June, 16,000; July, 0; August, 420,000; September, 400,000; October, 450,000; November, 400,000; December, 85,000. Many coins went into storage at the San Francisco Mint, the procedure used for others of this era. From the early 1940’s through the 1950’s large quantities were paid out, but most did not land in numismatic hands.

Among the minor die varieties, VAM-2, with the S mintmark sharply doubled and with the upper right serif of an earlier mintmark boldly visible within the top opening of the final S, has merited listing in The Top 100 Morgan Dollar Varieties. A strong glass is needed to appreciate it.

Treasure-hunt possibility? Maybe! All dies for the 1887 coinage were prepared at the Philadelphia Mint. At VAM-2 least one overdated obverse die, 1887, 7 Over 6, was used by each of the Philadelphia and New Orleans mints. Might an 1887-S, 7 Over 6, exist somewhere out there? Less than half of the die combinations have been described by Van Allen and Mallis, so, indeed, there is a potential.