1889 $1 MS PL

Key to Collecting: The mintage figure of 21,726,000 for the 1889 dollar sweeps away any other total in the early (1878–1904) Morgan series. Most 1889 dollars in any grade are indifferently struck and have miserable luster, sort of grayish, dull, and numismatically forgettable. As grading services make no mention of sharpness of strike or quality of luster, you have the opportunity, at least in theory, to land a gem for a “regular” price.

Surface Quality: Strike ranges from poor to sharp, mostly average or below average. The luster on the 1889 is often dull and insipid. Finding a deeply frosty coin in combination with a sharp strike can be a first-class challenge!

Prooflike Coins: Some prooflike coins exist but are not common.

Mintage and Distribution: Delivery figures by month: January, 2,000,000; February, 1,710,000; March, 2,000,000; April, 1,878,000; May, 2,064,000; June, 2,164,000; July, 800,000; August, 1,900,000; September, 1,860,000; October, 2,000,000; November, 2,000,000; December, 1,350,000. If Mint records are correct, that 57 obverse dies were made for this coinage, then the average per die was an incredible 381,158. Perhaps a typographical error crept in.

The mintage this year set a record for any date and mint that would stand until 1921. Many circulated in the nineteenth century, many were melted under the 1918 Pittman Act, and many others were dribbled into circulation in the twentieth century. By 1950, Mint State pieces were scarce, but this was undone by massive releases of bags beginning circa 1954. Enough remained that many more bags were distributed as part of the 1962 through 1964 Treasury release.

Mintage: 811.

Key to Collecting: Average strike, usually flat at the centers. Medium to low cameo contrast. As you might expect, lack of sharpness is hardly ever mentioned in price lists or catalogs—but you can look at the pictures and tell.

Although 57 obverse dies and 50 reverses were used for this coinage, no particularly memorable die varieties exist.