1878 MS63 Morgan Silver Dollar
As our clients know, we are always scanning the rare coin market for value and opportunities. Our criteria is basic, but very few items pass the test. We look for coins that are:
- currently underpriced,
- legitimately difficult to find, and
- fundamentally desirable to collectors.
Put simply, they must be undervalued, rare, and interesting. Many coins fall into one or two of these three categories, but very few meet all three requirements. This makes our job frustrating at times, but it’s necessary to identify and deliver quality coins.
When we recently applied this criteria to the vintage U.S. gold market, MS63 Liberties jumped off the page. The $2.50 Quarter Eagles, $5 Half Eagles and $10 Eagles were trading at the most attractive levels we’ve seen in years. These coins have zigzagged in price over the past decade, but recently they’ve emerged as an outstanding value. Not only are they 30-45% off their peaks, but they are popular, scarce coins and are challenging to find at this grade level.
As we canvassed the market for MS63 Liberty gold, we decided buying random dates wasn’t good enough — instead, we formed three-piece year sets. We made sure the $2.50, $5, and $10 gold coins were all of the same year. This makes the coins even more desirable to collectors. In numismatics, the value of a whole set is almost always more than the sum of its parts. Forming these year sets required effort and perseverance, but the benefit to you made it worthwhile.
Assembling these sets took time and effort you can now take advantage of, and we expect they’ll be spoken for in a short period of time!
Call 800-831-0007 or email me today to add a ready-made set(s) to your portfolio. You can also consider these as a great holiday gift!
History
When the United States first started making gold coins in the 1790’s, only three denominations were produced: $2.50 Quarter Eagles, $5 Half Eagles, and $10 Eagles. At the time, gold coins were only needed for large transactions, so very few of these coins were in circulation.
The difference between gold coin mintages versus those of silver and copper was stark. In some years, amazingly, the ratio of copper coins struck to gold was 200:1. In 1804, the U.S. Mint temporarily discontinued the $10 Eagle while keeping $2.50 Quarter Eagle and $5 Half Eagle mintages low.
As the United States prospered and became a wealthier nation, the need for gold coinage increased commensurately. Furthermore, American gold coins were beginning to circulate both domestically and internationally.
With U.S. gold coinage becoming in-demand at home and abroad, the decision was made to update the appearance of the coins. The designs used in the 1820’s and most of the 1830’s were not considered artistic triumphs. Today, gold coins of that era are avidly sought collectibles due to their rarity, not their aesthetics.
Design
Philadelphia Mint engraver, Christian Gobrecht, was tasked with creating a design that was attractive, elegant, and easy to produce and quintessentially American. His ‘Coronet’ or ‘Liberty’ motif accomplished those goals. The obverse featured a female portrait wearing a crown with the word ‘LIBERTY.’ Surrounding this figure were 13 stars to represent the original 13 colonies.
The reverse, meanwhile, featured an eagle grasping an olive branch and a group of arrows. This represented America’s desire for peace, balanced against its ability to defend itself. Gobrecht skillfully incorporated numerous American themes, symbols and concepts in his graceful design.
From a purely technical standpoint, the Philadelphia Mint was pleased at how easy the design was to produce. After a few minor adjustments in the late 1830’s, this motif was used continuously for nearly 70 years. The only substantive change was the addition of the motto ‘IN GOD WE TRUST’ to the reverse of the $5 Half Eagle and $10 Eagle in 1866. Otherwise, remarkably, the coins’ appearance went unchanged without any kind of adjustment for decades.
While the design of the $2.5, $5 and $10 gold coins may have remained constant, their role in American commerce changed dramatically. As California gold entered the market in the 1840’s, the need for larger coins increased. The $10 Eagle was no longer big enough for large transactions; bankers and merchants were demanding coins with greater bullion content. The United States Mint responded with the $20 Double Eagle, but even this coin wasn’t big enough during the California Gold Rush’s heyday. At the peak of the rush, bars and ingots weighing from 10 - 200 ounces were changing hands!
Even after the Gold Rush settled down, the $20 Double Eagle had become the dominant United States gold coin. There was still a need for the smaller denominations, but gold ‘twenties’ were the coin of choice for bankers and large international merchants. For this exact reason, $2.5 Quarter Eagles, $5 Half Eagles, and $10 Eagles are dramatically rarer than $20 Double Eagles, especially in higher grades.
Rarity – Value
Over the past decade, MS63 Liberty gold coins have been on a rollercoaster ride in terms of price. Being such popular coins, numerous retailers have attempted to market and promote these coins in quantity. What they often found is supply is thin, and an influx of new buyers often resulted in a major price spike.
- In 2005, the three-piece $2.5, $5, $10 Liberty gold set in MS63 was trading in the mid-high $2,000’s. NGC started covering this set in July 2005 and assigned it a value of $2,700
- By the following summer, this set was already over $4,000.
- It returned back to the high $2,000’s in mid-2007, only to zoom back to $4,100 by January 2008.
- It settled in the low $3,000’s later in the year, but rocketed to $4,700 in late 2009.
- Prices continued to bounce between the mid $3,000’s and low $4,000’s from 2010-2012, but just recently dipped back below $3,000.
- As of now, NGC values the MS63 $2.5/$5/$10 set at $2,975.
Thanks to our buying power and sources within the industry, we were able to secure a select group of MS63 Liberty gold sets at the best prices we’ve seen in the past ten years. Furthermore, all three coins in each set are the same year, making each set even more desirable and interesting to collectors. These uniform/matching year sets can only be assembled using slightly better dates, but we were fortunate to buy them (and now offer them to you) at no additional premium.
We can offer matched three-piece MS63 Liberty year sets at under $2,500 per set. This is well below the current NGC price guide value of $2,975 and less than what these coins were worth in 2005. We remember seeing these sets trading for $3,000 - $4,000 when gold was under $800 per ounce!
Prices may be lower today, but the coins remain scarce in MS63. Gold coins from the early 20th century are typically found in XF-AU condition; they become difficult to source in Mint State grades. Only a small percentage of the surviving coins grade MS63.
Take advantage of this 3-coin set…
United States Liberty gold coins are timeless, classic and perennially popular coins. They have been a favorite among collectors for decades. While relatively common in circulated grades, Liberty gold coins become quite difficult to find in MS63.
Due to their thin supply, MS63 Liberty gold coins have spiked in value whenever retailers or marketers have attempted to promote them in quantity. This is why three piece $2.50, $5, and $10 sets have surged over $4,000 on multiple occasions. The ability to buy matched three piece MS63 year sets at under $2,500 today represents a tremendous, and likely temporary, opportunity.
Again, we have done all of the work for you…
This month, we have put together (24) 3 coin sets of MS-63 Liberties.
MS-63 3-coin Liberty sets: Please call for pricing and availability.
Each set will contain the following:
- $2.5 Liberty
- $5 Liberty
- $10 Liberty
All coins in the set will be the same year.
Call 800-831-0007 or email me today to purchase your coins and to take advantage of the lowest prices in years, before the market discovers the price anomaly.
*Prices are subject to change based upon product availability and due to market fluctuation.
