1879-S Morgan Silver Dollar. MS-68 (NGC). Virtually pristine, this brilliant and fully struck Superb Gem exhibits frosty design elements set against a backdrop of semi-prooflike reflectivity in the fields. The 1879-S Morgan dollar is not rare until you reach the very upper echelons of preservation. Many thousands of Uncirculated 1879-S dollars exist up to and including the Gem level, but numbers thin out significantly in higher grades. Almost all of the 9,110,000 coins struck at San Francisco remained in the Mints vaults, only gradually being released in quantities in 1942 and again in the early 1960s. Most Mint State survivors come from those releases and often have bagmarks or other abrasions from being moved around from vault to vault in large and very heavy $1,000 face value sacks for the better part of 80 years. Examples are challenging to find above the MS-67 level. This coin is ever so close to perfect and will be a showcase coin for any numismatist. From the Larry H. Miller Collection. From the Larry H. Miller Collection.
