Related: our coin grading guide.
Some coins are rare. A few are legendary. And then there is the 1893-S Morgan Dollar — the undisputed King of Morgan Dollars — a coin whose story begins in economic catastrophe and ends, for now, at a rare coin auction that has the entire numismatic world watching.
In the context of Morgan coins, this is where the legend of the King of Morgan Dollars truly began. In January 1893, the San Francisco Mint struck a mere 100,000 Morgan Silver Dollars before Washington ordered the presses to stop. The timing could not have been more dramatic. The Panic of 1893 was about to plunge the United States into one of the deepest depressions in its history. Banks failed, railroads collapsed, and silver itself became a political flashpoint.
Most of those 100,000 coins disappeared into Western commerce. They jingled through saloons, general stores, and mining camps, wearing down with every transaction. Others likely vanished into melting pots. Today, experts estimate that fewer than 100 uncirculated examples survive — a staggering figure for a coin from America’s most widely collected silver dollar series.
But one coin escaped that fate entirely.
Within roughly a year of leaving the mint, one pristine 1893-S Morgan Dollar caught the discerning eye of pioneering numismatist J. Colvin Randall. From Randall, the coin passed into the celebrated cabinet of John M. Clapp, and eventually to Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. — the only collector in history to assemble a complete collection of United States coins by denomination, date, and mintmark. This lineage highlights just how the Morgan Dollar earned the title, King of Morgan Dollars, among specialists and collectors alike.
That is what collectors mean by numismatic provenance. When a coin carries the Clapp and Eliasberg names, it carries more than a pedigree. It carries a century of expert custody, judgment, and preservation. The Eliasberg Collection remains the gold standard against which all other collections are measured, and this coin sat at its heart.
The coin’s modern market history reads like a chart of the rare coin hobby itself—very few pieces ever gain the nickname King of Morgan Dollars, but this one has.
Now graded PCGS MS65 CAC, the coin has returned home. Great Collections will close bidding at its Great Collections auction 2026 event on Sunday, August 9, 2026, at 6:55 p.m. Pacific Time, positioning the coin as the centerpiece of the sale—and once again, the King of Morgan Dollars is at center stage for collectors worldwide.
The Morgan Silver Dollar series, struck from 1878 to 1904 and again in 1921, is the most popular classic coin series in American numismatics. Millions of collectors pursue it, and every one of them runs into the same wall: the 1893-S. For those hoping to own the King Morgan Dollar, this singular coin remains the highest aspiration in the hobby.
While thousands of heavily worn examples survive — even a Fine 12 example recently carried a wholesale bid near $4,850 — Mint State survivors are genuine trophies. The finest known example, a lone PCGS MS67 with the Vermeule pedigree, sold for an astonishing $2,086,875 in August 2021, setting the benchmark for what the market will pay for the ultimate 1893-S.
The Eliasberg coin, at MS65 with CAC approval, sits near the very top of the surviving population. Gem-quality examples of this date can be counted on your fingers, and few can match this coin’s unbroken chain of famous ownership stretching back to the 1890s. It truly stands out as a King among Morgan Dollars.
Rare coin auction watchers are asking the obvious question: what will the King bring in 2026? Twelve years have passed since its $646,250 record. The market for elite Morgan Dollars has strengthened dramatically since then, as the seven-figure Vermeule sale proved. A new record for the Eliasberg coin seems entirely plausible. Without a doubt, excitement grows for the King of Morgan Dollars to take the stage at auction once more.
Whatever the final hammer price, the story remains the same. A silver dollar struck on the eve of a national financial collapse survived when nearly all of its brothers perished — rescued by a collector’s eye, preserved by legends, and celebrated more than 130 years later.
The King of Morgan Dollars is back on the throne. On August 9, one fortunate bidder — and only one — will finally claim the golden crown for a new generation.
Call now for a free consultation, new accounts receive a free gift with their first order!! 888-369-2950
