1888-O Morgan Silver Dollar
Circulation strike struck at the New Orleans Mint · 12,150,000 made
- Mintage
- 12,150,000
- Metal
- 90% silver, 10% copper
- Weight
- 26.73 g
- Diameter
- 38.1 mm
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is an 1888-O Morgan Silver Dollar worth?
In worn condition it trades for about its silver content, 0.7735 troy ounces. Uncirculated coins with full luster or attractive toning sell for more.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- Prooflike or deep mirror fields (PL, DMPL)
- A die variety or minting error
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1888-O Morgan Silver Dollar rare?
- Not by date: 12 million were struck. A sharp uncirculated coin or a known variety is what makes one special.
- Is the 1888-O Morgan Silver Dollar silver?
- Yes. It's 90% silver, 10% copper and holds 0.7735 troy ounces of pure silver.
- Where is the mint mark on an 1888 Morgan Silver Dollar?
- On the reverse, below the wreath and above the letters "DO" in DOLLAR. Philadelphia coins have no mint mark. On this coin the mark is O, for New Orleans.
- Which New Orleans dates near 1888 are scarcer?
- The 1893-O at 300,000, the 1892-O at 2,744,000, the 1891-O at 7,954,529, plus 7 more. So the 1888-O is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1888-O Morgan Silver Dollar coins were made?
- 12,150,000.
What to check on your 1888-O
- Make sure the mint mark really is a O. A worn or filled mark can be misread. It's what separates your coin from the 1888-S (657,000 made).
- Don't clean it. Cleaning leaves fine scratches and an unnatural shine that collectors avoid.
- Old coins pick up damage over a long life. Look for holes, bends, scratches or signs of cleaning before you judge the grade, because a damaged coin sells for a fraction of a problem-free one.
- Judge the grade under good light. Look at the hair above Liberty's ear, the cheek and the breast feathers on the eagle. Prooflike (PL) and Deep Mirror Prooflike (DMPL) surfaces add large premiums.
Circulated examples are usually traded for their silver content. Pick out the best ones: original luster and attractive toning lift a coin above melt, while cleaned coins lose most of their collector value. New Orleans Morgan dollars are known for weak strikes in the center, so well-struck O-mint coins command a premium.
The story of the 1888-O
New Orleans made 12,150,000 in 1888, about the same as the year before. In 1889 the figure was 12 million.
1888-S came to 657,000 and 1888 came to 19 million, so neither mint's 1888 coin is much scarcer than the other.
Across New Orleans's 26 Morgan Silver Dollar issues, the hardest to find is the 1893-O with 300,000 made. The 1888-O is one of the easier ones. Within the 1880s it's 28th smallest of 37, between the 1889-O (12 million) and the 1883 (12 million).
Sherman Act years and the early keys (1886 to 1893)
Philadelphia struck about 20 million dollars a year in the late 1880s, but some branch mint dates were small. The 1889-CC, at 350,000, is a key. San Francisco's 1886-S, 1888-S and 1889-S all fell below one million. The Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890 replaced Bland-Allison with larger silver purchases, though dollar coinage fell once the act stopped requiring it in 1891. Much of the bullion was paid for with Treasury notes rather than coined at once.
Mintages dropped sharply in 1892 and 1893. The 1893-S, with only 100,000 struck, is the key business strike of the series and a common target for altered mint marks and counterfeits. The 1892-S is plentiful in worn grades but rare uncirculated. Carson City stopped coining after 1893, making the 1893-CC its last dollar. The 1893 Philadelphia run of 378,000 is scarce as well.
How to recognize it
George T. Morgan's Liberty faces left wearing a cap with wheat and cotton and a band inscribed LIBERTY, with E PLURIBUS UNUM above and the date below. The reverse shows an eagle with outstretched wings holding arrows and an olive branch above a wreath, with IN GOD WE TRUST above it. The mint mark is below the wreath, above the DO of DOLLAR.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Morgan Silver Dollar (1878–present) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1888 |
| Mint | New Orleans Mint |
| Mint mark | "O" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 12,150,000 |
| Face value | $1 |
| Composition | 90% silver, 10% copper |
| Weight | 26.73 grams |
| Diameter | 38.1 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Silver content | 0.7735 troy oz (24.057 g) |
| Designer | George T. Morgan |
Other 1888 Morgan Silver Dollar issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1888 Morgan Silver Dollar | 19,183,000 | Circulation strike | 0.7735 oz |
| 1888-S Morgan Silver Dollar | 657,000 | Circulation strike | 0.7735 oz |
| 1888-O Morgan Silver Dollar | 12,150,000 | Circulation strike | 0.7735 oz |
Mintage: Morgan dollar (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint records and the Guide Book of United States Coins. How we build these pages.