1888-S Morgan Silver Dollar
Circulation strike struck at the San Francisco Mint · 657,000 made
- Mintage
- 657,000
- 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-S Morgan Silver Dollar worth?
It's scarcer than a typical date, so even circulated examples sell above face and above their metal value. The best uncirculated coins are where the money is.
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
- Certification by PCGS or NGC, which buyers expect for scarce dates
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1888-S Morgan Silver Dollar rare?
- Somewhat. 657,000 were made, fewer than most dates, so collectors treat it as a semi-key.
- Is the 1888-S 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 S, for San Francisco.
- Which San Francisco dates near 1888 are scarcer?
- The 1893-S at 100,000. So the 1888-S is on the scarcer side for those years.
- How many 1888-S Morgan Silver Dollar coins were made?
- 657,000.
What to check on your 1888-S
- Make sure the mint mark really is an S. A worn or filled mark can be misread. It's what separates your coin from the 1888-O (12 million 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.
Never clean it. Collectors pay strong premiums for original surfaces and natural toning on a date like this. A cleaned coin can lose half its value or more. San Francisco Morgan dollars are usually well struck with frosty luster, which is why S-mint coins are popular in high grades.
The story of the 1888-S
Output at San Francisco slipped to 657,000 in 1888, from 1.8 million the year before. In 1889 the figure was 700,000.
The other mints made far more that year: 1888 alone came to 19 million, roughly 29 for every 1888-S. If you're checking a pile of 1888 coins, the S is the one to look for. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1893-CC (677,000) and the 1889-S (700,000).
Only the 1893-S and the 1895-S have a lower mintage among San Francisco's 28 Morgan Silver Dollars. Within the 1880s it's 5th smallest of 37, between the 1880-CC (495,000) and the 1889-S (700,000).
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 | San Francisco Mint |
| Mint mark | "S" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 657,000 |
| 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.