Collectors with certain complete registry sets of Morgan and Peace dollars graded and encapsulated by Numismatic Guaranty Corp. are learning the sets will be considered incomplete until they can add the soon-to-be released 2021 Morgan and 2021 Peace silver dollars.

To mark the 100th anniversary in 2021 of the transition from the Morgan to the Peace dollar series, the U.S. Mint is issuing five different Morgan dollars, two of them with privy marks, and a single 2021 Peace dollar.

The privy-marked coins will be struck at the Philadelphia Mint but will exhibit distinctive CC or O privy marks, respectively remembering the Carson City Mint and New Orleans Mint, which produced Morgan dollars.

At several online numismatic message boards, collectors with Morgan and Peace dollar registry sets are expressing their opinions about how the coins will be listed by the grading services and in numismatic publications.

“Any coin that is a distinct type or variety receives a separate listing in the NGC Census,” according to Max Spiegel, president of Certified Collectibles Group, the parent company to NGC. “The CC and O privy marked Morgan dollars are undoubtedly distinct — and very significant — issues that should be individually listed in the NGC Census.”

Officials at Professional Coin Grading Service have not yet determine how the 2021 silver dollars will be identified on the PCGS Population Report and how the new coins will factor in requirements for registry sets.

“We would like to ensure that any inclusion of 2021 Morgan and Peace dollars is done for the benefit of collectors and for the betterment of our Set Registry program,” says PCGS Marketing Director Heather Boyd. “Therefore, we are considering the options and gathering feedback from our collectors before making a decision to include these coins in existing sets.”

Numismatic publications are also wrestling with how to recognize the 2021 Morgan and Peace silver dollars.

Dennis Tucker, publisher at Whitman Publishing LLC, which publishes the various versions of A Guide Book of United States Coins, commonly referred to as the “Red Book” as well as The Handbook of United States Coins, also known as the “Blue Book,” said decisions are still being considered for how to handle the listings in the various references, beginning with the 2023-dated books to be released in 2022.

“At the moment (in this year’s editions of the Red Book and Blue Book) we’re mentioning them in the narrative text of the Morgan dollars and the Peace dollars, but not listing them with individual line-item chart entries,” Tucker said via email. “And in Mega Red [the expanded deluxe professional edition] we’re cataloging them in a special appendix, while also mentioning them in the Morgan and Peace intro text.”

What can be expected of identification in future editions?

“We’re weighing the best approach to take for next year’s editions of the Red Book, Blue Book, and Mega Red. These coins present some challenges! They’re not commems, in the legislated sense ... they’re legal tender, but not intended for circulation ... they’re not bullion, ...” according to Tucker.

“We’ll be making a decision in the coming months on how to treat them in next year’s editions.”

Coin World is still pondering how to list the coins in its print and online Coin Values price guides. See this week's Monday Morning Brief for more on the deliberations.

Connect with Coin World: 

Sign up for our free eNewsletter
Access our Dealer Directory  
Like us on Facebook  
Follow us on Twitter