The Morgan dollar is broadly considered America’s most popular coin, and typical pricing for the issue follows a standard formula based on date, Mint mark, grade and then considerations of eye appeal and quality within the grade. Pricing is more subjective, however, for error coins, as some of the off-center strikes in the series  have shown when offered at auction in the past year or so.

Off-center errors are always popular because they are so easy to understand and see, even without a deep understanding of the minting process. They are the result of a planchet that when fed into a press was not positioned properly in the collar. When the dies struck this misplaced planchet, only the part of the planchet that was overlaying the die received a portion of the coin’s design, as error specialist Mike Byers explains in World’s Mint Greatest Errors. He adds, “Morgan dollars that are slightly off-center (or even as much as 10-20% off-center if they are in circulated condition) are only scarce when viewed in the wider context of the U.S. coin market.

O-Mint and off-center

Heritage has offered three New Orleans Mint Morgan dollars with modest off-center strikes in the past few months. On March 18, an 1890-O dollar graded Very Fine 30 by Professional Coin Grading Service and struck 7% off-center sold for $2,880. It had a nice arc of unstruck planchet visible below the date, and one wonders: did it circulate for years undetected, or was it a pocket piece? Questions of this type make these 19th century error coins very appealing for Morgan dollar and errors specialists to ponder, along with generalists just looking for something neat.

Another common date New Orleans Mint error sold for $2,520 at a May 10 Heritage auction: an 1883-O dollar struck five percent off-center and graded Extremely Fine 40 by PCGS. It also shows an unstruck arc below the date, and Heritage praised its rich gunmetal-gray toning, writing, “The stars and legends are all present, but dentils are nearly absent near 11 o’clock on the obverse, and are altogether absent between 9 o’clock and 3 o’clock on the reverse.” In better condition than the aforementioned 1890-O coin, but struck just 5% off-center, versus 7%, it sold for an increment less.

Further testing the market is another 1883-O Morgan dollar graded VF-25 by PCGS that is struck 7% off-center, with Liberty facing the planchet void, that carries an opening bid of $3,380 (or $3,802.50 once the buyer’s premium is considered) at a GreatCollections auction closing on Aug. 11.

With unique coins like errors, predicting prices can be tough, as seen by the $5,160 that an 1899-O Morgan dollar struck 5% off-center with an unstruck void above Liberty’s head sold for at a March 24 Heritage sale. Graded EF-45 by PCGS, it’s price was significantly more than the other comparables would suggest. Heritage wrote, “Attractive, old-silver patina tends to minimize the crescent of unstruck planchet on this example, with the coin’s entire design visible (although the date clings to the edge).” To many collectors, the variability in pricing errors is part of the fun.

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