Morgans or American Silver Eagles?What will be the better long-term investment?

[ComicConnoisseur]

As you know I have gotten the coin bug again.

I love Morgans. I love American Silver Eagles,

So I ask your opinions on what of these two will be the better long-term investment and why? Let`s say the time frame is 5 to 10 years.

[coinsarefun]

I love Morgans and I love ASE's,......toned, even better.

As to what is the best investment only time will tell.

 

If you like both why not collect both and be safe:)

 

 

 

[coinman_23885]

What type of Morgans or Silver Eagles are we talking about here? Are you looking at common date Morgans? Are we looking at better date Silver Eagles (e.g. 95-W proof)?

 

For most of the coins (assuming common date Morgan Dollars), I don't see a lot of upward movement for either. Most of the Silver Eagles will fluctuate with bullion wildly (with a few exceptions like the 1995-W proof only issue). Many Morgan Dollars in lower grades will do the same. In grades below MS65, I don't see any Morgans that are likely to go up (again assuming common dates). I think a lot of the gem coins have already peaked for the common issues. With this said, no one can predict the market. If you want to invest, consider other options.

[bsshog40]

I also like Morgans and eagles myself. I think if I had to choose looking at it as an investment, I think Morgans will always hold their value better. I really don't look at mine as an investment at this point, so I'll just keep collecting both.

[messydesk]

Collect what you like. The performance of common date Morgans will probably be similar to that of bullion. The performance of better date and/or grade Morgans will probably not be the same as that of bullion.

[HCumberdale]

What type of Morgans or Silver Eagles are we talking about here? Are you looking at common date Morgans? Are we looking at better date Silver Eagles (e.g. 95-W proof)?

 

For most of the coins (assuming common date Morgan Dollars), I don't see a lot of upward movement for either. Most of the Silver Eagles will fluctuate with bullion wildly (with a few exceptions like the 1995-W proof only issue). Many Morgan Dollars in lower grades will do the same. In grades below MS65, I don't see any Morgans that are likely to go up (again assuming common dates). I think a lot of the gem coins have already peaked for the common issues. With this said, no one can predict the market. If you want to invest, consider other options.

 

(thumbs u

 

Collect the design you like more. I don't love either of your proposed coins, but I'd choose Morgans over ASEs just because the Morgans have more history behind them and there are more ways you can collect them. I also find a lot of the toning on Morgans to be quite attractive.

 

With Morgans you can collect by year, obtain one from each mint, focus on one mint branch in particular (CC is popular), focus on toned coins, or perhaps something different. I see your options with ASEs being much more limited and potentially more tied to a TPG on the plastic than the coins themselves.

 

If you're serious about investing significant money I would look into other ventures.

[johnny9434]

i like the both of them so ill go with both.

[RWB]

"Investment?"

 

Neither, unless you are speculating in silver, then buy the silver eagles or something similar.

 

If you are collecting, then collect what you like and don't bother with the so-called "investment" idea.

 

[Old Pueblo]

Flipping Silver Eagles can be profitable.

Companies that do this reside close to TPGs and avoid postage cost.

 

 

 

OP

[mailman1959]

I tried making money flipping silver eagles, but everytime I called "heads" it come up "tails".......

[jwc]

hoping that if I keep my 1893S long enough I will break even! not sure about long term investment ideas for most coins.

[michael]

both

 

but i know morgans more and with their history and most all dates 19th century and is close to the top collectred coins by date my STRONG preference would be morgans

[coinman_23885]

Flipping Silver Eagles can be profitable.

Companies that do this reside close to TPGs and avoid postage cost.

OP

 

And/or submit them in bulk (e.g. more than 100 at a time) with a minimum grade of 69 DCAM. The fees, at least ATS, would be $5 each I think. I'm not sure what NGC's bulk rates are.

[Kenneth F]

This is a tough one.. I think SAE would be easier to sell because there are more younger collectors out there... every TV coin show pimps them.. and they are bullion.

 

For example, I think more people would be interested in a big set of SAE over a big set of Morgans.. I will eventually sell my Morgan collection (down payment on a house when I retire from the Army)... and I know I will have a hard time selling them all together. I would have better luck selling them one by one. Ive seen SAE selling by the sets (MS70/PF70UC)..

[Walkerfan]

Morgans are better IMHO. More numismatic value and potential return on investment for the buck.

[FishyOne]

"Better" depends on buying attractive and accurately graded (if applicable) coins at the best possible price.

 

The better long term investment really starts with better coins at the best price. Just my 2 cents worth.

[coinman_23885]

"Better" depends on buying attractive and accurately graded (if applicable) coins at the best possible price.

 

The better long term investment really starts with better coins at the best price. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

I'm not throwing off on Silver Eagles but what exactly qualifies as a "better coin" in terms of quality when most are 69s or 70s? The only real key dates or coins which are arguably more expensive is some of the proof coins.

[DirtyGoldMan]

A lot of it depends on YOU. How much time do YOU want to spend learning about them? Do YOU have a good eye for coins? Do YOU have good connections?

 

The first rule about making money is to not lose money, and if you are not a keen and connected student of the series, you can lose a lot on the Morgans, less so on the ASEs.

 

On the other hand, if you get really into the Morgans, the enjoyment factor can be orders of magnitude more than the ASEs, as it is a historic series, ripe with varieties, interesting dates, and lovely naturally toned coins.

 

It's really more about YOU than the series.

[FishyOne]

"Better" depends on buying attractive and accurately graded (if applicable) coins at the best possible price.

 

The better long term investment really starts with better coins at the best price. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

I'm not throwing off on Silver Eagles but what exactly qualifies as a "better coin" in terms of quality when most are 69s or 70s? The only real key dates or coins which are arguably more expensive is some of the proof coins.

 

Point taken. ASE "better" could be attractiveness including toning, spotting, blemishes, etc. Also could be TPG and assigned grade to many people.

 

 

[BruceS]

For what its worth, the ASEs are IRA approved and can have tax advantages.

[Mr Bo Jingles]

My two cents:

 

High end rare Morgans hands down for a few reasons:

 

1) High end Morgans do not fluctuate with the silver market.

 

2) ASE's are not rare coins and never will be with the exception of one or two issues.

 

3) I collect specifically GSA Morgans and would suggest that, however I do have several non GSA Morgans. The Carson City Morgans are my personal favorite as there is great history. The GSA holders make wonderful provenance.

 

4) No matter what you see on the mintage of Morgan dollars you can bet only about 25-30% of that mintage exists today and of that the high end Morgans are getting much tougher to find because more people are collecting. None of the ASE's will probably ever be melted making them rare.

 

5) Investment potential. While I never say buy a coin for investment, my Morgan set has increased in value substantially on every coin that I have purchased regardless of what the silver market was doing.

 

6) Unstable Top Pop #'s. ASE's at any time can have a significant increase in graded populations directly affecting the value and rarity of the coins graded at "X" level. You will not encounter that with Morgans because MANY of the ungraded Morgans you see on the market that look stellar will never grade because they were improperly cleaned. I would venture a guess that at least 80% of the really nice raw Morgans you see on ebay and at shows will not grade. If they would the dealer would have already sent them in and don't buy into the "I just sell them raw so you can send them in" story. If they could guarantee the grade and subsequently the value they would.

 

I think ASE's are beautiful and in the end it's what you like the most and what you can afford, however, it's my own humble opinion that the two are like comparing apples to oranges. Five future generations of your family can be passed the ASE's and I bet they still would not (except for a very few) be rare coins.

 

That's this collectors' opinion for what it's worth.

[World Colonial]

Except for the branch mint proofs, no Morgan dollar is remotely scarce except "grade rare" or maybe as a VAM for die variety collectors. All of them are common and the proof of this is that any of them can be found essentially at will except when this type of narrow (and in my opinion arbitrary) criteria is applied to them. Even the proofs which have recorded mintages of around 600 are not hard to find at all. They seem to average around 10 sales per year for any number of dates just on Heritage alone.

 

For ASE, the idea of scarce or rare is an oxymoron. Even the 1995-W which has a mintage of just over 30,000 is more common than practically every Morgan dollar except the most common dates such as the 1881-S. Its about as common as a grain of sand on the beach.

 

As to which is a better "investment", I agree with RWB with one caveat. If you are bullish on silver as many collectors are, I would buy ASE as bullion or maybe those with lower premiums. If you are not bullish on silver prices or less so than the silver bugs but expect the economy to do reasonably well, buy better quality Morgan "key dates". The increasing wealth and income should result in better performance. If you neither bullish on silver or the economy, don't buy either. I fit into this category, except that I expect silver to rise later and eventually.

 

I think both can provide profitable opportunities but not significant ones at current prices except maybe in isolation. If and/or when coin prices "tank", the Morgan dollar would be one of my first choices to buy for "investment" due to its popularity and liquidity.

[coinman_23885]

Except for the branch mint proofs, no Morgan dollar is remotely scarce except "grade rare" ...

 

A lot of the coins were melted; you cannot rely on the original mintage figures alone. I think many issues, including the keys, are scarce.

[coinman_23885]

A lot of it depends on YOU. How much time do YOU want to spend learning about them? Do YOU have a good eye for coins? Do YOU have good connections?

 

The first rule about making money is to not lose money, and if you are not a keen and connected student of the series, you can lose a lot on the Morgans, less so on the ASEs.

 

On the other hand, if you get really into the Morgans, the enjoyment factor can be orders of magnitude more than the ASEs, as it is a historic series, ripe with varieties, interesting dates, and lovely naturally toned coins.

 

It's really more about YOU than the series.

 

+1

[World Colonial]

Except for the branch mint proofs, no Morgan dollar is remotely scarce except "grade rare" ...

 

A lot of the coins were melted; you cannot rely on the original mintage figures alone. I think many issues, including the keys, are scarce.

 

How exactly are these coins scarce except as die varieties or in a particular (MS) grade? The answer is, they are not or else you have an entirely different standard of scarcity than I do.

 

I never go by the mintages when I make this type of claim. I go by the census reports first and since I know that they are inflated for many coins in this series since they are so expensive, I adjust this data by their actual or apparent availability.

 

I cannot tell you how many comments I have seen on this forum about how any number of coins are supposedly "scarce" or "rare". Invariably, I can to Heritage and within two minutes I can see that anywhere from a few to at least a dozen sold within the last year or even few months.

 

This is exactly what exists for any Morgan dollar except for the exceptions I listed, Any coin which can be bought a dozen times a year or near it is not remotely scarce, especially since Heritage is only one source though a large one.

 

Coins that are actually scarce might sell at most a few times a year (from all sources) and those that are actually rare every few years or even every few decades.

 

Going by the Judd rarity scale of R-1 to R-8, most Morgan dolalrs are actually fairly common even in grades of an MS-63 or MS-64 which are still decent coins and much better than exist for many coins that are actually scarce. As a generic coin, even the 1893-S which is the most expensive is not remotely scarce.

[ComicConnoisseur]

The way silvers been dropping maybe Morgan`s are the better bet?

[Dave1384]

I like Morgan dollars, although I own none. Around 1993 I held in my hand an 1895 Proof in MS 64, ( in a major grading service slab, don't remember which one) and was offered it for about 16 thousand at an auctioneer's house. I badly wanted it, but thought, if this thing ever goes down, I'll be in trouble. So I didn't buy it. Sigh.