Many people are familiar with the Morgan dollar, the first standard silver dollar to be minted after the Seated Liberty Dollar. The production of Morgan dollars took place between 1878 and 1921. As a result of the Pittman Act in 1918 many silver dollars were melted and recoined. The remaining is now one of the most collectible coins in history to their rarity.

The Morgan dollars that managed to avoid being melted and recoined are highly sought after by coin collectors and investors. Of all of the Morgan dollars the 1895 Morgan dollar is considered the most valuable rare silver coin in the series. Auctions have seen this coin sold for up to $120,000, a hefty price for a coin whose face value was minted as $1.00

The reason the 1895 Morgan dollar, also referred to as “The King of Morgans,” is so highly sought after and valued is because of the number which are accounted for. The U.S. Mint has records showing that 12,000 Morgan dollars were struck for circulation in 1895 as well as 880 proof specimens. The interesting thing is that the whereabouts of 75 to 80 is known and all those are the proof version. This has led many to believe that perhaps the 12,000 that were recorded as being produced were never actually minted in the first place.

There are many theories as to what happened to the missing 12,000 1895 Morgan dollars. Some believe they were melted and recoined. Others have hypothesized a shipwreck leaving the coins lost at sea. No matter what you believe happened to the missing 12,000 Morgan dollars—lost, stolen or never made. The coin continues to be one of the most popular coins amongst collectors.  And even more sought after is the business strike example.

A business strike coin is one that is minted for circulation as commerce as opposed to collection. Generally a sample is made first to ensure the appearance is accurate. However, there is no known business strike example of the 1895 Morgan silver dollar. If one was in fact made it would be extremely valuable and the owner would surely be the talk of the coin collector community.

The Morgan dollar is one of the most well known of coins. Throughout its history is has continued to intrigue coin collectors and dealers, especially that of the 1895 Morgan dollar whose history seems to be the most mysterious of the series.