Safest Buying Approach For Beginners?

When you are dealing with Morgan dollars that are graded MS-60 and MS-61 they will have a lot of bag marks, and (In my opinion) not look at all appealing. Personally, I would try and get coins that are high AU (AU-55 or AU-58) or preferably MS-63 or better, because then you don't have to stare at all those bag marks. Buying AU coins would also really help you see the wear points on Morgans, so they would1 help you get a more hands on learning experience.

You can get some nice deals on Morgans in ANACS and ICG slabs over what you would pay for NGC and PCGS but you have to remember if you ever sell them they are going to sell for less as well, so you are not going to want to spend as much on these as any price guide will tell you to (and you usually don't want to buy at price guide prices even for PCGS or NGC). Until you are comfortable grading yourself I would stick with this formula. When I first started I did the same thing you are doing, I looked at all the price guides and say that there was a relatively small jump from MS-63 to MS-64 and then there was a big jump from MS-64 to MS-65 on most of the coins in the series, so I decided to get as many as I could in MS-64 because I thought they would be the best value as far as looks and how much spent. When you get below MS-63 the coins surfaces start to be distracting in my opinion and I am not happy with the way they look, I have seen many many AU-55-AU-58 coins that looks better than allot of MS-60 and MS-61 coins of the same series. You will get better at grading as you go along and look at each series more often and then you can spot those undergraded coins easier and then you can get some ANACS coins in MS-62 condition that looks better than a PCGS MS-64, but it does take time and do not rush it, if you enjoy what you are buying all the rest will come with time

I started off the same exact way you did, with the Morgan dollars. Such an amazingly beautiful coin. My personal favorite of all time.

As far as buying the coins in at least Mint State, I would say that depends on the year. You can purchase roughly 20% of all the years in MS64 for about $80/each. Whether that is within your price range or not, I don't know, but I would say it's a good place to start.

For dates such as the 1893, 1895, 1896, even buying below AU is going to set you back hundreds, if not thousands per coin.

Definitely as a beginner, start off purchasing the higher populated coins in the MS grade you can afford to get a feel for how they are graded, how you prefer them (toning, varieties, etc.), and where you like to go to purchase your coins.

Buying coins are no fun if the person selling makes you feel like you are bothersome. There is this one coin store a few towns over that has THOUSANDS of coins at a relatively good price, but I refuse to do business with him because of the way I feel when I walk out of his doors.

The most important thing to do in my opinion is to cherry-pick the graded coins. "Buy the coin, not the slab." That has so much more meaning to it than most people realize. The coin has to say something to you. You have to make sure that you walk away confident from every transaction. That out of all the '79 S Morgans you've seen graded MS64, you have the nicest looking one.

I really hope your journey in collecting Morgans goes smoothly. Wish you the best of luck!

The most important think I've learned the past few days, since I made the leap to start this "journey," is what an amazing group you have on this forum. I appreciate the time you take to help a new guy get started right!