Sharing My Dad's Four Silver Dollars

Collects82 - Neat photo! See though most of yours are still rather silvery...

I have always envied people who have neat things passed down through the family, valuable or not... I swear no one on either side either kept anything, or bothered to pass anything down! Or there were just too many kids (my father is one of 14 kids, Ma had tons of aunts/uncles). I do know one grandmother left coins to a nephew but that's about it! It's rather sad, really...

ANYHOO, I agree about the cash I might get for them... 2-3 tanks of gas and GONE! ;-)

I'd hold on to them as a keepsake.

It isn't wear. Just a characteristic of the design. The lettering was in VERY low relief and the edges weren't sharply defined. The lettering is often weak even on well struck MS coins.

Hold on to them.

Indeed Nells250, vamming is quite complicated, I do it whenever I acquire a new silver dollar for the fun of it.

I too acquired a decent amount of antiques from my dad, especially his coin collection, and he acquired some of those coins from my grandfather. From that platform, I greatly added to it, and have branched out into multiple venues in coins.

(Pertaining to Collects82 coins) It can be but there are only a few to really look at here, the first 3 Morgans and the 1901.

First off what number tailfeathers on the 1878? Assuming there isn't a Mintmark on it. If 8TF then definitely VAM it, if an S mint mark is on either the 1878 or the 1879 then a simple look at the arrows will tell you if you have a super rare one, 1878-S Long Arrow Shaft or 1879-S Reverse of '78 variety slant of the arrow feathers 78 is straight and 79 is slanted. 1880-S look at the 80 in the date for signs of any overdate, usually pretty obvious.
1901 could be the shifted eagle VAM3 strong doubling on the tailfeathers at the bottom (very obvious).

Nells250 I'd try to just purchase the 1885-P Morgan from your dad if you had to pick only one. It's the coolest and best looking IMO (besides the oldest).Going silver value is around $22.00 on them as of 5/2021 It would be worth having at least one to keep - I got my Grandpa's last silver dollar and it's in a holder labeling that and NOT FOR SALE on it. Locked away in my safe. It's worth less than yours is as it's much more worn and also a very common date, but it was his last Morgan dollar he had, so that's why I'm keeping it. I also had my dad's only old coin but it was taken in a home burglary when I was about 16. That I miss still it was an 1892-O Barber dime in Good. My Dad had traded a baseball card for it when he was a kid. Wish I had that to go along with the Morgan from his Dad.