1889 Morgan Dollar Small Date - Coin Community Forum

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Author	Replies: 7 / Views: 485
IndianHeadCletus New Member United States 12 Posts	Posted 03/04/2026 10:54 pm I just purchased two Morgan dollars - a 1886 and an 1889 both Philadelphia. When comparing the two coins, I realized that the date stamp on the 1889 seems slightly smaller than the one on the 1886. If you count the number of rim "pips" (I don't know what to call the protrusions around the inside of the rim on the faces), the 1889 spans 11 pips whereas the 1886 spans 12 - I used this to check the "sizes" of date stamps of some 1889 coins online and they all also span 11 pips. Was there a slight reduction in the side of the date in 1889? You would not be able to tell unless you were looking at this coin side by side with an earlier one. Or, were the earlier dates simply larger? Report this Post to the Staff

IndianHeadCletus New Member United States 12 Posts	Posted 03/04/2026 11:00 pm Report this Post to the Staff
JimmyD Bedrock of the Community Canada 21583 Posts	Posted 03/05/2026 07:30 am The "pips" are known as denticles. You can't compare two different years as they are different dies. The numbers are the same size, it is the spacing between the numbers that are different. This is not unusual for different years. Report this Post to the Staff
Bump111 Pillar of the Community United States 3323 Posts	Posted 03/05/2026 08:52 am Quote: You can't compare two different years as they are different dies. That's right. In the time period when the Morgan dies were prepared, dates were hand stamped onto each die. If you look at VamWorld for both 1886 and 1889, you will see a link to an attribution page entitled "Sort by Date Position." You might be able to narrow down the variety of each coin by going through those groupings. You will see listings such as normal date, near date, far date, slanted date, etc. Have fun attributing your coins and let us know what you find. If you would like help from the fine folks here on CCF, add reverse images of the two coins and we might see other markers that can be used. "Nummi rari mira sunt, si sumptus ferre potes." - Christophorus filius Scotiae Report this Post to the Staff
Bump111 Pillar of the Community United States 3323 Posts	Posted 03/05/2026 08:56 am In case you are unfamiliar with the VamWorld site, I will add links to the two pages referenced above: https://vamworld.com/wiki/1886-P_Obverses https://vamworld.com/wiki/1889-P_Obverse "Nummi rari mira sunt, si sumptus ferre potes." - Christophorus filius Scotiae Report this Post to the Staff
Rocky B Valued Member United States 109 Posts	Posted 03/05/2026 10:12 am How come there's always scratches on her cheeck? Report this Post to the Staff
livingwater Pillar of the Community United States 2213 Posts	Posted 03/05/2026 12:28 pm Millions of Morgan dollars were made. Many were released into ciculation and show wear. But many others were kept in bank vaults and not released. They were stored in bags. These were eventually sold to the public in the 1960s-1970s. Though never in circulation they have marks on them scratches, dings from rubbing against each other in the bag being tossed about. Collectors call them bag marks. They can still be graded as MS mint state even with the surface problems, the fewer the marks the higher the MS grade. The cheek is higher on the coin and often has some damage. Here is photo of Morgans being stored in a bank vault in about 1910. It was a black/white pic that was colorized later. Edited by livingwater 03/05/2026 2:19 pm Report this Post to the Staff
Dearborn Moderator United States 94666 Posts	Posted 03/05/2026 8:12 pm to CCF. @IndianHeadCletus Nice explanation Livingwater Collecting since 1972. Learning from then on "Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn." - Benjamin Franklin 7070 type set coin count: 51/76 Uncirculated American Silver Eagles My American Silver Eagle Proof Collection Sacagawea Dollars Innovation Dollars Eisenhower-Dollars Kennedy-Half Dollars Washington-Quarters Roosevelt-Dimes Buffalo-Nickels 1938-2005 Jefferson-Nickels Lincoln-Cents Report this Post to the Staff
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