1890-S $1 MS(PCGS#7202)

November 2025 Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

3082

Grade

MS67

Price

37,200

Lot Description

An elegant brilliance on both sides shows off sensational Superb Gem surfaces for this stunning 1890-S dollar. The luster is smooth and billowy with a satiny texture. Expertly produced and just as carefully preserved, we cannot recall ever having offered an example of this issue that either rivals or exceeds this piece. It is an ultimate 1890-S that will impress even the most discerning Morgan enthusiast.<p>Writing in his standard 1993 reference <em>Silver Dollars & Trade Dollars of the United States: A Complete Encyclopedia</em>, Q. David Bowers outlines the coinage context of this issue as follows:<p><em>The Bland-Allison Act, under which silver had been purchased for the minting of dollars since 1878, was repealed and replaced by the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of July 14, 1890. Under the new legislation, the Treasury was ordered to buy 4.5 million ounces of silver per month (subject to certain provisions), and to pay for same with a new issue of paper money (known to collectors today as Coin Notes, Series 1890). In essence, the government once again provided a subsidy for silver mine owners, in obeisance to western politicians. Further (per the wording of the act): "The secretary of the Treasury shall each month coin two million ounces of the silver bullion...into standard silver dollars until [July 1, 1891], after which time he shall coin...as much as may be necessary to provide for the redemption of the Treasury notes herein provided for..."</em><p>The San Francisco Mint's first issue under the Sherman Act, the 1890-S was produced to the extent of 8,230,373 pieces. While many of these coins were placed immediately into circulation in the West, most went into government storage, with enough of the latter surviving that this issue is readily obtainable today in lower Mint State grades. Any finer than MS-65, however, and the conditionally challenging nature of the 1890-S comes readily to the fore. As a Superb Gem the coin offered here is a top-pop condition rarity of the highest order that belongs in the finest Morgan dollar collection on the PCGS Set Registry.