1896 $1 Morgan Silver Dollar, PCGS MS67 - Condition Rarity

Numismatic author Dave Harper writes, "A condition rarity means the coin is rare because few or no other coins are known in such a high state of preservation." Even though this issue is one of the more common Morgan dollars (even up to MS-65), it is a condition rarity in higher grades, especially in MS67! Collectors often crave such Condition Rarities, for to have a "top pop" or elevated grade near the top is a matter of great pride. Such coins are the subject of collecting for many numismatists who incorporate them in Registry Sets of either PCGS or NGC coins.

There is much romance about the Wild West, the shootout at the O.K. Corral, and other western lore associated with Morgan dollars. Did Wyatt Earp have silver dollars in his pocket when he stopped by the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona Territory, in 1881? It is very possible. Did "Pawnee" Bill, "Buffalo Bill" Cody, Chief Sitting Bull, Billy the Kid, Annie Oakley, or Frank Butler pay for a drink, or provisions, or an article of clothing in the Rockies during the late 1800s? If so, the distinctive clang of a Morgan dollar was heard as it was dropped onto a wooden bar or store counter. Piles of silver dollars sat at the gaming tables in Rhyolite, Tincup, Silver Reef and other gambling towns that dotted the Wild West. In banks, bordellos, and bistros in Helena, Cheyenne, San Francisco, and Denver, cashiers nonchalantly handled silver dollars each and every day.