The “King of Morgan Dollars” Just Sold for $1.18 Million
One of the great trophy coins of the Morgan dollar series has crossed the seven-figure mark.
GreatCollections sold the famous Clapp-Eliasberg 1893-S Morgan Silver Dollar for $1,181,250 in its August 9, 2026 auction. PCGS grades the coin MS65, while CAC has awarded it a green approval sticker.
The result represents a new auction record for an 1893-S Morgan dollar at the MS65 grade level.
Just as importantly, the price reached more than 50% above the current $775,000 PCGS Price Guide level for the grade. In fact, the final price came in about 52% higher.
For Morgan dollar collectors, however, the number tells only part of the story. This particular 1893-S combines Gem Mint State preservation with one of the most important pedigrees attached to the key date.
It also carries a history that reaches back to the year the San Francisco Mint struck it.
Collectors Chase the “King of the Morgan Dollars”
The auction generated heavy attention before bidding closed.
GreatCollections recorded more than 14,000 page views for the lot. In addition, 433 GreatCollections members tracked it. The auction ultimately recorded 101 bids.
GreatCollections offered the coin without reserve.
According to the auction firm, the winning bidder lives in the Midwest. The buyer later took possession of the coin during the American Numismatic Association’s 2026 World’s Fair of Money.
The ANA held the convention at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh from August 25 through August 29. GreatCollections serves as the ANA’s official auctioneer.
The Clapp-Eliasberg 1893-S Morgan Silver Dollar, PCGS MS65 with CAC approval. GreatPhoto courtesy of GreatCollections, Item 2194391.
Why the 1893-S Morgan Dollar Became the King
Few regular-issue American coins combine popularity and scarcity quite like the 1893-S Morgan dollar.
The San Francisco Mint struck only 100,000 examples in 1893. That gives the issue the lowest business-strike mintage of the entire Morgan dollar series.
The timing could hardly have been worse for silver dollar production.
The Panic of 1893 brought a severe economic contraction. Railroad failures, bank collapses, falling commodity prices, and financial instability spread across the country. Meanwhile, the federal government faced growing pressure over its silver-purchasing policies.
Morgan dollar production fell sharply.
The San Francisco Mint struck all 100,000 of its 1893-S dollars in January. It produced no additional examples during the remainder of the year.
Moreover, many entered commercial channels rather than remaining untouched in Treasury vaults. As a result, collectors usually encounter the 1893-S in circulated condition.
The federal government later melted millions of Morgan dollars under the Pittman Act of 1918. Numismatist Q. David Bowers has suggested that the government may have melted tens of thousands of 1893-S dollars during that program. However, surviving melt records do not identify individual dates. Therefore, no one can determine exactly how many 1893-S dollars disappeared into the melting pots.
That combination of low original production, circulation, and attrition created one of the great condition rarities in American coinage.
Thousands May Survive, But Mint State Coins Almost Disappear
Experts have long debated the surviving population of the 1893-S.
Bowers has estimated that roughly 6,000 to 12,000 examples survive across all grades. PCGS currently places its survival estimate at 9,948 coins.
Yet the numbers collapse once Mint State enters the discussion.
PCGS estimates that only 123 examples survive in MS60 or better. Its published estimate drops to 18 coins at MS65 or better.
Even that number may prove too generous.
PCGS co-founder David Hall has argued that the true Gem population probably totals only six or seven coins. Regardless of the precise number, specialists agree on the central point: the 1893-S ranks as the rarest Morgan dollar in Mint State.
That rarity explains why advanced Morgan collectors often call it the “King of the Morgan Dollars.”
A Pedigree That Begins in 1893
The Clapp-Eliasberg coin adds another layer of importance through its extraordinary pedigree.
Its documented numismatic history begins with Philadelphia coin dealer J. Colvin Randall, who acquired the dollar in 1893.
Collector John M. Clapp acquired the coin in 1894. It then remained with the Clapp family for nearly half a century.
In 1942, legendary collector Louis E. Eliasberg Sr. purchased the entire Clapp Collection. Eliasberg ultimately assembled what numismatists recognize as the only collection to contain every United States coin by date and mintmark then considered necessary for completeness.
The 1893-S remained in his collection for decades.
The coin next appeared in the landmark 1997 Eliasberg sale, where it entered the Stellar Collection. Later, it joined the Sunnywood Collection in 2008.
From there, the dollar entered the holdings of collector Bob R. Simpson.
In 2014, an Australian collector known as the Wizard of Oz acquired it. He assembled one of the finest Morgan dollar collections ever formed.
The coin then remained overseas for roughly a decade before its 2026 return to the U.S. market.
Author Jeff Garrett also selected this specimen as the plate coin for the 1893-S in 100 Greatest U.S. Coins.
That pedigree gives collectors something that a population report cannot measure. It connects the coin directly with several of the greatest collectors and collections in American numismatic history.
The Price of an Elite 1893-S Keeps Rising
The $1,181,250 result also shows how aggressively buyers now compete for elite Morgan dollar condition rarities.
Another PCGS MS65 1893-S with CAC approval brought $600,000 at auction in November 2020.
The new GreatCollections result nearly doubles that figure.
However, one extraordinary 1893-S still occupies the throne.
GreatCollections sold the famous Vermeule-Jack Lee-Coronet 1893-S Morgan Dollar, graded PCGS MS67 with CAC approval, for $2,086,875 on August 29, 2021.
That transaction made it the first Morgan dollar to cross the $2 million level at public auction. It also established the auction record for the entire Morgan dollar series.
The Clapp-Eliasberg MS65 now ranks directly beneath that historic result among the most important public sales of the date.
Russell: The Coin’s Originality Stands Out
GreatCollections President Ian Russell said bidders from around the world pursued the rarity.
Russell described the 1893-S as a major numismatic trophy from one of America’s most widely collected series. He also singled out the coin’s appearance.
According to Russell, many specialists consider the Clapp-Eliasberg specimen the most attractive surviving 1893-S Morgan dollar. He pointed specifically to its luster and originality.
The sale also carried a personal coincidence for Russell, who grew up in Australia. According to him, the consignor lives only a few minutes from his former home in Sydney.
1893-S Morgan Dollar Specifications
- Denomination: One Dollar
- Mint: San Francisco
- Mintage: 100,000
- Designer: George T. Morgan
- Composition: 90% silver, 10% copper
- Weight: 26.73 grams
- Diameter: 38.1 mm
- Silver Content: 0.77344 troy ounce
- Edge: Reeded
- Strike: Business Strike
Why This $1.18 Million Morgan Dollar Matters
The sale represents more than another seven-figure auction result.
The Morgan dollar remains one of the most widely collected American coin series. As a result, the best examples of its key dates attract competition from traditional collectors, registry-set participants, and trophy-coin buyers.
The 1893-S sits at the center of that demand.
A collector can eventually locate a circulated example with patience and sufficient resources. Mint State examples present a far greater challenge. Gems occupy another category entirely.
Then pedigree enters the equation.
This coin passed through the Clapp, Eliasberg, Stellar, Sunnywood, Simpson, and Wizard of Oz collections. It also carries MS65 certification from PCGS and CAC approval.
Consequently, buyers did not compete for an ordinary 1893-S.
They competed for one of the defining examples of the “King of the Morgan Dollars.”
At $1,181,250, the market delivered its verdict.
GreatCollections Continues to Seek Major Rarities
GreatCollections says it continues to seek key-date Morgan dollars and other major U.S. coins for future auctions. Collectors may also submit want lists so the company can alert them when matching coins enter future sales.
Prospective consignors can contact GreatCollections through its selling department or by calling 800-442-6467.
About GreatCollections
Ian Russell founded GreatCollections in 2010. The company specializes in certified coins and banknotes and handles transactions from consignment through auction settlement.
According to GreatCollections, the firm has auctioned more than 1.8 million certified coins with a combined value exceeding $1.5 billion.
GreatCollections also serves as the official auctioneer of the American Numismatic Association.
Russell belongs to the Professional Numismatists Guild and the National Auctioneers Association. The ANA also named him a recipient of its Harry J. Forman Dealer of the Year Award.
Collectors can find additional information through GreatCollections or call 800-442-6467.
