Where do you look on a Morgan dollar to see if it is rare?

Answer 1

You have to look at two places on the coin, and a couple of places online.

First, you need to know the coin's date. Next you need to look above the DO in DOLLAR on the back to see if there's a mint mark letter. Possible letters are:

• No mint mark = Philadelphia
• S = San Francisco
• O = New Orleans
• CC = Carson City (up to 1893)
• D = Denver (1921 only)

Armed with that knowledge, you can then check a price guide showing retail values for each date, mint mark, and condition - two good ones are linked below. If you want to sell the coin you'll have to decide how much effort to put into it. A dealer will pay wholesale, about 2/3 or so of retail, but you'll have the money right away. You could get more on eBay or another auction site but you have to handle the sale yourself.