AboutMyCoin1885-S Morgan Dollar in AU53
An 1885-S Morgan dollar graded AU53 is that coin in one particular state of preservation — the date and the mint mark are already fixed, and AU53 is what a grader called the surface that survived. What that looks like on this coin is below. The nearest grade of this date this site does have a researched figure for is About Uncirculated (AU-50), at $202 to $222, from sales and public data.
What AU53 means
An 1885-S Morgan dollar in About Uncirculated (AU-53) carries light wear over the highest points of the design, with perhaps half of the original lustre still in the fields: the hair above Liberty’s ear and the cotton bolls in her cap are visibly rubbed, and the eagle’s breast feathers and the tops of its wings show the same. It is the lowest of the three About Uncirculated rungs above fifty and the one where the rub is easiest to see, because it covers an area rather than merely touching the peaks.
A slab, a dealer’s list or a price guide may write this grade AU-53. They are the same grade and the same 1885-S Morgan dollar.
Where this grade sits
The grades an 1885-S Morgan dollar is given run from PO1 to MS70. One step up from AU53 is About Uncirculated (AU-55). In general terms, the higher the grade the more the coin is worth.
| Grade | Value range (USD) |
|---|---|
| Poor (PO-1) | |
| Fair (FR-2) | |
| About Good (AG-3) | |
| Good (G-4) | |
| Good (G-6) | |
| Very Good (VG-8) | $64 – $82 |
| Very Good (VG-10) | |
| Fine (F-12) | $89 – $106 |
| Fine (F-15) | |
| Very Fine (VF-20) | $96 – $112 |
| Very Fine (VF-25) | |
| Very Fine (VF-30) | |
| Very Fine (VF-35) | |
| Extremely Fine (XF-40) | $131 – $147 |
| Extremely Fine (XF-45) | |
| About Uncirculated (AU-50) | $202 – $222 |
| About Uncirculated (AU-53) ← this page | |
| About Uncirculated (AU-55) | |
| About Uncirculated (AU-58) | |
| Mint State (MS-60) | $336 – $415 |
| Mint State (MS-61) | |
| Mint State (MS-62) | |
| Mint State (MS-63) | |
| Mint State (MS-64) | |
| Mint State (MS-65) | $2,168 – $2,537 |
| Mint State (MS-66) | |
| Mint State (MS-67) | |
| Mint State (MS-68) | |
| Mint State (MS-69) | |
| Mint State (MS-70) |
A blank in the value column is a grade this site has not researched, not a grade the coin is worth nothing in.
How to check this yourself
Sold listings, not asking prices. The link below is already filtered to completed sales of an 1885-S Morgan dollar in AU53, which is the difference between what somebody paid and what somebody hoped for. Until this site has a researched figure for this grade, that search is the answer — take the middle of several recent sales rather than the highest.
The metal floor under it
$49.79
0.7734 troy oz silver × $64.38 per troy ounce
$64.38/ozt, based on spot prices at 23 September 2026 19:59 UTC
Whatever the market does, an 1885-S Morgan dollar cannot be worth less than the metal in it. That figure is what the premium for AU53 is measured against, and it moves with the metal price rather than with the coin market.
Where these figures come from
We gather publicly available data from several public sources including eBay, PCGS, NGC, Numista, USA Coin Book, PriceCharting, and others.
Not an appraisal. AboutMyCoin estimates from published specifications and does not authenticate or grade coins.
1885-S Morgan Dollar: every grade, the metal and the specification →