Morgan dollar mintages steeply plunged in the early 1890s and that decade includes most of the top rarities in the series. This 1894-S issue is very elusive and one of the key scarcities of “the rare decade.” A silver dollar encyclopediaestimates that perhaps less than 5% of its low 1.3 million mintage may survive in Very Fine quality or above.The 1894 date is the second toughest to find in the 28-date Morgan dollar series. It’s the most elusive and costly Philadelphia Mintcirculation issue, commanding thousands of dollars in Very Fine quality. The most affordable choice for the date is the 1894-O (New Orleans), which is scarce in its own right. It’s estimated that as few as 40,000 may survive in our nicely detailedVery Fine quality or better.