Quietly and patiently acquiring superb quality coin-after-coin over the past 14 years, an Illinois collector working with Barry Stuppler of Mint State Gold by Stuppler and Company (www.MintStateGold.com) in Woodland Hills, California has now assembled the all-time finest collection of circulation strike Morgan silver dollars.
The previously unreported collection is now listed as all-time finest in five different Morgan dollar categories in the popular PCGS Set Registry® (www.PCGS.com/setregistry).
Known as The Illinois Set and now insured for $12 million, its grade point average surpasses such famous Hall of Fame and previous top Morgan dollar circulation strike sets as Jack Lee, Coronet Collection, California1 and IPS.
"The owner of The Illinois Set wants to remain anonymous, and he deliberately did not want to previously list his coins in the PCGS Set Registry until he achieved his goal of building the best set ever of historic Morgan silver dollars. That goal was happily accomplished this month (June 2019)," explained Stuppler.
"The building of The Illinois Set started in 2005. I have many clients building registry sets, but one of the proudest moments of my 59-year numismatic career was the day I posted the Illinois Morgan Dollar set. It took us 14 years to assemble it," said Stuppler.
The 117-coin Illinois Set Morgan dollar collection, with a record-setting PCGS grade point average of 66.583, contains 51 coins that are the finest known; 15 that are the single finest and 36 other coins that are tied for finest known.
Highlights of the collection include:
- 1880-CC PCGS MS68 PQ, single finest known, ex. Jack Lee.
- 1883-S, PCGS MS67+ PL PQ/CAC, single finest known, ex. Eliasberg.
- 1884-S, PCGS MS67 CAC, ex. Jack Lee.
- 1885-CC PCGS MS68+ CAC, single finest known, ex. Jack Lee.
- 1892-CC PCGS MS67+ PQ/CAC, single finest known.
- 1893-S PCGS MS65 CAC.
- 1901 PCGS MS66, single finest known, ex. Jack Lee.
- 1903-S PCGS MS67+, single finest known, ex. Eliasberg.
"Achieving the coveted number one spot for a set within the PCGS Set Registry is a feat on its own, and to be able to claim this top honor in five separate Set Registry composites is a true numismatic accomplishment," said David Talk, PCGS Set Registry Manager.
"Not only are these sets the number one current finest set in each composite, they have surpassed some well-known sets which have won PCGS Set Registry awards spanning across 10-plus years. This is an interesting development with the Annual PCGS Set Registry Awards Luncheon quickly approaching," stated Talk.
The five PCGS Set Registry categories with The Illinois Set now listed as all-time finest are:
-
97-coin Morgan Dollars Basic Set, Circulation Strikes, 1878-1921
(https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/dollars/morgan-dollars-major-sets/morgan-dollars-basic-set-circulation-strikes-1878-1921/88); -
117-coin Morgan Dollars with Major Varieties, Circulation 1878-1921
(https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/dollars/morgan-dollars-major-sets/morgan-dollars-major-varieties-circulation-strikes-1878-1921/221); -
26-coin New Orleans Morgan Dollars, Circulation Strike 1879-1904
(https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/dollars/branch-mint-dollars/new-orleans-morgan-dollars-circulation-strikes-1879-1904/1318); -
29-coin Philadelphia Morgan Dollars, Circulation Strike 1878-1921
(https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/dollars/branch-mint-dollars/philadelphia-morgan-dollars-circulation-strikes-1878-1921/6505); and -
28-coin San Francisco Morgan Dollars, Circulation Strike 1878-1921
(https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/dollars/branch-mint-dollars/san-francisco-morgan-dollars-circulation-strikes-1878-1921/6506).
For additional information about Mint State Gold by Stuppler and Company, contact Barry Stuppler at 818-592-2800 or support@mintstategold.com.
For additional information about the PCGS Set Registry, visit www.PCGS.com/setregistry.
