Morgan Dollars

There are few relics, like the Morgan Silver Dollar, that show us a glimpse into our past as an evolving country. The Morgan Silver Dollar was successfully minted from 1878 to 1904 and again for one more year in 1921. Throughout its 27 years of production, two famous mints closed their doors, three bills were passed to approve the minting of silver dollars, and the Denver Mint was established and currently stands as the world leader of coin production. The Morgan Silver Dollar has a fineness of .900, and weighs a total silver content of 0.77344 troy ounces per coin. After 130 years of being minted, the Morgan Silver Dollar is still among the most popular coins sold in the country and is also advised as a smart investment, due to its low mintage averages and 90% silver content.

Market Summary

Metal/Chg	Bid	Ask
Updated: 10/14/19 09:00:02
Gold 0.23	$1,489.76	$1,490.30
Silver 0.02	$17.57	$17.58
Platinum -3.75	$890.89	$891.80
Palladium 3.80	$1,702.52	$1,706.45
Rhodium	$5,250.00	$5,340.00

Metal/Chg

Bid

Ask

Updated: 10/14/19 09:00:02

Gold

0.23

$1,489.76

$1,490.30

Silver

0.02

$17.57

$17.58

Platinum

-3.75

$890.89

$891.80

Palladium

3.80

$1,702.52

$1,706.45

Rhodium

$5,250.00

$5,340.00

An Icon of US History

The Morgan Silver Dollar is what one thinks of when referring to the old silver dollars. Replacing the Seated Liberty Dollar, the Morgan offered a fresh perspective on the traditional design of the US coin. Ever since the Mint Act of 1792, the US Mint was required to feature an emblematic symbol of Liberty on all of its coins. This bill resulted in an overuse of Lady Liberty's portrait, with the US Bald Eagle at a close second. On the Morgan Silver Dollar's obverse, Lady Liberty's full body is not pictured, which wasn't the norm for her design. Instead, Lady Liberty's lovely face and delicate features became the highlight of the coin's portrait. Lady Liberty came to life through this design and is quite a memorable one at that. The Morgan Silver Dollar's legacy lives on today, representing a past that is the foundation of this nation.

The Man Behind the Coin

George T. Morgan was an English immigrant when given the chance to work directly under William Barber, at the US Mint. Morgan's continuous education and dedication to die engraving literally unleashed a whole new world from what he was used to. Although he was only the Assistant Engraver, Morgan's talent could not be ignored and so he was assigned the daunting task of designing the new dollar. It wouldn't be until 40 years later that George T. Morgan would become the 7th Chief Engraver of the US Mint. Throughout his time at the mint, Morgan designed other coin collections but all fail in comparison to the timeless Morgan Silver Dollar.

The Politics of Silver

The Morgan Silver Dollar was minted from 1878-1904, then continued in 1921. The Morgan's sporadic production only gives a small glimpse into the politics of this new nation. The first act that actually helped the beginning of the Morgan's production was the Coinage Act of 1873. This bill outlawed the free coining of silver, leading to the Seated Liberty Dollar's demise. The Bland-Allison Act was an act that allowed the US Mint to produce the Morgan Silver Dollar using the silver the Treasury was enforced to purchase from the public at market value. In 1890, the Bland-Allison Act was repealed and the Sherman Silver Purchase Act took its place. Now, the US Treasury's silver amount needed to exceed 4.5 million, instead of the 2-4 million range from the previous act. Congress then passed a bill, requiring the US Mint to use the silver reserves from the Sherman Silver Purchase Act to continue the coin production. In 1904, those reserves were depleted and that ended the Morgan's production as well. But in 1918, the Pittman Act was passed, authorizing the minting and reissuing of the silver coins. In 1921, the Morgan Silver Dollar was produced one last time before being entirely replaced by the Peace Silver Dollar.

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Morgan Dollars

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An Icon of US History

The Man Behind the Coin

The Politics of Silver

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