Morgan Dollar Coin
Morgan dollars are US dollar coins minted during the years 1878 through 1904, 1921, and again in 2021. It was the first ever standard silver dollar minted following the passage of the Coinage Act of 1873, which ended the free coining of silver and the production of the Seated Liberty dollar design.
Major dollar coin enthusiasts claim that the Morgan features the best design out of all silver dollars, making it an immediate sellout among US citizens during its initial release back in 1878. The coveted design may seem quite similar to that of the Bust Silver Dollar, but keen eyes will easily notice that the Morgan is much more intricately detailed. Nonetheless, the classic Morgan silver dollar is still one of the most-collected coins in the US, so much that it has now become a staple of the numismatic market. Today, it is considered as an exciting factor that makes avid coin collectors look forward to more adventures in the industry.
Design
The Morgan dollar was named after its designer, George T. Morgan – Assistant Engraver to the United States Mint. Its obverse features a profile portrait depicting Liberty. The coin’s reverse, on the other hand, displays an eagle with its wings outstretched. If present, a mint mark should appear on the coin’s reverse, above the letter “o” in the word “Dollar.” In 2006, the eagle design on the Morgan dollar coin’s reverse was used on another silver dollar that was primarily issued to commemorate the Old San Francisco Mint building.
History
In 1873, the Bland-Allison Act was established, which required the Treasury to acquire $2-4M worth of silver at market value to be minted into dollars each month. This ultimately gave birth to the Morgan dollar.
The US Mint ceased striking the Morgan dollar in 1904 due to wide depletion of silver reserves. Morgan dollars only resumed mintage for the entirety of 1921, pursuant to the Pittman Act of 1918, which authorized the melting and recoining of millions of silver dollars. However, the Peace dollar was introduced later that same year as a replacement for the Morgan dollar.
During the early 1960s, an impressive amount of uncirculated Morgan dollars still encased in its original bags was retrieved from the Treasury vaults. This included Morgan dollar issues that were thought to be actually rare. As a response, individuals started to acquire them in huge quantities at face value, then completely removed the coins from circulation through solid and persistent hoarding. Due to this, the Treasury eventually had to cease exchanging silver certificates for silver coins.