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Morgan dollar

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Dollar
United States
Value1 U.S. Dollar
Mass26.73 g
Diameter38.1 mm
Thickness3.1 mm
EdgeReeded
Composition90.0% Ag
10.0% Cu
Years of minting1878–1904; 1921
Catalog number-
Obverse
File:Morganfront.jpg
DesignLady Liberty
DesignerGeorge T. Morgan
Design date1878
Reverse
File:Morganback.jpg
DesignEagle holding arrows and olive branch
DesignerGeorge T. Morgan
Design date1878
For the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team, see Morgan-Dollar Motorsports.

The Morgan Dollar is a silver United States dollar coin. The dollars were minted from 1878 to 1904 and again for one more year in 1921. The Morgan Dollar is named after its designer, George T. Morgan, who designed the obverse and reverse of the coin. Morgan's monogram appears near Lady Liberty's neck on the obverse. The dollar was authorized by the Bland-Allison Act of 1878. It has a fineness of .900, giving a total silver content of 0.77344 troy ounces (24.057 grams) per coin.

History

The Comstock Lode, the greatest silver strike in history, occurred in Nevada in the late 1850s. The strike put downward pressure on silver prices worldwide. The greatest silver strike in history was followed by the greatest coinage boondoggle in history. In 1878, to protect the interest of the western states, Congress passed the Bland-Allison Act which required the Treasury Department to purchase large amounts of silver, and to strike it as coins. For reasons of economy, the Treasury chose to strike the silver as dollars. The mintage was far more than was needed in circulation. These excess silver dollars quickly began piling up. Some original mint bags of Morgan dollars remained in treasury vaults until the 1960s. This strange past has led to one of the greatest collectible series in American coins providing collectors with many dates and mint marks readily obtainable in mint state condition along with challenging rarities.

When the dollar was minted in 1878, it was the first dollar issued for American commercial use since the last Seated Liberty Dollar of 1873. The Trade Dollar was minted during this time period but was for trade in the orient. The dollar was continuously minted until 1904 when the supply of dollars in circulation was high and there was an absence of silver bullion. Then in 1918, the Pittman Act called for over 270 million coins to be destroyed for silver content. In 1921, the coinage of the Morgan Dollar resumed for that year and was replaced by the Peace Dollar commemorative that would become standard issue. Since 1921, many Morgan Dollars have been melted, mostly when silver prices escalate and they yield silver bullion.

Caches of Morgan Dollars produced at the Carson City Mint were discovered and were sold to coin collectors by the federal government in the early 1970s. These dollars were uncirculated and are called GSAs (named after the General Services Administration) and come in holds that mimic the holds used for proof silver Eisenhower dollars.

Mints

File:Morganmintmark.jpg
Morgan Dollar Mint Mark Location

Mintmarks appear underneath the tail feathers of the bald eagle on the reverse between the letters D and O in Dollar. Mintmarks include:

Of all of these mints, the dollars from Carson City hold more value because of their usually low mintages, as well as a western connection. All proofs for the Morgan series were minted at Philadelphia but proof 1921-S coins are known to exist.

Mintages

Year Mint mark Mintage Year Mint mark Mintage
1878 8TF   750,000 1891   8,694,206
1878   9,759,550 1891 CC 1,618,000
1878 CC 2,212,000 1891 O 7,954,529
1878 S 9,774,000 1891 S 5,296,000
1879   14,807,100 1892   1,037,245
1879 CC 756,000 1892 CC 1,352,000
1879 O 2,887,000 1892 O 2,744,000
1879 S 9,110,000 1892 S 1,200,000
1880   12,601,355 1893   378,792
1880 CC 591,000 1893 CC 677,000
1880 O 5,305,000 1893 O 300,000
1880 S 8,900,000 1893 S 100,000
1881   9,163,984 1894   110,972
1881 CC 296,000 1894 O 1,723,000
1881 O 5,708,000 1894 S 1,260,000
1881 S 12,760,000 1895 O 450,000
1882   11,101,100 1895 S 400,000
1882 CC 1,133,000 1896   9,976,762
1882 O 6,090,000 1896 O 4,900,000
1882 S 9,250,000 1896 S 5,000,000
1883   12,291,039 1897   2,822,731
1883 CC 1,204,000 1897 O 4,004,000
1883 O 8,725,000 1897 S 5,825,000
1883 S 6,250,000 1898   5,884,735
1884   14,070,875 1898 O 4,440,000
1884 CC 1,136,000 1898 S 4,102,000
1884 O 9,730,000 1899   330,846
1884 S 3,200,000 1899 O 12,290,000
1885 CC 238,000 1899 S 2,562,000
1885 O 9,185,000 1900   8,830,912
1885 S 1,497,000 1900 O 12,590,000
1886   19,963,886 1900 S 3,540,000
1886 O 10,710,000 1901   6,962,813
1886 S 750,000 1901 O 13,320,000
1887   20,290,710 1901 S 2,284,000
1887 O 11,550,000 1902   7,994,777
1887 S 1,771,000 1902 O 8,636,000
1888   19,183,832 1902 S 1,530,000
1888 O 12,150,000 1903   4,652,755
1888 S 657,000 1903 O 4,450,000
1889   21,726,811 1903 S 1,241,000
1889 CC 350,000 1904   2,788,650
1889 O 11,875,000 1904 O 3,720,000
1889 S 700,000 1904 S 2,304,000
1890   16,802,590 1921   44,690,000
1890 CC 2,309,041 1921 D 20,345,000
1890 O 10,701,000 1921 S 21,695,000
1890 S 8,230,373

Deep Mirror Proof Like (DMPL)

DMPL coins are regular Morgan Dollars that were struck for circulation but have unusually frosted legends and devices and very reflective, mirror-like, fields. There are coins that are heavy DMPL, meaning that they are very frosted/mirrored, and coins that are light DMPL, meaning they are not completely frosted/mirrored. These coins occur most frequently during the pre-1883 run of San Francisco dollars. Even with these examples, these coins are worth much more than a regular coin by the same grade.

Special Varieties/Errors

The Morgan Dollar is known for many different varieties, called VAMs. Below are the most common ones:

  • 1878-P: 8 Tail Feathers
  • 1879-CC: Clear CC
  • 1882-O over S
  • 1887-O: 7 over 6
  • 1888-O: Doubled Obverse ("Hot Lips")
  • 1900-O over CC
  • 1901-P: Doubled Reverse

Rarities

As with any coin series, when it comes to Morgans, original mintage does not always determine value. Some coins with a higher mintage have more value due to less coins having survived to the present day. Below is a list of rarities:

  • Any Carson City Coin
  • 1883-S: Uncirculated Grades are Scarce
  • 1884-S: Uncirculated Grades are Scarce
  • 1892-S: Uncirculated Grades are Scarce
  • 1893-S
  • 1894-P
  • 1895-P
  • 1895-O
  • 1895-S
  • 1896-S
  • 1899-P
  • 1901-P: Uncirculated Grades are Scarce
  • 1903-O
  • 1903-S
  • 1904-S

1889-CC, 1893-S, and 1895 Proof

These three dates/mints are the most difficult to find and the most valuable of the entire Morgan series. This is mainly due to their low mintage figures.

  • 1889-CC: 350,000
  • 1893-S: 100,000
  • 1895 Proof: 12,880

Of these, the 1895 Proof is one of the most valuable with a PF-63 coin worth $47,500 according to the 2007 Red Book. If they are only proofs, there are only 880 1895 Proof coins that have survived. This rarity has caused attempts to forge an 1895-P by removing a mintmark from an also rare 1895-O or 1895-S.

References

  • Yeoman, R.S. A Guide Book of United States Coins Atlanta: Whitman Publishing, 2007
  • Edler, Joel and Harper, Dave U.S. Coin Digest Iola: Krause Publications, 2004


Preceded by Dollar Coin of the United States (1878–1904, 1921)

Concurrent with:

Trade Dollar (1878–1885)

Large Head Indian Gold Dollar - Type III (1878–1889)

Peace Dollar (1921)

Succeeded by
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