Morgan (1878-1921)

The Morgan Dollar is a silver United States dollar coin. The dollars were minted from 1878–1904 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. more...

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 silver content of .900, which is equivalent to 0.77344 troy ounces (or 24.057 grams) per coin.

History

The Comstock Lode, the greatest silver strike in history, occurred in Nevada in the late 1850's. 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 forced the mintage of millions of silver dollars and their purchase by the treasury department. 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 1960's. This strange past has lead 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.

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