Morgan silver dollar
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The Morgan dollar is a
United States dollar coin The dollar coin is a United States coin with a face value of one United States dollar. Dollar coins have been minted in the United States in gold, silver, and base metal versions. Dollar coins were first minted in the United States in 1794. While ...
minted from 1878 to 1904, in 1921, and beginning again in 2021. It was the first standard silver dollar minted since the passage of the
Coinage Act of 1873 The Coinage Act of 1873 or Mint Act of 1873, was a general revision of laws relating to the Mint of the United States. By ending the right of holders of silver bullion to have it coined into standard silver dollars, while allowing holders of go ...
, which ended the free coining of silver and the production of the previous design, the
Seated Liberty dollar The Seated Liberty dollar was a dollar coin struck by the United States Mint from 1840 to 1873 and designed by its chief engraver, Christian Gobrecht. It was the last silver coin of that denomination to be struck before passage of the Coinage Ac ...
. It contained 412.5 grains of 90% pure silver (or 371.25 gr = 24.056 g = 0.7735 oz t of pure silver). The coin is named after its designer, United States Mint Assistant Engraver
George T. Morgan George Thomas Morgan (November 24, 1845 – January 4, 1925) was a United States Mint engraver who is famous for designing many popular coins, such as the Morgan dollar, the reverse of the Columbian Exposition half dollar, and the reverse of the ...
. The
obverse Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ''o ...
depicts a profile portrait representing
Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...
, modeled by Anna Willess Williams, while the reverse depicts an eagle with wings outstretched. The mint mark, if present, appears on the reverse above between D and O in "Dollar". The dollar was authorized by the
Bland–Allison Act The Bland–Allison Act, also referred to as the Grand Bland Plan of 1878, was an act of United States Congress requiring the U.S. Treasury to buy a certain amount of silver and put it into circulation as silver dollars. Though the bill was vetoe ...
. Following the passage of the 1873 act, mining interests lobbied to restore free silver, which would require the Mint to accept all silver presented to it and return it, struck into coin. Instead, the Bland–Allison Act was passed, which required the Treasury to purchase between two and four million dollars' worth of silver at market value to be coined into dollars each month. In 1890, the Bland–Allison Act was repealed by the
Sherman Silver Purchase Act The Sherman Silver Purchase Act was a United States federal law enacted on July 14, 1890.Charles Ramsdell Lingley, ''Since the Civil War'', first edition: New York, The Century Co., 1920, ix–635 p., . Re-issued: Plain Label Books, unknown date, ...
, which required the Treasury to purchase of silver each month, but only required further silver dollar production for one year. This act, once again, was repealed in 1893. In 1898, Congress approved a bill that required all remaining bullion purchased under the Sherman Silver Purchase Act to be coined into silver dollars. When those silver reserves were depleted in 1904, the Mint ceased to strike the Morgan dollar. The Pittman Act, passed in 1918, authorized the melting and recoining of millions of silver dollars. Pursuant to the act, Morgan dollars resumed mintage for one year in 1921. The design was replaced by the
Peace dollar The Peace dollar is a United States dollar coin minted for circulation from 1921 to 1928 and in 1934 and 1935, and beginning again in 2021. Designed by Anthony de Francisci, the coin was the result of a competition to find designs emblematic of ...
later the same year. In the early 1960s, a large quantity of uncirculated Morgan dollars in their original bags were discovered in the Treasury vaults, including issues once thought rare. Individuals began purchasing large quantities of the pieces at face value and then removed them from circulation through hoarding, and eventually the Treasury ceased exchanging silver certificates for silver coin. Beginning in the 1970s, the Treasury conducted a sale of silver dollars minted at the
Carson City Mint The Carson City Mint was a branch of the United States Mint in Carson City, Nevada. It primarily minted silver coins; however, it also minted gold coins, with a total face value in dollars nearly equal to that of its silver coins. The mint minted ...
through the
General Services Administration The General Services Administration (GSA) is an independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. GSA supplies products and communications for U.S. gover ...
. In 2006, Morgan's reverse design was used on a silver dollar issued to commemorate the old
San Francisco Mint The San Francisco Mint is a branch of the United States Mint. Opened in 1854 to serve the gold mines of the California Gold Rush, in twenty years its operations exceeded the capacity of the first building. It moved into a new one in 1874, now kno ...
building. The US Mint began striking Morgan Dollars again in 2021, initially as a commemorative to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the conclusion of the design’s final usage, then as an annual release starting in 2023.


Background

In 1873,
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
enacted the
Fourth Coinage Act The Coinage Act of 1873 or Mint Act of 1873, was a general revision of laws relating to the Mint of the United States. By ending the right of holders of silver bullion to have it coined into standard silver dollars, while allowing holders of go ...
, which effectively ended the
bimetallic standard Bimetallism, also known as the bimetallic standard, is a monetary standard in which the value of the monetary unit is defined as equivalent to certain quantities of two metals, typically gold and silver, creating a fixed rate of exchange betwee ...
in the United States by demonetizing silver bullion. Prior to enactment of the Coinage Act, silver could be brought to the mints and coined into legal tender for a small fee. With such a system in place, bullion producers could have silver coined into dollars when the intrinsic value of a silver dollar was lower than the face value, thus making a profit, flooding the money supply and causing inflation. The act ended production of the standard silver dollar (then the
Seated Liberty dollar The Seated Liberty dollar was a dollar coin struck by the United States Mint from 1840 to 1873 and designed by its chief engraver, Christian Gobrecht. It was the last silver coin of that denomination to be struck before passage of the Coinage Ac ...
, as designed by
Christian Gobrecht Christian Gobrecht (December 23, 1785 – July 23, 1844) was the third Chief Engraver of the United States Mint from 1840 until his death in 1844. He was responsible for designing the famous " Seated Liberty" designs, which were in turn the di ...
) and provided for mintage of a silver
trade dollar Trade dollars are silver coins minted as trade coins by various countries to facilitate trade with China and the Orient. They all approximated in weight and fineness to the Spanish dollar, which had set the standard for a de facto common currency ...
, which was intended to compete with Mexican dollars for use in the
Orient The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the c ...
. Under the act, bullion producers were allowed to bring bullion to the mints in order to be cast into bars or coined into the newly authorized trade dollars for a small fee. Trade dollars initially held legal tender status, but it was revoked in 1876 to prevent bullion producers from making a profit by coining silver into trade dollars when the value of the metal was low. The restrictions on free coinage laid out in the Coinage Act initially met little resistance from mining interests until the price of silver declined rapidly due to increased mining in the
Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...
. Protests also came from bankers, manufacturers and farmers, who felt an increased money supply would have a positive impact. Groups were formed that demanded the free coinage of silver (or "
free silver Free silver was a major economic policy issue in the United States in the late 19th-century. Its advocates were in favor of an expansionary monetary policy featuring the unlimited coinage of silver into money on-demand, as opposed to strict adhe ...
") in order to inflate the dollar following the
Panic of 1873 The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis that triggered an economic depression in Europe and North America that lasted from 1873 to 1877 or 1879 in France and in Britain. In Britain, the Panic started two decades of stagnation known as the "Lon ...
. Beginning in 1876, several bills were introduced in the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
in an effort to resume the free coinage of silver. One such bill introduced into the House by Democratic Representative
Richard P. Bland Richard Parks Bland (August 19, 1835 – June 15, 1899) was an American politician, lawyer, and educator from Missouri. A Democrat, Bland served in the United States House of Representatives from 1873 to 1895 and from 1897 to 1899, representing ...
of Missouri was passed in the fall of 1876. Republican senator
William B. Allison William Boyd Allison (March 2, 1829 – August 4, 1908) was an American politician. An early leader of the Iowa Republican Party, he represented northeastern Iowa in the United States House of Representatives before representing his state in th ...
of Iowa added important amendments to the bill in the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
. The House bill allowed Free Silver; one of Allison's amendments struck that provision. This same amendment allowed for the issuance of silver certificates for the first time in United States history. The bill was
veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto ...
ed by President
Rutherford B. Hayes Rutherford Birchard Hayes (; October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 19th president of the United States from 1877 to 1881, after serving in the U.S. House of Representatives and as governor ...
. The president's veto was overridden on February 28, 1878. What came to be known as the
Bland–Allison Act The Bland–Allison Act, also referred to as the Grand Bland Plan of 1878, was an act of United States Congress requiring the U.S. Treasury to buy a certain amount of silver and put it into circulation as silver dollars. Though the bill was vetoe ...
required that the Treasury purchase between two and four million dollars' worth of silver per month, to be coined into silver dollars at the former gold/silver value ratio of 16:1, meaning that one ounce of gold would be valued the same as sixteen ounces of silver.


Design history

In 1876, Director of the Mint
Henry Linderman Henry Richard Linderman (December 26, 1825 – January 27, 1879) was an American financier and superintendent of the US Mint. Biography Ancestry The Brodheads first arrived in America when Daniel Brodhead, a Captain of King Charles II's Grenad ...
began efforts to redesign the nation's silver coins. Linderman contacted C.W. Fremantle, Deputy Master of the
Royal Mint The Royal Mint is the United Kingdom's oldest company and the official maker of British coins. Operating under the legal name The Royal Mint Limited, it is a limited company that is wholly owned by His Majesty's Treasury and is under an exclus ...
in London, requesting him to "find a first class die-sinker who would be willing to take the position of Assistant Engraver at the Mint at Philadelphia." In response to Linderman's request, Fremantle wrote "My inquiries as to an Assistant Engraver lead me very strongly to recommend for the post Mr. George Morgan, age 30, who has made himself a considerable name, but for whom there is not much opening at present in this country." An agreement was reached between Linderman and Morgan for the engraver to work at the Philadelphia Mint under Chief Engraver William Barber on a six-month trial basis. Morgan arrived in Philadelphia on October 9, 1876. His earliest
pattern coin A pattern coin is a coin which has not been approved for release, but produced to evaluate a proposed coin design. They are often off-metal strike (using metals of lower value to test out the dies), to proof standard or piedforts. Many coin col ...
s designed during his tenure at the Philadelphia Mint were intended for the
half dollar The term "half dollar" refers to a half-unit of several currencies that are named "dollar". One dollar ( $1) is normally divided into subsidiary currency of 100 cents, so a half dollar is equal to 50 cents. These half dollars (aka 50 cent pieces) ...
. In 1876, Morgan enrolled as a student at the
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...
head design. Morgan also obtained studies from nature of the bald eagle for preparation of the reverse design. For the representation of Liberty, Morgan sought to depict an American woman rather than the usual Greek–style figures. Morgan's friend, artist
Thomas Eakins Thomas Cowperthwait Eakins (; July 25, 1844 – June 25, 1916) was an American realist painter, photographer, sculptor, and fine arts educator. He is widely acknowledged to be one of the most important American artists. For the length ...
, suggested he use Anna Willess Williams of Philadelphia as a model. In total, Morgan had five sittings with Williams; he declared her profile to be the most perfect he had seen. On October 18, 1877, Linderman requested Superintendent of the Philadelphia Mint James Pollock to "instruct Mr. Morgan to prepare without delay, dies for a silver dollar, the designs, inscriptions, and arrangement thereof to be the same as the enclosed impression for the Half Dollar and numbered '2' substituting the words 'one dollar' in place of 'half dollar'". Linderman also ordered Pollock to "instruct Mr. Barber to prepare a reverse die for a dollar with a representation of an eagle as well as the inscriptions required by law. He will select whichever of his Heads of Liberty he prefers for the obverse of the same." Linderman evidently preferred the designs of Morgan over those of the Chief Engraver; he wrote Pollock on February 21, 1878, "I have now to state for your information, that it is my intention, in the event of the silver bill now pending in Congress, becoming law, to request the approval by the Secretary of the Treasury, of the dies prepared by Mr. Morgan."


Production

Production of the coins did not commence until March 11, more than a week after the passage of the Bland–Allison Act. The first acceptable strike, after adjustments to the press, was coined at 3:17 p.m. at the
Philadelphia Mint The Philadelphia Mint in Philadelphia was created from the need to establish a national identity and the needs of commerce in the United States. This led the Founding Fathers of the United States to make an establishment of a continental national ...
. This piece was given to President Hayes; the second and third were given to Secretary of the Treasury
John Sherman John Sherman (May 10, 1823October 22, 1900) was an American politician from Ohio throughout the Civil War and into the late nineteenth century. A member of the Republican Party, he served in both houses of the U.S. Congress. He also served as ...
and Mint Director Henry Linderman. Linderman desired to involve the western mints of
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
and
Carson City Carson City is an Independent city (United States), independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the List of cities in Nevada, sixth largest ...
in production in order to help reach the monthly quota necessary under the Bland–Allison Act. Pressure was so great at the Philadelphia Mint that it halted production of all other coins and began operating overtime. Use of the western mints was delayed, however, as all dies were prepared at the Philadelphia Mint, and it was believed that the Western mints did not have the proper equipment to prepare the dies for use. During the second week of production, Linderman pointed out what he called a "slight imperfection" in the dies for the dollar. The reason for the changes was to reduce the relief of the designs and to change the number of tail feathers on the eagle from eight to seven; this was done because all prior United States coinage depicted the bald eagle as having an odd number of tail feathers. The high relief had caused the dies to have a shorter life. Dies were eventually sent to the Western mints, arriving in both San Francisco and Carson City on April 16, 1878. The
New Orleans Mint The New Orleans Mint (french: Monnaie de La Nouvelle-Orléans) operated in New Orleans, Louisiana, as a branch mint of the United States Mint from 1838 to 1861 and from 1879 to 1909. During its years of operation, it produced over 427 million ...
began striking the new silver dollars in 1879. The
Denver Mint The Denver Mint is a branch of the United States Mint that struck its first coins on February 1, 1906. The mint is still operating and producing coins for circulation, as well as mint sets and commemorative coins. Coins produced at the Denver Min ...
, established in 1906, struck the coins for only one year, in 1921. The
mint mark A mint mark is a letter, symbol or an inscription on a coin indicating the mint where the coin was produced. It should not be confused with a mintmaster mark which is the mark of the mintmaster. History Mint marks were first developed to locate ...
s appearing on the coins are none, representing Philadelphia, "CC" for Carson City, "S" for San Francisco, "O" for New Orleans and "D" for Denver. In order to conform to the Coinage Act of 1837, the Morgan dollar contained ninety percent silver and ten percent copper, measured in diameter and weighed . Thus the pure silver content was 371.25 gr = 24.056 g = 0.7735 oz t.


Sherman Silver Purchase Act, Panic of 1893

Mintage of the Morgan dollar remained relatively steady until the passage of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act on July 14, 1890. The act, authored by Ohio senator and former Treasury secretary John Sherman, forced the Treasury to increase the amount of silver purchased to each month. Supporters of the act believed that an increase in the amount of silver purchased would result in inflation, helping to relieve the nation's farmers. The act also received support from mining interests because such large purchases would cause the price of silver to rise and increase their profits. Despite the Act's requiring large purchases of silver indefinitely, it provided that the Mint must coin 2,000,000 silver dollars each month only until 1891. Since the Treasury already had a surplus of silver dollars, minting of dollars dropped sharply beginning in 1892. The silver that remained after mintage of the dollars was used to mint dimes, quarters and half dollars. Beginning early in 1893, a number of industrial firms, including the
Philadelphia and Reading Railroad The Reading Company ( ) was a Philadelphia-headquartered railroad that provided passenger and commercial rail transport in eastern Pennsylvania and neighboring states that operated from 1924 until its 1976 acquisition by Conrail. Commonly called ...
and the National Cordage Company went bankrupt. The resulting bank runs and failures became known as the
Panic of 1893 The Panic of 1893 was an economic depression in the United States that began in 1893 and ended in 1897. It deeply affected every sector of the economy, and produced political upheaval that led to the political realignment of 1896 and the pres ...
. In June of that year, President
Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...
, who believed that the Panic was caused by the inflation generated by the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, called a
special session In a legislature, a special session (also extraordinary session) is a period when the body convenes outside of the normal legislative session. This most frequently occurs in order to complete unfinished tasks for the year (often delayed by confli ...
of Congress in order to repeal it. The act was repealed on November 1, 1893. On June 13, 1898, Congress ordered the coining of all the remaining bullion purchased under the Sherman Silver Purchase Act into silver dollars. Silver dollar production rose again, until the bullion was exhausted in 1904, when it ceased.


Pittman Act

The German government began a propaganda campaign during World War I to discredit the United Kingdom's currency in India. The Germans convinced Indian citizens that British banknotes in that country could not be redeemed for silver. This led to a run on the British supply of silver. In response, United States Democratic senator
Key Pittman Key Denson Pittman (September 19, 1872 – November 10, 1940) was a United States senator from Nevada and a member of the Democratic Party, serving eventually as president pro tempore as well as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. B ...
of Nevada introduced legislation in 1918 that was intended to offer financial relief to the British government. The bill, passed on April 22, 1918, stated that "sales of silver bullion under authority of this act may be made for the purpose of conserving the existing stock of gold in the United States, of providing silver for subsidiary coinage and for commercial use, and of assisting foreign governments at war with the enemies of the United States". The Pittman Act authorized the U.S. to melt up to 350,000,000 silver dollars, and this commenced immediately after the Act's passage. The U.S. eventually melted a total of 270,232,722 silver dollars. Of that amount, 259,121,554  were sold to the United Kingdom at the cost of one dollar per troy ounce. The U.S. only minted the Morgan dollar again during 1921, the only year in which Morgan dollars were struck at the Denver mint. Since the Treasury had destroyed the obsolete Morgan dollar dies in 1910, Morgan had to create an entirely new master die. Another provision of the Pittman Act authorized the U.S. to mint a replacement coin for every silver dollar melted. During the same year, the
Peace dollar The Peace dollar is a United States dollar coin minted for circulation from 1921 to 1928 and in 1934 and 1935, and beginning again in 2021. Designed by Anthony de Francisci, the coin was the result of a competition to find designs emblematic of ...
was first issued to commemorate the end of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. The Peace dollar was supposedly minted to replace the Morgan dollar under the terms of the Pittman Act but without congressional authorization, despite the fact that the Act did not describe the coin design. The change in design was actually authorized under an 1890 act of Congress, which stated:


Carson City Mint Morgan dollars

Until 1964, U.S. citizens could redeem paper money known as silver certificates for silver dollars at a U.S. Treasury mint on demand. In 1962, an individual redeemed a silver certificate and received a rare and valuable Morgan dollar in exchange. The coin was from a bag of silver dollars in the vault of the Philadelphia Mint. This incident triggered huge interest, and between November 1962 and March 1964, millions of Morgan and Peace dollars were sold to the general public. The demand to exchange silver certificates for silver dollars was so great that lines formed outside of the Treasury Building in Washington, D.C. Some people in line were pushing wheelbarrows. The U.S. Treasury discovered previously unknown mint bags in its vaults containing slightly more than 2.8 million Carson City silver dollars. Treasury officials decided to hold them back because the total number of coins minted at the Carson City mint were generally lower than others. On May 12, 1969, the Joint Commission on Coinage held a meeting in order to determine the best way to sell the Carson City-minted dollars. They recommended a mail bid sale. Legislation was passed on December 31, 1970 directing the Treasury to transfer the silver dollars to the Administrator of General Services who was given the responsibility for marketing and selling the coins. The legislation also stated that all proceeds from the sale were to be "covered into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts." Congress supplied the General Services Administration with $10 million to market the dollar coins. Advertising consisted of posters and brochures distributed to post offices, banks and various financial institutions, as well as television documentaries. The coins were sorted and mounted in small plastic display cases. The GSA conducted a total of seven mail bid sales between 1972 and 1980. In total, the sales generated $107 million in revenue.


San Francisco commemorative dollar reverse

On June 15, 2006, legislation was approved that provided for the minting of a silver dollar and a five dollar gold coin in "commemoration of the Old Mint at San Francisco," with surcharges to be given to the
San Francisco Museum and Historical Society The San Francisco Historical Society is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation, interpretation, and presentation of the history of San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area. It is a membership-based organization that holds monthly s ...
in an effort to rehabilitate the Old Mint. In total, 100,000 gold and 500,000 silver
commemorative coin Commemorative coins are coins issued to commemorate some particular event or issue with a distinct design with reference to the occasion on which they were issued. Many coins of this category serve as collectors items only, although some countries ...
s were authorized. Authorization came at the behest of several hobby publications, who enlisted readers to contact their local congressmen and persuade them to pass necessary legislation. The approved designs include a frontal view of the Old Mint building on the obverse and a copy of Morgan's eagle design on the reverse. Mint artist
Joseph Menna Joseph Francis Menna (born March 1970) is an American sculptor and engraver who has worked in both digital and traditional sculpture media. He has been the Chief Engraver of the United States Mint since February, 2019. Biography Menna trained form ...
made a new model for the reverse, employing a 1904 San Francisco-minted dollar as his model.


Modern Morgan Dollars

On September 22, 2020 the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation to allow the minting of Morgan and
Peace dollar The Peace dollar is a United States dollar coin minted for circulation from 1921 to 1928 and in 1934 and 1935, and beginning again in 2021. Designed by Anthony de Francisci, the coin was the result of a competition to find designs emblematic of ...
coins in 2021, the 100-year anniversary of the transition from the Morgan to Peace dollar in order to "commemorate this significant evolution of American Freedom". House Bill 6192 (2021 Silver Dollar Coin Anniversary Act) allows production of Morgan and Silver dollars at 26.73g and no less than 90% silver (24.057g = 0.7735 oz t). On December 18, 2020, the United States Senate unanimously approved the bill, and it was signed into law by President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
on January 5, 2021. The
Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee The Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (or CCAC) was established in 2003 to advise the United States Secretary of the Treasury on coinage-related issues, replacing the Citizens Commemorative Coin Advisory Committee (CCCAC). See also * Citizens' ...
unanimously approved the design on January 19, 2021, with recommendations which were sent to the
Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...
Steven Mnuchin Steven Terner Mnuchin ( ; born December 21, 1962) is an American investment banker and film producer who served as the 77th United States secretary of the treasury as part of the Cabinet of Donald Trump from 2017 to 2021. Serving for a full pres ...
, one day before the end of the Trump administration. There is no known mintage limit, and mintage could not begin until after January 1, 2021. The
US Mint The United States Mint is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury responsible for producing coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce, as well as controlling the movement of bullion. It does not produce paper money; tha ...
then released order information for both dollars, priced at $85 apiece. Both coins are "0.858 troy oz. of .999 fine silver with an uncirculated finish" Morgan Dollars were made available for purchase in May 2021, and sold out on the U.S. Mint website in 45 minutes, and had a staggered order window based on the different mint marks. Peace Dollars were available beginning later in the same year. Each coin shipped in October 2021. High demand of these coins led to controversy over U.S. Mint ordering procedures and resulted in delays from the originally intended release dates. The 2021 Morgan Dollars were minted in the active mints of Philadelphia (no mint mark), Denver (D), and San Francisco (S). Two-thirds of the Philadelphia-minted dollars contained "
privy mark A privy mark was originally a small mark or differentiation in the design of a coin for the purpose of identifying the mint, moneyer, some other aspect of the coin's origin, or to prevent counterfeiting. One of the first instances of a privy mar ...
s" for the now defunct Carson City (CC) and New Orleans (O) mints. The 2021 Peace Dollars had no mint mark and were only minted in Philadelphia. After the chaos caused by the CC and O dollars, the Household Order Limit was reduced from 10 to 3 for the remainder of the dollars. The US Mint originally decided to continue the Morgan and Peace Dollar program for 2022 and beyond minted in San Francisco (S) with a proof finish, but on March 14, 2022, announced that the planned 2022 releases had been scrapped due to "supply chain issues, production capacity and shipping logistics", and the rising price of silver, with plans to resume the program in 2023.


Mintage figures

The dollars were produced every year between 1878 and 1904 at a total of 4 different mints. Each mint, with the exception of Philadelphia, has its own mint mark. In 1921 production was resumed for one year only, with this year being the only one where the Denver mint was used, until 2021. The number of dollars surviving are unknown as the Pittman Act resulted in the melting of millions of these coins, and the individual dates melted were never recorded. PCGS CoinFacts estimates survivals are less than 10% of the mintage. Note that of the 2021 Philadelphia Morgan Dollars, a third were minted with a "CC" privy mark and a third were minted with an "O" privy mark.


References


Bibliography

* * * *


External links


The National Silver Dollar Round Table

Morgan Dollars Complete Coin Guide
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan Dollar 1878 introductions Eagles on coins Goddess of Liberty on coins Silver coins United States dollar coins United States silver coins Works by George T. Morgan