The Morgan Silver Dollar is one of the most highly collectable coins today. While many people love the coin, considerably less know the story behind the coin. The Morgan Silver Dollar’s history is one of political pressure, deep pockets, and big business. It is a very interesting story indeed.
Political Pressure Begins
The Morgan Silver Dollar has its roots in politics rather than the need for coinage. In the late 1800s, after the previous silver dollar coin had been legislated out of existence, silver mining companies faced a dramatic fall in their profitability. This did not sit well with them, and they began heavy lobbying in congress for free coinage reinstatement.
Rather than providing free coinage, The Bland-Allison Act – enacted by congress under intense political pressure from mining companies – required the United States to purchase between $2 million to $4 million dollars worth of silver each month to be minted into dollar coins. This act was in turn repealed and replaced by the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, requiring the Treasury to purchase 4.5 million ounces of silver each month, but only to mint Morgan Dollars for one year. This act was again repealed and replaced by another that required all remaining silver obtained by the government via the Sherman Silver Purchase Act to be minted into Morgan Silver Dollar coins.
The Morgan Silver Dollar is Born
The Morgan Silver Dollar is named for its creator, an Englishman name George Morgan. In 1876, Director of the Mint, Dr. Henry Richard Linderman began making efforts to redesign the nation’s silver coins. Dissatisfied with his current assistants, he appointed Morgan as Assistant Engraver. Morgan had already made a name for himself in England, but had few prospects in the states, so he jumped at the chance to design silver coins.
Morgan initially began working on silver half dollars, but the Bland-Allison act required the new minting of silver dollar coins. Morgan was immediately moved over to designing the new coins.
The Morgan Silver Dollar was cast with a silver content of .900 giving a net weight of .77344 ounces of pure silver. The obverse of Morgan’s silver dollar featured a left facing portrait of Lady Liberty, with the reverse side depicting an eagle, wings outstretched, clutching an olive branch and arrows in its talons. Morgan’s initial M appeared on both sides of the coin – on the truncation of Liberty’s neck on the obverse and on the ribbon’s left loop on the reverse.
Silver Dries Up
More than 657 million silver dollars were minted in 96 different date and mint combinations. Finally in 1904, the United States’ silver resources were completely consumed by the ongoing political and lobbyist machinations of the previous 26 years. In 1918 the Pittman Act was passed, authorizing the melting of millions of silver dollar coins for recoining. The Morgan Silver Dollar was again minted for only one more year – 1921.
The Morgan Silver Dollar is Reborn
Coin collecting began taking off in the 1930s, but the Morgan Silver Dollar remained largely overlooked by collectors of the day who favored lower priced, more easily obtainable coins. It wasn’t until the 1960s that Morgan Silver Dollars began to come into their own.
With silver prices rising, those in the know were turning quick profits by redeeming silver certificates for silver dollar coins. These coins were Morgans in large part. By 1964, when the government closed this loophole, there were only 2.9 million Morgan Silver Dollar coins left in the vault.
When over 400,000 Morgan Silver Dollar coins were discovered in Nevada eccentric LaVere Redfield’s basement, a bidding war commenced at the 1976 probate auction of the coins, with the winning bid being $7.3 million. This gave The Morgan Silver Dollar’s popularity a huge shot in the arm. Suddenly Morgans were the “it” collectable coin, and the massively successful, early 1980s distribution of 1.5 million Morgan Silver Dollar coins in the Continental Bank hoard cemented its standing as a prized coin.
Silver Cast Cinderella
The Morgan Silver Dollar’s story is one of rags to riches. This coin was first struck to serve no other purpose than satisfying the silver interests of political lobbyists. It was a needless, virtually unwanted coin for the better part of 80 years, and now it remains one of the most collected coins of all time.
