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Morgan Silver Dollars – A US Collector FavoriteMorgan silver dollars have so much going for them as a target series for US coin collectors. They are big, heavy, and beautiful.They are relatively abundant in fantastic condition, and there is lots of information available about their history, their manufacture, their many varieties, how they are graded, and their performance and potential as a vehicle for investment. Pick up a Morgan silver dollar. The first thing you’ll notice is this coin is…
Big.Although it’s not as big as the Flowing Hair and Draped Bust dollars, a Morgan dollar, like the Liberty Seated dollar that preceded it, is a large coin. With a diameter of 38.1 millimeters, it was the largest US coin of its day.It is also… Heavy.Weighing in at 26.73 grams, the Morgan is only 2/10 of a gram lighter than the early dollars. Only the somewhat smaller, but massively heavier, twenty dollar gold piece exceeds its weight, at more than 33 grams.If the coin you’re holding is a mint state coin, or (careful – don’t drop it) a proof coin, you will readily admit that this coin is… Beautiful.The Morgan dollar’s .900 fine silver composition shows off to great advantage on a “blast white” mint state or proof specimen. Alternatively, the coin may have been one of the many exquisitely toned examples, stored in 1000-piece canvas bags. Those coins that were positioned touching the canvas reacted with the sulphur in the fabric to produce the explosive colors often seen glowing from the surface of these splendid coins.The designer, George T. Morgan, provided a majestic eagle for the reverse, and a pleasant (and plump) rendition of the Liberty goddess on the obverse. And the coin doesn’t have to be uncirculated to be impressive. A short stack of circulated Morgans makes a weighty handful of historic silver from the days of the Wild West, or your favorite 1950s era Vegas casino. After all, these coins were… Abundant.It was the Bland-Allison Act of 1878 that brought these coins into being. The mintages were huge! Why? Because Congress, via Bland-Allison, mandated that for every paper dollar printed, a silver dollar would be minted.It was like, “If You’re Gonna Print, Ya Gotta Mint!” The silver miners, lately lamenting their success in plunging the price of their chosen commodity, took heart from this Congressional largesse. The channels of commerce merely ignored the oversupply, as the banks vaulted most of the dollar production in the aforementioned canvas sacks. And now, more than a century later, US coin collectors revel (even wallow) in the brilliant, and toned, glory of the Morgan silver dollars!
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