The History of the Morgan Dollar
(1878-1921)
Morgan 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.
General Rule of Thumb
When buying American Silver Bullion coins, 15% less Spot Price to Spot Price is your Target Purchase Price.
COIN WEIGHT SCALE 4 S CC Silver Morgan oz Ounce Dollars
$9.99 Time Left: 15m |
| 1878 S Morgan Silver Dollar - Uncirculated
$99.00 Time Left: 42m |
| Silver Morgan Dollar 1878, 1879, 1881, 1885, 1884, 1889
$161.50 Time Left: 43m |
| Silver Morgan Dollar 1879, 1881, 1885, 1886, 1889, 1890
$157.50 Time Left: 44m |
| 1884 O NCG MS 64 NICE MOSTLY WHITE
$46.01 Time Left: 44m |
| Silver Morgan Dollar 1882, 1885, 1886, 1888, 1890, 1898
$169.50 Time Left: 46m |
| 1884 O NCG MS 64 NICE MOSTLY WHITE
$44.00 Time Left: 46m |
| 1880 Morgan Silver Dollar, New Orleans (choice date)
$14.27 Time Left: 47m |
| Morgan Silver Dollar mixed lot 8 coins 1882-1900
$144.56 Time Left: 47m |
| Silver Dollar 1882-O 1888-O 1889-O 1891-O 1892-O 1896-O
$102.50 Time Left: 47m |
| 1886 PCGS MS 64 NICE MOSTLY WHITE
$45.00 Time Left: 48m |
| Silver Morgan Dollar 1885, 1886, 1889, 1890, 1896, 1898
$115.57 Time Left: 49m |
| 1884 Morgan Dollar VG+
$17.05 Time Left: 49m |
| 1881-S UNITED STATES MORGAN SILVER DOLLAR ( MS+ )
$33.00 Time Left: 50m |
| Silver Morgan Dollar 1885, 1886, 1889, 1890, 1897, 1898
$129.06 Time Left: 50m |
| NICE LOOKING EF + 1880-O MORGAN SILVER DOLLAR
$24.37 Time Left: 51m |
| Silver Dollars M.S.? 1885-O 1898-O 1899-O 1900-O 1901-O
$123.58 Time Left: 53m |
| 1886 UNITED STATES MORGAN SILVER DOLLAR ( AU+ )
$22.95 Time Left: 53m |
| GSA 1881 CC Morgan Dollar-White Coin w Orig Box-COA(Id5
$585.00 
Time Left: 54m |
| 1888 UNITED STATES MORGAN SILVER DOLLAR ( AU )
$26.00 Time Left: 56m |
| 1881CC UNCIRCULATED MORGAN SILVER DOLLAR. FREE SHIPPING
$449.00 Time Left: 57m |
| NICE LOOKING EF + 1884-O MORGAN SILVER DOLLAR
$24.00 Time Left: 57m |
| MORGAN 1881 S certification MS-61
$35.00 Time Left: 59m |
| 1890 p GEM UNC HIGH GRADE MORGAN SILVER DOLLAR
$37.00 Time Left: 59m |
| 1889 UNITED STATES MORGAN SILVER DOLLAR ( AU )
$19.95 Time Left: 59m |
| 1889 p GEM UNC HIGH GRADE MORGAN SILVER DOLLAR
$53.99 Time Left: 1h |
| 1889 p GEM UNC HIGH GRADE MORGAN SILVER DOLLAR
$54.54 Time Left: 1h 1m |
| 1881s GEM UNC HIGH GRADE MORGAN SILVER DOLLAR
$68.00 Time Left: 1h 1m |
| 1896 UNITED STATES MORGAN SILVER DOLLAR ( XF+ )
$17.95 Time Left: 1h 2m |
| 1900 Liberty Silver Dollar in plastic case X NICE!
$19.99 Time Left: 1h 3m |
The History of the Morgan Dollar
(1878-1921)
The Comstock Lode, the greatest silver strike in history, was discovered in Nevada in the late 1850s. The strike put downward pressure on silver prices worldwide. In 1878 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.
When the Morgan 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 intended to be used for trade in the Orient. The Morgan 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 melted 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. Melting has mostly occurred when silver prices escalated because these dollars 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. Many of these Morgan dollars were uncirculated and are called GSAs (named after the General Services Administration) and come in black plastic holders that mimic the holders used for proof silver Eisenhower dollars of the period. These have become collectible items within the GSA encapsulation.
Mintmarks appear underneath the tail feathers of the bald eagle on the reverse between the letters D and O in Dollar. Mintmarks include:
Blank (Philadelphia Mint in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
CC (Carson City Mint in Carson City, Nevada)
D (Denver Mint in Denver, Colorado)
O (New Orleans Mint in New Orleans, Louisiana)
S (San Francisco Mint in San Francisco, California)
Of all of these mints, the Morgan 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.
General Rule of Thumb
When buying American Silver Bullion coins, 15% less Spot Price to Spot Price is your Target Purchase Price.
![[Most Recent Quotes from www.kitco.com]](http://www.kitconet.com/charts/metals/silver/t24_ag_en_usoz_2.gif)
