Vital Stats.
Designer: George T. Morgan
Weight: 26.73 grams
Diameter: 38.1 millimeters
Edge: Reeded
Content: 90% silver 10% copper
Mint Mark Location: Below the the wreath on the reverse
Liberty Head Mintage
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Liberty Head "Morgan" Dollar
1878 marked the beginning of 26 years of the Morgan silver dollar mintage. Morgan's
obverse features a left-facing portrait of Miss Liberty. The reverse depicts a somewhat
scrawny eagle this led some to vilify the coin as a "buzzard dollar". The origional
design of the Morgan silver dollar gave the eagle on the reverse 7 tail feathers,
but befor the first year had ended, an additional feather was added making 8 tail
feathers. Both varities appeared in 1878 but by the following year all had 8 tail
feathers. The designer's initial M appears on both sides (which was a first). Mintmarks
(O, S, D, and CC) are found below the wreath on the reverse.
In 26 years of the Morgan silver dollar mintage, some 657 million dollars were struck
in 96 different date and mint combinations.
In spite of the large mintage of these coins a relatively small number remain: The
Pitman Act of 1918 mandated that 270 million "older" silver dollars be melted. If
that was not enough, The Silver Act of 1942 also resulted in melting many more
millions of silver dollars. No, it doesn't end there, in the 1960's silver prices
made melting coins profitable, so the private sector began melting silver dollars.
The first places to wear on the Morgans are the hair above Liberty's eye and ear,
the high upper fold of her cap and the crest of the eagle's breast.
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