Morgan Dollar
Encyclopedia
The Morgan dollar was a United States dollar coin
minted intermittently from 1878 to 1921. It was the first standard silver dollar minted since production of the previous design, the Seated Liberty dollar
, ceased due to the passage of the Fourth Coinage Act, an act which also ended the free coining of silver
. The coin is named for its designer, United States Mint
Assistant Engraver George T. Morgan
. The obverse
depicts a profile portrait representing Liberty
, while the reverse depicts an eagle with wings outstretched.
The dollar was authorized by the Bland–Allison Act. Following the passage of the Fourth Coinage Act, mining interests lobbied to restore the free coinage. 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 In 1890, the Bland–Allison Act was repealed by the Sherman Silver Purchase Act
, which required the Treasury to purchase 4500000 troy ounces (139,965.6 kg) of silver each month, but only required further silver dollar production for one year. This act, in turn, was repealed in 1893.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 in 1904, those silver reserves were depleted, 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
later the same year.
In the early 1960s, a large quantity of uncirculated Morgan dollars was found to be available from Treasury vaults, including issues once thought rare. Individuals began purchasing large quantities of the pieces at face value, and eventually the Treasury ceased to exchange silver certificate
s for silver coin. Beginning in the 1970s, the Treasury conducted a sale of silver dollars minted at the Carson City Mint
through the General Services Administration
. In 2006, Morgan's reverse design was used on a silver dollar issued to commemorate
the old San Francisco Mint
building.
enacted the Fourth Coinage Act, which effectively ended the bimetallic standard
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
, as designed by Christian Gobrecht
) and provided for mintage of a silver trade dollar
, which was intended to compete with Mexican dollars for use in the Orient
. 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
. 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
") in order to inflate the dollar following the Panic of 1873
.
Beginning in 1876, several bills were introduced in the House of Representatives
in an effort to resume the free coinage of silver. One such bill introduced into the House by Democratic Representative Richard P. Bland
of Missouri was passed in the fall of 1876. Republican senator William B. Allison
of Iowa added important amendments to the bill in the Senate
. The House bill allowed Free Silver; one of Allison's amendments struck that provision. This same amendment allowed for the issuance of silver certificate
s for the first time in United States history. The bill was veto
ed by President Rutherford B. Hayes
. The president's veto was overridden on February 28, 1878. What came to be known as the Bland–Allison Act 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.
began efforts to redesign the nation's silver coins. Linderman contacted C.W. Fremantle, Deputy Master of the Royal Mint
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
s designed during his tenure at the Philadelphia Mint were intended for the half dollar
. In 1876, Morgan enrolled as a student at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
to prepare to create a new Liberty
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
, 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."
Linderman desired to involve the western mints of San Francisco
and Carson City
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
began striking the new silver dollars in 1879. Throughout the series numerous small die varieties occurred. These have been cataloged by Leroy Van Allen and George Mallis into VAM Numbers for each year, and examples of each are in demand by advanced collectors.
The Denver Mint
, established in 1906, struck the coins for only one year, in 1921. The mint mark
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 38.1 millimetres (1.5 in) in diameter and weighed 412.5 gr.
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 4500000 troy ounces (139,965.6 kg) 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 fact that the purchase of silver was required by the act, it stated 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, mintages dropped sharply beginning in 1892. Thus the scarcest coins in the series occur just after this date, with the rarest the 1895 Philadelphia issue, which has only been found as a proof mintage of 880 dollars. 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 and the National Cordage Company
went bankrupt. The resulting bank runs and failures became known as the Panic of 1893
. In June of that year, President Grover Cleveland
, who believed that the Panic was caused by the inflation generated by the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, called a special session
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.
of Nevada introduced legislation that was largely meant as relief for the British
government during World War I. The bill, passed on April 22, 1918, states 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 reason for the United Kingdom's need was a propaganda campaign of the German
government. The Germans convinced residents of India
that the banknotes issued by the British government could not be redeemed for silver, which caused a run on the British supply of the metal. The Pittman Act
authorized the melting of up to 350,000,000 silver dollars. The melting of the silver dollars began immediately after the passage of the act. A total of 270,232,722 silver dollars were eventually melted. 259,121,554 of the melted dollars were sold to the United Kingdom at the cost of one dollar per troy ounce. Another provision of the Pittman Act authorized the coinage of a replacement for every silver dollar melted. Mintage of the Morgan dollar resumed for only one year, 1921. Since all obsolete coinage dies had been destroyed in 1910, Morgan was forced to create an entirely new master die for the dollar. 1921 also marked the first issuance of the Peace dollar
, as a coin to commemorate the resulting peace after World War I
. This replacement of the Morgan dollar was issued under the terms of the Pittman Act without congressional authorization, despite the fact that the act makes no mention of the design of the coins. The change in design was actually authorized under an 1890 act of Congress, which stated:
, with some of those in line pushing wheelbarrows. Upon discovering bags of Carson City-minted dollars, Treasury officials decided to hold them back as mintage totals from that mint were generally lower than others.
On May 12, 1969, the Joint Commission on Coinage held a meeting in order to determine how best to dispose of the Carson City-minted dollars earlier held back by Treasury officials. They recommended a mail bid sale. Legislation was passed on December 31, 1970 stating that the approximately three million silver dollars were to be transferred to Administrator of General Services
in order for the coins to be marketed. 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 ten million dollars 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 put into small plastic display cases. The Administration conducted a total of seven mail bid sales between 1972 and 1980. In total, the sales generated $107 million.
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 in an effort to rehabilitate the Old Mint. In total, 100,000 gold and 500,000 silver commemorative coins were authorized. Authorization came at the behest of several hobby publications, who enlisted readers to contact their local congressmen in order to persuade them to pass necessary legislation. The designs approved for the silver dollar bear a left-frontal view of the Old Mint building and a copy of Morgan's eagle design on the obverse and reverse, respectively. Mint artist Joseph Menna
made a new model for the reverse, employing a 1904 San Francisco-minted dollar as his model.
United States dollar coin
Dollar coins have been minted in the United States in gold, silver, and base metal versions. The term silver dollar is often used for any large white metal coin issued by the United States with a face value of one dollar, although purists insist that a dollar is not silver unless it contains some...
minted intermittently from 1878 to 1921. It was the first standard silver dollar minted since production of the previous design, the Seated Liberty dollar
Seated Liberty dollar
The Seated Liberty dollar was the last silver dollar struck before passage of the Coinage Act of 1873, which officially ended production of that denomination...
, ceased due to the passage of the Fourth Coinage Act, an act which also ended the free coining of silver
Free Silver
Free Silver was an important United States political policy issue in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Its advocates were in favor of an inflationary monetary policy using the "free coinage of silver" as opposed to the less inflationary Gold Standard; its supporters were called...
. The coin is named for its designer, United States Mint
United States Mint
The United States Mint primarily produces circulating coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce. The Mint was created by Congress with the Coinage Act of 1792, and placed within the Department of State...
Assistant Engraver George T. Morgan
George T. Morgan
George T. Morgan was an English United States Mint engraver, who is famous for designing many popular coins, such as the Morgan Dollar, and the Columbian Exposition half dollar.-Biography:...
. The obverse
Obverse and reverse
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, obverse means the front face of the object and reverse...
depicts a profile portrait representing Liberty
Libertas
Libertas was the Roman goddess and embodiment of liberty.- Temples and derived inspirations :In 238 BC, before the Second Punic War, having long been a Roman deity along with other personified virtues, Libertas assumed goddess status...
, while the reverse depicts an eagle with wings outstretched.
The dollar was authorized by the Bland–Allison Act. Following the passage of the Fourth Coinage Act, mining interests lobbied to restore the free coinage. 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
Sherman Silver Purchase Act
The Sherman Silver Purchase Act was enacted on July 14, 1890 as a United States federal law. It was named after its author, Senator John Sherman, an Ohio Republican, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee...
, which required the Treasury to purchase 4500000 troy ounces (139,965.6 kg) of silver each month, but only required further silver dollar production for one year. This act, in turn, 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 in 1904, those silver reserves were depleted, the Mint ceased to strike the Morgan dollar. The Pittman Act
Pittman Act
The Pittman Act was a United States federal law sponsored by Senator Key Pittman of Nevada and enacted on April 23, 1918. The act authorized the conversion of not exceeding 350,000,000 standard silver dollars into bullion and its sale, or use for subsidiary silver coinage, and directed purchase of...
, 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
Peace Dollar
The Peace dollar is a United States dollar coin minted from 1921 to 1928, and again in 1934 and 1935. Designed by Anthony de Francisci, the coin was the result of a competition to find designs emblematic of peace. Its reverse depicts an eagle at rest clutching an olive branch, with the legend...
later the same year.
In the early 1960s, a large quantity of uncirculated Morgan dollars was found to be available from Treasury vaults, including issues once thought rare. Individuals began purchasing large quantities of the pieces at face value, and eventually the Treasury ceased to exchange silver certificate
Silver Certificate
Silver Certificates are a type of representative money printed from 1878 to 1964 in the United States as part of its circulation of paper currency. They were produced in response to silver agitation by citizens who were angered by the Fourth Coinage Act, which had effectively placed the United...
s for silver coin. Beginning in the 1970s, the Treasury conducted a sale of silver dollars minted at the Carson City Mint
Carson City Mint
The Carson City Mint was a branch of the United States Mint in Carson City, Nevada. Built at the peak of the silver boom, 50 issues of silver coins and 57 issues of gold coins minted here between 1870 and 1893 bore the "CC" mint mark...
through the General Services Administration
General Services Administration
The General Services Administration is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. The GSA supplies products and communications for U.S...
. In 2006, Morgan's reverse design was used on a silver dollar issued to commemorate
Commemorative coin
Commemorative coins are coins that were issued to commemorate some particular event or issue. Most world commemorative coins were issued from the 1960s onward, although there are numerous examples of commemorative coins of earlier date. Such coins have a distinct design with reference to the...
the old San Francisco Mint
San Francisco Mint
The San Francisco Mint is a branch of the United States Mint, and was opened in 1854 to serve the gold mines of the California Gold Rush. It quickly outgrew its first building and moved into a new one in 1874. This building, the Old United States Mint, also known affectionately as The Granite Lady,...
building.
Background
In 1873, CongressUnited States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
enacted the Fourth Coinage Act, which effectively ended the bimetallic standard
Bimetallism
In economics, bimetallism is a monetary standard in which the value of the monetary unit is defined as equivalent both to a certain quantity of gold and to a certain quantity of silver; such a system establishes a fixed rate of exchange between the two metals...
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
Seated Liberty dollar
The Seated Liberty dollar was the last silver dollar struck before passage of the Coinage Act of 1873, which officially ended production of that denomination...
, as designed by Christian Gobrecht
Christian Gobrecht
Christian Gobrecht was the third Chief Engraver of the United States Mint from 1835 until his death in 1844. He was responsible for designing the famous "Seated Liberty" designs, which were in turn the direct inspiration for the design of the Trade Dollar...
) and provided for mintage of a silver trade dollar
Trade Dollar (United States coin)
The trade dollar was a United States dollar coin minted to compete with other large silver coins that were already popular in East Asia. The idea first came about in the 1860s, when the price of silver began to decline due to increased mining efforts in the western United States...
, which was intended to compete with Mexican dollars for use in the Orient
Orient
The Orient means "the East." It is a traditional designation for anything that belongs to the Eastern world or the Far East, in relation to Europe. In English it is a metonym that means various parts of Asia.- Derivation :...
. 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
Seigniorage
Seigniorage can have the following two meanings:* Seigniorage derived from specie—metal coins, is a tax, added to the total price of a coin , that a customer of the mint had to pay to the mint, and that was sent to the sovereign of the political area.* Seigniorage derived from notes is more...
. 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
Western United States
.The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...
. 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
Free Silver was an important United States political policy issue in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Its advocates were in favor of an inflationary monetary policy using the "free coinage of silver" as opposed to the less inflationary Gold Standard; its supporters were called...
") in order to inflate the dollar following the Panic of 1873
Panic of 1873
The Panic of 1873 triggered a severe international economic depression in both Europe and the United States that lasted until 1879, and even longer in some countries. The depression was known as the Great Depression until the 1930s, but is now known as the Long Depression...
.
Beginning in 1876, several bills were introduced in the House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
in an effort to resume the free coinage of silver. One such bill introduced into the House by Democratic Representative Richard P. Bland
Richard P. Bland
Richard Parks Bland , American school teacher, lawyer, and Democratic Congressman between 1873 and 1899, serving except from 1895 to 1897, when he returned to office....
of Missouri was passed in the fall of 1876. Republican senator William B. Allison
William B. Allison
William Boyd Allison was an early leader of the Iowa Republican Party, who represented northeastern Iowa for four consecutive terms in the U.S. House before representing his state for six consecutive terms in the U.S. Senate...
of Iowa added important amendments to the bill in the Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
. The House bill allowed Free Silver; one of Allison's amendments struck that provision. This same amendment allowed for the issuance of silver certificate
Silver Certificate
Silver Certificates are a type of representative money printed from 1878 to 1964 in the United States as part of its circulation of paper currency. They were produced in response to silver agitation by citizens who were angered by the Fourth Coinage Act, which had effectively placed the United...
s for the first time in United States history. The bill was veto
Veto
A veto, Latin for "I forbid", is the power of an officer of the state to unilaterally stop an official action, especially enactment of a piece of legislation...
ed by President Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States . As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution...
. The president's veto was overridden on February 28, 1878. What came to be known as the Bland–Allison Act 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 Richard LindermanHenry Linderman
Henry Richard Linderman was an American financier.-Medical practice:...
began efforts to redesign the nation's silver coins. Linderman contacted C.W. Fremantle, Deputy Master of the Royal Mint
Royal Mint
The Royal Mint is the body permitted to manufacture, or mint, coins in the United Kingdom. The Mint originated over 1,100 years ago, but since 2009 it operates as Royal Mint Ltd, a company which has an exclusive contract with HM Treasury to supply all coinage for the UK...
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
Philadelphia Mint
The Philadelphia Mint 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 mint a main priority after the ratification of the Constitution of...
." 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
George T. Morgan
George T. Morgan was an English United States Mint engraver, who is famous for designing many popular coins, such as the Morgan Dollar, and the Columbian Exposition half dollar.-Biography:...
, 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
Pattern coin
A pattern coin is a coin which has not been approved for release, produced for the purpose of evaluating a proposed coin design. They are often off-metal strikes, to proof standard or piedforts...
s designed during his tenure at the Philadelphia Mint were intended for the half dollar
Half dollar (United States coin)
Half dollar coins have been produced nearly every year since the inception of the United States Mint in 1794. Sometimes referred to as the fifty-cent piece, the only U.S. coin that has been minted more consistently is the cent.-Circulation:...
. In 1876, Morgan enrolled as a student at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is a museum and art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1805 and is the oldest art museum and school in the United States. The academy's museum is internationally known for its collections of 19th and 20th century American paintings,...
to prepare to create a new Liberty
Libertas
Libertas was the Roman goddess and embodiment of liberty.- Temples and derived inspirations :In 238 BC, before the Second Punic War, having long been a Roman deity along with other personified virtues, Libertas assumed goddess status...
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 Eakins
Thomas Cowperthwait Eakins was an American realist painter, photographer, sculptor, and fine arts educator...
, suggested he use Anna Willess Williams
Anna Willess Williams
Anna Willess Williams was a teacher and philosophical writer best known as the model for George T. Morgan's silver dollar design, popularly known as the Morgan dollar.- Morgan dollar :...
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
James Pollock
James Pollock was the 13th Governor of the State of Pennsylvania from 1855 to 1858.- Political career :James Pollock graduated from the College of New Jersey at Princeton before setting up a law practice in his home community, in Milton, Pennsylvania...
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. This piece was given to President Hayes; the second and third were given to Secretary of the Treasury John Sherman and to Mint Director Henry Linderman.Linderman desired to involve the western mints of San Francisco
San Francisco Mint
The San Francisco Mint is a branch of the United States Mint, and was opened in 1854 to serve the gold mines of the California Gold Rush. It quickly outgrew its first building and moved into a new one in 1874. This building, the Old United States Mint, also known affectionately as The Granite Lady,...
and Carson City
Carson City Mint
The Carson City Mint was a branch of the United States Mint in Carson City, Nevada. Built at the peak of the silver boom, 50 issues of silver coins and 57 issues of gold coins minted here between 1870 and 1893 bore the "CC" mint mark...
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
New Orleans Mint
The New Orleans Mint 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 gold and silver coins of nearly every American denomination, with a total face value of over...
began striking the new silver dollars in 1879. Throughout the series numerous small die varieties occurred. These have been cataloged by Leroy Van Allen and George Mallis into VAM Numbers for each year, and examples of each are in demand by advanced collectors.
The Denver Mint
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 Mint bear a D mint mark...
, established in 1906, struck the coins for only one year, in 1921. The mint mark
Mint mark
A mint mark is an inscription on a coin indicating the mint where the coin was produced.-History:Mint marks were first developed to locate a problem. If a coin was underweight, or overweight, the mint mark would immediately tell where the coin was minted, and the problem could be located and fixed...
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 38.1 millimetres (1.5 in) in diameter and weighed 412.5 gr.
Sherman Silver Purchase Act, Panic of 1893
Beginning early in 1893, a number of industrial firms, including the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad and the National Cordage Company
National Cordage Company
The National Cordage Company was formed in New Jersey in 1887, for the importation of hemp and the manufacture and sale ofcordage. It is noteworthy because of its expansion at the beginning of the 1890s and its initial public offering of $5,000,000 of 8% cumulative preferred stock. Thecorporation...
went bankrupt. The resulting bank runs and failures became known as the Panic of 1893
Panic of 1893
The Panic of 1893 was a serious economic depression in the United States that began in 1893. Similar to the Panic of 1873, this panic was marked by the collapse of railroad overbuilding and shaky railroad financing which set off a series of bank failures...
. In June of that year, President Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
, who believed that the Panic was caused by the inflation generated by the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, called a special session
Special session
In a legislature, a special 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 , such as outlining the government's budget for the next fiscal year, biennium, or other period...
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
In 1918, Democratic senator Key PittmanKey Pittman
Key Denson Pittman was a United States Senator from Nevada. He was a Democrat.Pittman was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, in 1872 and was educated by private tutors and at the Southwestern Presbyterian University in Clarksville, Tennessee. He studied law, then later became a lawyer...
of Nevada introduced legislation that was largely meant as relief for the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
government during World War I. The bill, passed on April 22, 1918, states 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 reason for the United Kingdom's need was a propaganda campaign of the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
government. The Germans convinced residents of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
that the banknotes issued by the British government could not be redeemed for silver, which caused a run on the British supply of the metal. The Pittman Act
Pittman Act
The Pittman Act was a United States federal law sponsored by Senator Key Pittman of Nevada and enacted on April 23, 1918. The act authorized the conversion of not exceeding 350,000,000 standard silver dollars into bullion and its sale, or use for subsidiary silver coinage, and directed purchase of...
authorized the melting of up to 350,000,000 silver dollars. The melting of the silver dollars began immediately after the passage of the act. A total of 270,232,722 silver dollars were eventually melted. 259,121,554 of the melted dollars were sold to the United Kingdom at the cost of one dollar per troy ounce. Another provision of the Pittman Act authorized the coinage of a replacement for every silver dollar melted. Mintage of the Morgan dollar resumed for only one year, 1921. Since all obsolete coinage dies had been destroyed in 1910, Morgan was forced to create an entirely new master die for the dollar. 1921 also marked the first issuance of the Peace dollar
Peace Dollar
The Peace dollar is a United States dollar coin minted from 1921 to 1928, and again in 1934 and 1935. Designed by Anthony de Francisci, the coin was the result of a competition to find designs emblematic of peace. Its reverse depicts an eagle at rest clutching an olive branch, with the legend...
, as a coin to commemorate the resulting peace after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. This replacement of the Morgan dollar was issued under the terms of the Pittman Act without congressional authorization, despite the fact that the act makes no mention of the design of the coins. The change in design was actually authorized under an 1890 act of Congress, which stated:
"But no change in the design or die of any coin shall be made oftener than once in twenty-five years from and including the year of the first adoption of the design, model, die, or hub for the same coin: |
Treasury release, General Services Administration sales and legacy
Between November 1962 and March 1964, millions of Morgan and Peace dollars were sold to the general public. Interest began in 1962, when a date of Morgan dollar that was previously considered very rare was discovered in a bag of silver dollars taken from a vault of the Philadelphia Mint. The demand to exchange silver certificates for silver dollars was so great that lines formed outside of the Treasury Building in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, with some of those in line pushing wheelbarrows. Upon discovering bags of Carson City-minted dollars, Treasury officials decided to hold them back as mintage totals from that mint were generally lower than others.
On May 12, 1969, the Joint Commission on Coinage held a meeting in order to determine how best to dispose of the Carson City-minted dollars earlier held back by Treasury officials. They recommended a mail bid sale. Legislation was passed on December 31, 1970 stating that the approximately three million silver dollars were to be transferred to Administrator of General Services
General Services Administration
The General Services Administration is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. The GSA supplies products and communications for U.S...
in order for the coins to be marketed. 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 ten million dollars 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 put into small plastic display cases. The Administration conducted a total of seven mail bid sales between 1972 and 1980. In total, the sales generated $107 million.
On June 15, 2006, legislation was approved that provided for the minting of a silver dollar and a five dollar gold coin
Half Eagle
The Half Eagle is a United States coin that was produced for circulation from 1795 to 1929 and in commemorative and bullion coins since the 1980s. Composed almost entirely of gold, it has a face value of five dollars...
in "commemoration of the Old Mint at San Francisco," with surcharges to be given to the San Francisco Museum
Museum of the City of San Francisco
The Museum of the City of San Francisco, operated by the San Francisco Museum & Historical Society currently has exhibits at Pier 45 and San Francisco City Hall...
and Historical Society in an effort to rehabilitate the Old Mint. In total, 100,000 gold and 500,000 silver commemorative coins were authorized. Authorization came at the behest of several hobby publications, who enlisted readers to contact their local congressmen in order to persuade them to pass necessary legislation. The designs approved for the silver dollar bear a left-frontal view of the Old Mint building and a copy of Morgan's eagle design on the obverse and reverse, respectively. Mint artist Joseph Menna
Joseph Menna
Joseph F. Menna is an American sculptor and engraver who currently works for the United States Mint. Menna sculpted the reverse of the 2010 Lincoln Cent.-Biography:...
made a new model for the reverse, employing a 1904 San Francisco-minted dollar as his model.