Why do you like the Morgan Dollar?

Certainly some of the ore was shipped to San Fran to be assayed, but the miners learned quick they couldn't keep hauling the ore there by mule, and a railroad was a while in the making. Turns out they did refine ore of the Comstock in the V.C. mining district. I have the book The Roar and The Silence by Ronald M. James, A history of Virginia City and the Comstock Lode on my dest right now. It's a good read, and instead of quoting bits here I will simply recommend it as a interesting history read that relates to coins. One will surely come out of it with new eyes for Morgan dollars.

Matt

 

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Beautiful, Historical, Lots of High Grade Examples, Over a Centry Old, Lots of Color, Inexpensive ... What's not to like?

 

Matt,

I'm wondering just how similar (or dissimilar) the chronicles of Ronald James and those of Robert Van Ryzin are or whether we just haven't connected the dates of such events to see if they jive. As it is, I have Van Ryzin's book, The Crime of 1873: The Comstock Connection, before me. LOL!

According to Van Ryzin, prior to the discovery of the Comstock Lode in 1859, the region of northwest Nevada was more of a stopover for miners heading for the gold fields of California, but it was too risky to cross the Sierras in the winter. These prospective miners spent their time scratching for a few flakes of gold to while away the time before continuing on to the California gold fields. About 1852, it was two brothers, Allen & Hosea Grosh, who were experienced in recognizing silver ore in it's native state, who became convinced that a major lode of silver was somewhere in the area.

Anyway, following the discovery of the Comstock Lode in 1859, it wasn't until 1872 that a spur line, the Virginia and Truckee Railroad, was completed linking Virginia City to Reno and the Central Pacific Railroad. It is this 13-year period that you are probably referencing. I have to admit that while Van Ryzin's book is loaded with historical data, it is a "slow read" because of the numerous documentary inserts and footnotes, and I haven't gone back and reread the earliest chapters concerning this period.

Thanks for the input.

Chris

 

I liked driving home to Los Angeles with my bags full of Morgans.

 

I like Morgan silver dollars because of their look, their history, the amount of Mint State coins that are readily available at a reasonable price and their popularity. The fact that each coin contains over .75oz of silver is also a plus.

Their popularity adds to the enjoyment of the coin because you can talk with other collectors about them, swap stories, trade coins, buy and sell and generally engage in the social aspects of the hobby because you share your passion with so many other collectors of the series.

I especially enjoy the CC mint Morgans, for me they evoke images of the old west. These coins are popular and have relatively low mintage numbers. Many circulated out west. I like my Morgans circulated or mint state. Just a pretty coin in my humble opinion.

 

YOU DISGUST ME Winged!!!!!!

I love Morgans and Peace dollars.

 

Thanks for the input Chris.

It seems we simply have our decades of the strike crossed and that we share a fascination of the mining history of the region. I have spent most of my life living in another famous mining district, the Black Hills of SD. There is a real mining culture here that is still present, and a person can and we do still mine today. Homestake gold mine was one of the largest gold mines in North America and mostly invested and created by a Mr Hearst, who was involved with the the Comstock and apparently used his stockpile of money earned in CA/NV to conglomerate the diggings in SD between 1876 and 188X. The lessons learned there were perfected in the new mines here and they went underground right away. So the Homestake operates for the next 140 plus years, with almost every family in the area boasting someone that works there, it is hard not to be interested. So we gold mine all summer, and when you do that you ask a lot of questions, like, What rock does the gold come from, How do you get it out, How did the old timers do it, Did they miss a spot, How pure is natural gold, How do they assay it, and as you find answers more are asked until you end up like me with a mini lab in your garage and books all about the subject. Mining guys and coin guys run in the same pack and it isn't tough to grill a miner when they come into the coin shop and tons of natural gold is traded around here and knowing how to buy it means you have to know how it comes out of the ground.

This is a shot of some local high grade and some .999 pure bars produced by the local mine.

So I became a semi expert (still more to learn) on local mining history and to understand the motive more I had to cast my gaze onto the period of people predated and spawned the rush to the Black Hills which was the Comstock. Much the same as to understand WWII you must study WWI and so on. So I went there in April. V.C.'s main street is like the small tourist towns you would find here, but we did get out and hike and visit the cemetery and tour Hearst's home and question the curator there. Then plenty of time at the Carson City mint and a visit to Northern Nevada coins across the street will pretty much get a guy current to what went down in the area.

My point in relation to this thread, is that we found most of the tangible history eroded. People, buildings, artifacts and stories just don't last. Being that coins are made of metal, they survive and are a perfect record for a period of history. And with coins, they are a time capsule you can hold in your hand. CC coins are up there in price, because they are connected to such a wonderful period of American history, and CC Morgans, compared to other denominations, tend to be easier to own than others making then a good choice for collectors like myself.

Thanks, Matt

 

I believe the reason that Silver Eagles even came into existance was an attempt by Reagan to reduce the National Debt by selling off silver and gold bullion from the "Strategic and Critical Materials Stockpile". The US Government does stockpile certain critical resources in the event that some National Emergency arises (such as war) so that the Nation can continue to function.

Silver for the Eagles must be mined within the United States or its Territories and cannot be purchased from a foreign source. This is what caused some of the shortages that were experienced in 2009 and 2010.

As mentioned earlier, the millions of Morgan Dollars were the result of political lobbying by the Silver Mining Corporations that had silver to sell and what better way to firmly establish a company or industry than have its product purchased by the US Government?

Both coins were the product of a political machine and neither were created to to address a coinage "need". As a result, both coins were/are in turn stockpiled by the millions. Thge Morgans Dollars allure was based upon the fact that "you just don't see these everyday".

As for the Gambling Casino's, regardless of when gambling was legalized in Nevada, it does not take very long to wear a coin down when it involves a machine with metal to metal contact or cinstant use. History if the Slot Machine: http://www.slot-machine-resource.com/slot-machine-history.htm Once the rims are gone on any coin, it quickly wears away.

But alas, I guess I like Morgan Dollars because they are so danged big! Maybe it;'s a "man-thing" where bigger, faster, more powerful is supposed to be better? Whatever.

 

Between Winged's picture and a carebear catalog, I'd take the Winged ones anyday

 

I'd vote against replacing the Presidentials with the Morgan design.

One of the things I find most appealing about the Morgans is that each design element looks as if it were literally pasted onto the fields of the coin. There's a distinct separation between device and field which is simply impossible to achieve with today's "quick and dirty" coining technology. Today's coins (included the Granite Lady Commemorative) have devices which "blend" into the fields which IMO cheapens the coiners art. Of course, this is true for virtually every coin produced today. Blended devices just doesn't compare with distinct separation.

But thats just my opinion.

I agree fully with your stance on the Dead President's.

 

I always liked the design, actually.
Found a 1921-D at a bank a few years ago, still have it.
Got a 1896 for around melt during the recent silver runup.

Forgot how I got my 1901-O (and 1923-S Peace)

all of them are circulated and untoned
I have some loose ASE's with nice brown toning

 

I took a look back at the fair condition coins I've saved, and the Morgan is my favorite. Partly the simple design lends itself to that. It's very brown and, to me, beautiful. I would enjoy seeing a Peace dollar in a similar condition, to compare. ETA: but then it might be more striking how modern tastes favor Peace Liberty's jawline and neck :yes:

 

I like the fact that the coins are relatively clean in design and enjoyable even when toned. Also most of them are not too expensive, which makes getting into collecting easier for younger collectors.

 

I'm with the original poster on this one. I've just never been a fan of Morgan dollars. I think part of the reason is the perception that they are abundant and over-priced (in my opinion). They're beautiful coins and have a rich history, but I haven't been able to catch on to the buzz. For me, I'd much rather go after older coins such as the Indian head pennies or two- and three-cent pieces that were readily used by the public. I like the idea of owning coins commonly used when the country was still coming of age. To me, that is much more alluring than something that sat away in a bank bag and toned from lack of handling.

 

Need I say more as to why the Morgan Dollar is one of the favorite coins of most collectors?

 

MS?
:yes:I agree with you:yes:awesome morgans :yes:

 

Simply the Morgans are probably my favorite of the silver dollars (followed closely by the peace dollar) But I think I like the morgan more for it's beauty and varity. admittedly I only have a few at moment but then I just started working on a year set. Each one I get makes me want to see the book full that much faster (ok admitedly i will probably never own a 95 cc or other big value Morgan but that won't stop me from trying) There is something about holding one of these coins in you hand that just makes me feel "rich". I don't know how else to explain it.

 

Because they tone so beautifully.

 

Keep looking... these days it is not at all that hard to find "CC's" dated long after the Carson mint closed.

 

silly me thought 95 was last year for CC's (did say i was fairly new to morgans hehe)