EXHIBIT: The Morgan Dollar

This thread on the Morgan Dollar series is broken in to 3 parts. The first part just covers a little history of the Morgan dollar designs. The next part will discuss post mint history, including hoards/melts, distribution, and the GSA sale. The final part will revolve around collecting Morgan dollars. Hope everyone enjoys it!

The story of the Morgan dollar really starts with the Bland-Allison Act. The Bland-Allison Act, named after its two authors, Richard P. Bland and William B. Allison, was passed by Congress on February 28th 1878 over President Hayes's veto. The act required the U.S Treasury to purchase between two and four million dollars of silver each month from U.S silver mines; and that silver was to be used to mint a legal tender 412.5 grain silver dollar.

Even before the Bland-Allison Act was passed, the U.S Mint was preparing for a new dollar coin design. David Bowers in his book A Guide Book of Morgan Silver Dollars states Henry Linderman, the Mint Director, was anticipating legislation for new silver dollars in 1876. In 1877, as support for the Bland-Allison Act grew, William Barber (Chief Mint Engraver), George T. Morgan (Assistant Mint Engraver), Charles E. Barber (Assistant Mint Engraver) and Anthony Paquet (Private Engraver) all began work on a design for a new silver dollar. There were a number of different designs created during 1877, Bowers states more than two dozen designs were made. Below are 3 examples of the designs:

1877 Half Dollar Pattern Judd-1510 (George T. Morgan)[FONT=&quot]USPatterns[/FONT]


1877 Half Dollar Pattern Judd-1525 (William Barber)Heritage Judd-1525


1877 Half Dollar Pattern Judd-1540 (Anthony Paquet) Heritage Judd-1540



[FONT=&quot]As time progressed dollar designs were made.[/FONT]
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1878 Dollar Pattern Judd 1550A [/FONT](George T. Morgan)Judd-1550A

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1878 Dollar Pattern Judd 1554 (William Barber) [/FONT]Judd-1554

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It eventually came down to either Morgan’s or Barber’s design (pictured above). On February 21st 1878 Linderman made his decision, choosing Morgan's design over Barber's. The pressure was then on Morgan to make the final preparations for the dies.

Less than a month after Morgan's design was chosen the first dollars were struck. The first Morgan dollars were struck on March 11th 1878, according to a reporter the minting began at exactly 3:17.

The new dollar wasn't popular with the public, many people called it ugly, and said the eagle looked weak or scrawny. It was also pointed out the eagle on the reverse had 8 tail feathers, when it should only have 7. This led to the first major change of the Morgan dollar design. (Below are images of 6 major Morgan dollar reverses. *I’ve only included reverse images, there were some slight changes in the obverse for some of the designs, but the most noticeable differences are all found on the reverse.)[/FONT]

8 Tailfeather Reverse: Only found on some 1878 P mint Morgan dollars. Heritage 8TF

The design is most recognizable by the eagle’s 8 tail feathers, flat breast, and parallel arrow feathers.

7 Tailfeather PAF (Reverse of ’78): Found on some 1878-P, 1879-S, 1880-CC Morgans, and found on all 1878-S and 1878-CC Morgans. Heritage rev78

As mentioned above, this was the first major change to the Morgan dollar design. After word got out the eagle should have 7 feathers instead of 8, it was decided to switch the design. The design still had the parallel arrow feathers and flat breast, like the 8tf variety, but it now had 7 tail feathers instead of 8.

7/8 Tailfeather Reverse: Only found on some 1878 P mint Morgan dollars. Heritage 7/8

The 7 over 8 tail feather reverse was an accidental variety. As the switch from 8 tail feathers to 7 tail feathers was made, there were still some usable 8 tail feather reverse dies. The usable 8tf dies were adapted by impressing the 7tf design over them. In some cases the original 8tf design wasn’t completely covered and some tail feathers were left exposed. The 7/8 variety has all the same characteristics as the 7tf PAF variety, but it also has tips of the old design’s tail feathers visible (as seen in the picture above).

7 Tailfeather SAF (Reverse of ’79): Also called the normal reverse. It was used on some 1878-P, 1879-S and 1880-CC Morgans, and all other Morgan dollars from 1879 to 1904*(with a slight exception that will be discussed with the next reverse). Heritage 1881S

There are a number of changes between this reverse and the PAF (Reverse of ’78) design. The most notable are; the eagle’s breast (which is much more full and rounded) and the arrow feathers are now slanted.

7 Tailfeather SAF (Reverse of ’79) New Dies: Used on some 1900-P, 1900-S, 1901-P, 1901-S, 1901-O and 1902-O Morgans, and on all 1902-P, 1902-S, 1903-O,P,S & 1904-O,P,S. Heritage 1903-S

This reverse variety is often not mentioned, because it is so similar to the original 7tf SAF design. The most noticeable difference is the space between the eagle’s left wing (on your right side) and the neck is larger than on the original design. The main reason why I chose to mention this die is because of its affect on strike quality. As Wayne Miller mentions in his book, The Morgan and Peace Dollar Textbook, even though the new dies were meant to be an improvement, they wound up having a major flaw. The eagle’s breast feathers weren’t fully articulated in the new design, so coins struck from these new dies rarely have strong detail in the eagle’s breast.

The 1921 Reverse: Used on all 1921 (P, D, S) Morgan dollars. Heritage 1921

The design was completely redesigned for the 1921 Morgans. The most notable differences are; the flat eagle’s breast, large parallel arrow feathers, and larger stars on the reverse.

When the minting of the Morgan series finally ended, a total of approximately 656,998,971 dollars had been coined.

 

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Part two focuses on two main parts of Morgan dollar history, the melts and hoards.

Melts:

The Pittman Act (1918)- Introduced by Senator Key Pittman on April 9th 1918, and passed just 13 days later on April 22nd. The Pittman Act authorized the melting of no more than 350 million silver dollars into silver bullion. The vast majority of the silver bullion was bought by the British government, and sent to India to help quell the silver shortage after the huge increase in silver certificate redemptions. In total, under the Pittman Act, 270,232,722 silver dollars were melted. Almost half of all 1878-1904 Morgan dollars minted were melted!

World War II Silver Act (1942)- As mentioned in The Comprehensive Catalog and Encyclopedia of Morgan & Peace Dollars by Leroy Van Allen and George Mallis, addition silver dollars were melted during WWII for wartime uses (including the Manhattan Project). It is estimated around 50 million silver dollars were melted, what percent were Morgans (and what percent were Peace dollars) is unknown.

With the major melts taken into account, and all of the other much smaller private meltings, it is safe to say that less than half of all Morgan dollars minted remain today. It's fun to consider what could have been, and how the Morgan dollar series would have been affected if the meltings hadn't occurred. Imagine if there were twice as many Morgan dollars around as there are now?

Hoards:

The majority of Morgan dollars that were spared from the melting pots sat in a number of government vaults (some at the Treasury Department and branch offices, and others still in the Mint vaults). Throughout the '20s, '30s, '40s and '50s the dollars sat in their vaults, only relatively small numbers were paid out during this time period, mainly because there still wasn't much interest in Morgan dollars. The main use for the silver dollars during this time was at casinos, and as presents (usually during the Christmas/Hanukkah season).

The 1960's Release- It started in late 1962, during this time one of the real keys of the Morgan series was the 1903-O, which was listed at $1,500 in Uncirculated condition. So around early December, as silver dollars were being paid out for holiday demand, word got out the Philadelphia mint was paying out 1903-O Morgan dollars (and a few other valuable late date O mint coins). This really started the silver dollar boom, people rushed to Treasury Department, and other vaults to get their hands on the Morgan dollars. Practically over night the value of the 1903-O Morgan dollar plummeted, from $1,500 in Uncirculated condition to $15. These payouts continued for 2 years, finally on March 26th 1964, with only a few thousand bags remaining, the payouts were stopped. (*During this time the popularity of the Morgan dollar really began to grow.)

The GSA Sales (1970s)- On December 6th 1971, the 2.9 Million Carson City Morgan Dollars that remained in the Treasury vaults were transferred to the West Point Bullion Depository in New York. This was the first step in the famous GSA sales. The coins were then hand sorted by date, and then sorted into 1 of 3 categories; 1- Uncirculated, 2- Tarnished/Lightly Scratched, and 3- Error/Reject (Badly scratched or tarnished). From this there were 5 general catagories for the GSA sales; 1- Uncirculated CC, 2- Mixed CC, 3- Uncirculated (other mints), 4- Circulated (other mints), and 5- Unsellable (Damaged coins).

The coins were packaged into 2 different holders depending on the catagory. (note the hard case examples says "Uncirculated Silver Dollar", depending on the category some of the GSA hard cases only say "Silver Dollar".)

GSA Hard Case: National Collectors Mint


GSA Soft Case: NGC

Click this bar to view the full image.

In total there were 7 GSA sales, 5 between 1972 and 1974, and 2 in 1980. The CC dates sold in the sale were; 1878-1885, 1889-1893, the majority of the sale was made up of CC coins from 1880-1885. The 1889, 1892 and 1893 coins are interesting, because there was only one of each date sold.

The Redfield Hoard- LaVere Redfield was a multimillionaire who lived in Reno. Redfield didn't trust the government, and didn't like to keep his money in the bank. Over the course of his life he hoarded silver coins, and stored them in his basement. Redfield died on September 6th 1974, and his estate, including 407,596 Morgan and Peace dollar, was left to his wife and niece. There were a number of lawsuits that delayed the sale of the dollars, but finally on January 27 1976 the dollars were sold to A-Mark Corporation for 7.3 million dollars. The coins were distributed in sales over a 3 years period, this was done to not overwhelm the market. Some of the most popular Morgan dates in the Hoard were: 1878 S -1882 S, 1887 S, 1889, 1890, 1890 S, 1891 S, 1896, 1897, 1897 S.

An example of a Redfield Hoard Case: Heritage Redfield



Continental-Illinois Bank Hoard- This was a massive hoard that was kept very quiet. It is estimated in John Highfill's book The Comprehensive U.S. Silver Dollar Encyclopedia there were around 1,500 bags of Morgan dollars in the hoard. (1.5 million Morgans, 1 million Uncirculated and 500,000 Circulated). All of the dollars were purchased by RARCOA and distributed by a number of companies from 1982-1984. There isn't a lot of information on the hoard, and exact date and mm aren't known. What is know is a large number of the uncirculated coins were high grade examples.

Unlike the GSA and Redfield sales, the Continental Bank Hoard coins weren't placed in a special holder. (Heritage Continental Bank Hoard )

 

Collecting Morgan Dollars (Final Part)

The first step I believe anyone who's interested in collecting Morgan dollars should take is read. There are many great books on Morgan dollars out there, and reading them will give you a knowledge of the series, which is crucial when you're starting a collection.

Some books I would strongly recommend are:

A Guide Book of Morgan Silver Dollars (The Official Red Book) by Q. David Bowers (3rd edition is the most recent).

Comprehensive Catalog and Encyclopedia of Morgan & Peace Dollars by Leroy Van Allen & George Mallis (4th edition is the most recent)

The Morgan and Peace Dollar Textbook by Wayne Miller (1983)

I would recommend Bowers book as the first book anyone interested in collecting Morgan dollars should buy. It's very easy to read, is full of great information, and is currently the most recent book published. The Comprehensive Catalog, also known as the VAM book is another must have book, especially if one is focusing on VAMs. (And if you're not familiar with VAMs read here: What is a VAM). Miller's book is a little out of date, so the prices aren't to be considered, but the book is still full of great information. There are many other books out there on Morgan dollars, but imo these are the top three and they should be in every Morgan collector's library.

Once you have a general knowledge of the series the next step is to plan out what type of collection you're going to assemble. Luckily with the Morgan dollar series there are many different options *This isn't a step to be overlooked, planning is such an important part of a collection, and it can save you a lot of money in the long run. All too often collectors start buying coins without planning and eventually they realize the coins they bought don't really fit the collection they want.

(The set numbers used are based on the PCGS Registry, the numbers may vary depending on what coins you do, or do not include.)

The Basic Set- One example of every date and mint mark Morgan dollar. There are 97 coins that make up this set. Just to give an idea of price (using PCGS values) In G4 it will cost around $10,000, in AU55 $70,000, in MS62 $315,000 and in MS65 $2,845,000.

The Basic Set (PL or DMPL)- This is an extremely challenging set, it is just like the Basic set, only all coins must be either PL or DMPL. Hard to give a price estimate, but in MS62 all PL PCGS estimates it at around $428,000.

The Basic Set + Major Varieties- This is another extremely challenging set, it requires one of every date and mint mark, plus all the major VAM varieties. In total there are 116 coins in the set, and an estimated value in AU55 of $102,000.

One Per Date Set- This is a very popular set choice, mainly because it gives the collector a lot of freedom in what coins they want to include in their set. The set is made up of 28 coins, one per date, but mint mark doesn't matter. This is a set you can make as expensive, or as inexpensive as you want.

By Mint Mark- (Either CC, D, P, O, S) These sets require one example from every year struck by that mint. The coins required depend on the mint; CC- 13, D- just one coin (1921), P- 27, O- 26, S- 28.

Varieties- If your interested in VAMs some of the most popular ways to collect are by the top lists, either Top 100, Hot 50, or Hit List 40.

When planning what type of collection you're going to start it's always important to remember to set reasonable goals. Also it is often suggested to keep the coins similar (grade wise), collections may seem poorly organized if grades are all over the place from AG3-MS67.

The last step really involves buying the coins. The old saying buy the coin and not the slab is 100% true, especially if you want to put together a nice set. First, and foremost know how to grade! And the best way to know how to grade is practice, looking at tons of pics is great practice. If your focusing on MS Morgans know the difference between a 64 and a 65, and what to look for within each grade. When buying a Morgan dollar, as with all coins, you should focus on 3 main things; surface preservation (Hits, marks, scraps), luster (mainly in MS), and strike quality. Be patient, and wait for the right coin, don't just buy the first coin you see. Also when buying specific coins, know the typical characteristics for that date/mint mark; Is it an '81-S that is know for it's strong strike and great luster, or is it a '86 O that is notoriously weak struck.

But most importantly, have fun!

 

I see you changed the thread a bit from when I last read it on CF.
Like before, I love the thread!
I too was going to do an article on Morgan Dollars, but one of the things that was holding me back was I knew you were going to use this thread.

 

Thanks T$.
Are you still going to do one on Morgans? I say go for it, the more the merrier.

 

Yes but I don't know what direction I am going to go in.
The only either direction I can think of is the grading of a Morgan Dollar, I know I'm good at that, might as well....

 

Nice write up.

 

very nice read Raider, hopefully some youngster will happen upon it and be hooked. Great researsh and a thread very well done, pics and all. Thanks
John

 

Wonderful! Thank you for taking the time to write this up.

 

Thanks for writing this up. It is a very good overview, well written and easy to follow.

 

Mee too--an outstanding post!!!!

 

Excellent source of info. I often wondered about the origin of the 8TF. Thanks for writing it up. TC

 

One of the most informative articles on U.S. coinage I have ever read... As I would also love to read one on grading Morgan Silver Dollars... I'm not the greatest at grading them, but this helps ten-fold... Brilliant!!! THANK YOU!!!

 

That is all the inspiration I need to write my thread. :goofer:

 

WOW!
That is a huge comment! Congrats Raider, this certainly was a success of a thread. Attention everyone! On the top right of this thread you will see an option to "Rate Thread", click on it, and you will be able to rate it up to 5 stars, let's get this thread on fire!

 

I'm not a Morgan collector but I have to say this is a brilliant thread! Excellent information! :thumb:

 

Thanks everyone, glad you liked it :thumb:.

Thanks Snaz, great contest!

 

Yes, a tremendous amount of work, Really well done. Looking foward to the post on grading.

 

great post!

 

Great job, Raider! Thanks so very much.

Chris