1799) Historical Evolution of the US Silver Dollar Coinage: Morgan Dollar, Peace Dollar, Eisenhower Dollar , Bicentennial Dollar et al:
2021 marks the 100th Anniversary of completion of Coinage of the Morgan Dollar and the 100th Anniversary of commencement of Coinage of the Peace Dollar:
2021 - 100th Anniversary Coins:
In 2021, the US Mint is bringing out two famous designs as collector coins as a result of the 1921 Silver Dollar Coin Anniversary Act (Public Law 116-286).
It requires the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $1 silver coins in recognition of the 100th Anniversary of completion of coinage of the Morgan Dollar and the 100th anniversary of commencement of coinage of the Peace Dollar.
A historical perspective:
It is now 100 years since the transition between minting two of the most famous coins issued by the United States Mint the last of the Morgan Dollars and start of the Peace Dollar.
2021 also marks the 50th Anniversary of the Silver Coin that followed - the Eisenhower Dollar.
These three coins, spanning 100 years—from the first Morgan Dollar in 1878 to the final Eisenhower Dollar in 1978, share a connection through history and legacy.
Silver Supply and the Morgan Dollar (1878-1921):
Silver mining in the United States, mainly the Comstock Lode (1859), was the catalyst that gave silver dollar coinage its prominence.
Before the country could benefit from this discovery, previous legislation demonetizing silver first had to be overcome.
The Bland-Allison Act re-authorized the Standard Silver Dollar to the weight and fineness as stated in the Act of January 18, 1837 (Weight:26.73 grams; Metal Composition: .900 Silver, .100 Copper).
This new coin was named the Morgan Dollar, since it was designed by George T. Morgan (who, from 1917-1925, would serve as chief engraver of the US Mint).
In conformity with the requirements of the Coinage Act of 02.04.1792 (1 Stat. 246, 248), the Obverse design depicted a profile of Lady Liberty, and on the Reverse was seen a heraldic eagle.
The first Morgan Dollar coins were struck in 1878 at the Philadelphia Mint.
An 1878 Morgan Silver Dollar - Obverse
An 1878 Morgan Silver Dollar - Reverse
Following some design revisions, they were also struck at San Francisco and Carson City that same year, because of the facilities’ proximity to the silver mines in the Western United States.
The next year, New Orleans too, minted the Morgan Dollars through 1904.
Silver Dollar Production kept in abeyance:
The 1890 Sherman Silver Purchase Act, resulted in demand and silver bullion supplies being dropped and production of the Morgan Dollar was suspended in 1904 at all U.S. Mint facilities.
No silver dollar coins were minted in the U.S. from 1905-1920. Since the New Orleans Mint relied on silver coin production for business, this ultimately led to its shutdown as a Mint facility.
After World War I, the Pittman Act of 1918 authorized the melting of millions of previously minted silver dollars (primarily Morgan Dollars). However, the Act also required silver to be purchased in order to manufacture new silver coins to replace the melted ones.
As contained in the Pittman Act, production of the Morgan Dollar resumed in 1921 at Philadelphia, San Francisco, and, for the first time at the Denver Mint. Later in the same year, the Philadelphia Mint switched production to the Peace Dollar.
No special congressional authority was required for the modification in design, since the law permits changing the design of any U.S. coins after 25 years.
The Peace Dollar (1921-1928 & then again in 1935):
In 12/1921, the Peace Dollar replaced the Morgan Dollar.
The Peace Dollar commemorated the declaration of peace between the United States and Germany. The Mint made more than one million Peace Dollars in less than one month. Six months later nearly 25 million Peace Dollars had been minted.
The design of the Peace Dollar depicted on the Obverse a female head emblematic of Liberty, wearing a tiara of light rays. The Reverse design depicted an eagle perched on a mountain top, holding an olive branch in its talons, witnessing the dawn of a new day.
The Peace Dollar was struck from 1921-1928, at which point demand for the dollar was low, and the silver supply resulting from the Pittman Act ran out.
The Peace Silver Dollar 1934 - Obverse
The Peace Silver Dollar 1934 - Reverse
It was minted one last time prior to World War II, with the passage of what was referred to as the Silver Purchase Act of 1934. The coinage was short-lived, lasting only through 1935. These last Peace Dollars were struck at the Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco Mints and are great collector's items.
Dollar Coin Production, (1878-1978):
Carson City Mint minted Morgan Dollars;
Denver Mint minted Morgan, Peace, Eisenhower Dollars;
New Orleans Mint minted Morgan Dollars;
Philadelphia Mint minted Morgan, Peace, Eisenhower Dollars;
San Francisco Mint minted Morgan, Peace, Eisenhower Dollars.
The period before the Eisenhower Dollar:
No silver dollar coins were struck by the Mints and issued into circulation after 1935.
The silver dollar drought almost ended in 1964, when new legislation allowed the Denver Mint to strike Peace Dollars. However, none of the coins were released to the public.
At the same time, legislation was also being worked to remove silver from coins because of the ongoing shortage.
On 23.07.1965, the Coinage Act of 1965 was approved, which removed silver from circulating coins and authorized that clad coins be used for the half dollar, quarter, and dime.
The Eisenhower Dollar (1971-1974 and again in 1977-78):
On 31.12.1970, the Bank Holding Company Act Amendments of 1970 were enacted. Title Two of this Act and its various amendments authorized the Eisenhower Dollar Coin.
This same act that gave birth to the nation’s newest dollar coin also authorized the sale of one of its predecessors - 2.8 million Morgan Dollars (minted at the Carson City Mint) stored in U.S. Treasury Department vaults.
In 1971, the Mint produced Eisenhower copper-clad and silver-clad dollars.
This coin marked the first time a portrait of a U.S. president was authorized to appear on a circulating dollar coin. It was also the first circulating silver dollar coin minted since 1935.
The Eisenhower Silver Dollar 1971 - Obverse
The Eisenhower Silver Dollar 1971 - Reverse
The Obverse depicted an image of President Dwight Eisenhower while the Reverse was a symbolic representation of the Apollo 11 flight and the first landing on the moon and depicted the bald eagle landing on the crater-pocked surface of the moon, an olive branch clutched in both claws.
From 1971-1974, the new dollar was minted with two different compositions: one for collectors, “as an alloy of 80% silver and 20.% copper,” at the San Francisco Mint; the other for circulation (75% copper and 25% nickel), at the Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco Mints.
Bicentennial Coinage and After:
During the mid-1970s, the quarter, half dollar, and dollar coins underwent a design transformation for the nation’s upcoming bicentennial celebration.
The Bicentennial Silver Dollar 1976 - Obverse
The Bicentennial Silver Dollar 1976 - Reverse
Minted in 1975 & 1976, the Bicentennial Dollar’s Obverse was akin to the Eisenhower Dollar, with the exception of the dual-date addition of 1776-1976.
On the Coin’s Reverse was featured a Liberty Bell and Moon combination. Like its predecessor, the Bicentennial Dollar was minted with two different compositions and was struck at the Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco Mints.
Following the celebration, the original design of the Eisenhower Dollar (single date and eagle reverse design) returned to circulation. It was struck again in 1977 and 1978, but this time only with the copper-nickel clad version.
Subsequent designs of the dollar coin continued to be issued into circulation from 1979-2011.
Since 2012, dollar coins have only been minted and issued as numismatic items.
I have several of these Collector Dollar issues in my numismatic collection.
29) The first ever "No Show" Panda, USA: Minted in Platinum (One Oz.), Gold (One Oz.) and Silver (50.0 grams) Medal Variants: American Numismatic Association cancels the "2020-World's Fair of Money", scheduled to be held in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania on 04-08/08/2020
30) Women's Suffrage, USA: 100th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment's Ratification (1920-2020), that endorsed Women's Right to Vote: Date of Coins/Medals issue: 18.08.2020
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