The U.S. Mint began striking silver dollars coins in 1878 after the Bland-Allison Act that authorized their production. (A 1873 coinage law made no provisions for the production of a silver dollar coin.) The Morgan silver dollar was produced from 1878 to 1904 and again in 1921. The coin was named after its designer, George T. Morgan.
Design
The Morgan silver dollar features Lady Liberty in profile on the obverse, looking to the left. She is flanked by the words "E Pluribus Unum," the date and a series of stars that wrap around the edge of the coin. The reverse features an eagle clutching an olive branch and arrows in its talons. The words "United States of America" and "One Dollar" wrap around the edge. The phrase "In God We Trust" appears above the eagle's head.
Size and Weight
The coin has a diameter of 38 mm and a weight of 26.7 g, making it one of the largest and heaviest American coins ever produced.
Composition
The Morgan silver dollar comprises 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper, giving it a net weight of .77 oz. pure silver.
Conditions
A coin with few imperfections such as contact marks and impaired luster can grade as uncirculated if the coin has very little to no wear. Most wear occurs in the feathers of the eagle's breast and the lines of Lady Liberty's hair. Most coins grade as very fine or extremely fine due to wear in these locations.
Errors
Minting mistakes led to some Morgan error coins that became collector's items. Many coins minted in Carson City, New Orleans and San Francisco in 1880 feature an "8" struck over a "7" or "80" struck over "79." Some of these coins can be worth 10 times the value of non-error coins from this year. Some copies of the 1888 coin minted in New Orleans are called "hot lips" because Lady Liberty's lips were struck twice. These copies are worth about twice the value of other Morgan silver dollars from this year.
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