Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Silver Dollars - For Collectors Or History Lovers


Author: Max Lloyd

United States silver dollars have long been prized by coin collectors, but they also have a background that's valued information for lovers of American history.



Thomas Jefferson first proposed minting a silver dollar coin in 1785 and when Treasury Secretary, Alexander Hamilton, projected a monetary system for the emerging United States of America, they began producing the coins, including the Flowing Hair silver dollar in 1794.



Silver dollars were minted in varying degrees of silver content until silver became scarce. When the incredible riches of Nevada's Comstock Lode were discovered in the late 1850s, silver prices plummeted and the Treasury Department was required by Congress to begin producing silver coins. The Trade Dollar was minted in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania specifically to improve trade with the Orient - mainly China.



The Morgan silver dollar was designed by George T. Morgan and minted from 1878 until 1904, then ceased because of the huge amount of dollars in circulation and silver bullion again became scarce. Then, in 1921, the Morgan silver dollar was minted again, but only for the year. Silver prices skyrocketed after 1921, and Morgan dollars were melted for their content of silver bullion.



Carson City Morgan dollars were discovered at the Carson City Mint where they were produced in the 1800s. They were ultimately sold by the federal government to coin collectors in the 1970s and are some of the most prized in coin collecting.



The history of silver dollars in America is fascinating and has produced a huge following of collectors.



United States silver dollars continue to be one of the most valued silver coins collectible worldwide.



Among silver dollars, Carson City Morgan dollars are most valued dollars, and here is why.



Carson City Morgans (CC Silver Dollars) demand an indomitable place in American history. After massive quantities of silver were discovered in the 1850s in Carson City, Nevada, the town built and maintained a mintage that produced what became known as the CC Morgans.



The Carson City silver dollars look the same as the Morgan dollars, with the face of Liberty and an eagle on the reverse side, but also display the double C mint mark on the reverse side. This fact makes it extremely valuable to collectors.



Millions of Carson City silver dollars were minted during certain years, but in other years only a few thousands were minted. As a result, Carson City silver dollars total less than one per cent of the total number of American silver dollars that were minted before and after them.



All Carson City Morgans are considered very collectible, but among the most valuable of these is the 1885 Morgan CC. During this year, very few of these silver dollars were minted. The Carson City mint was officially closed in 1893.



Meanwhile, the numismatic hobby was growing by leaps and bounds. Then, in the late 1930s a few coin dealers discovered that there were uncirculated Carson City silver dollars worth $5.00 each in Washington D.C.'s Treasury Department. Naturally, the dealers began to take advantage of the opportunity.



New interest in Carson City Morgans began in 1972 when the General Services Administration began to distribute them in mail-bids. This continued until1980, when the entire cache of CC dollars was gone.

About the Author:
Like this article? Visit Morgan Dollars site to read more about morgan dollar coins. I love collecting silver coins, and found http://www.morgandollarsilver.com/ site where you can read more about Morgan dollars.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Silver Dollars - For Collectors Or History Lovers

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Morgan Dollar

Lee Williams Coin Site
The Morgan Dollar is a silver United States dollar coin. The dollars were minted from 1878 to 1904 and again for one more year in 1921. The Morgan Dollar is named after its designer, George T. Morgan, who designed the obverse and reverse of the coin. Morgan's monogram appears near Lady Liberty's neck on the obverse. The Morgan Dollar was authorized by the Bland-Allison Act of 1878. It has a fineness of .900, giving a total silver content of 0.77344 troy ounces (24.057 grams) per coin.

History
The Comstock Lode, the greatest silver strike in history, was discovered in Nevada in the late 1850s. The strike put downward pressure on silver prices worldwide. The greatest silver strike in history was followed by the greatest coinage boondoggle in history. In 1878, to protect the interest of the western states, Congress passed the Bland-Allison Act which required the Treasury Department to purchase large amounts of silver, and to strike it as coins. For reasons of economy, the Treasury chose to strike the silver as dollars. The mintage was far more than was needed in circulation. These excess silver dollars quickly began piling up. Some original mint bags of Morgan Dollar remained in treasury vaults until the 1960s. This strange past has led to one of the greatest collectible series in American coins providing collectors with many dates and mint marks readily obtainable in mint state condition along with challenging rarities.
When the dollar was minted in 1878, it was the first dollar issued for American commercial use since the last Seated Liberty Dollar of 1873. The Trade Dollar was minted during this time period but was for trade in the orient. The dollar was continuously minted until 1904 when the supply of dollars in circulation was high and there was an absence of silver bullion. Then in 1918, the Pittman Act called for over 270 million coins to be melted for silver content. In 1921, the coinage of the Morgan Dollar resumed for that year and was replaced by the Peace Dollar commemorative that would become standard issue. Since 1921, many Morgan Dollar have been melted, mostly when silver prices escalate and they yield silver bullion.
Caches of Morgan Dollar produced at the Carson City Mint were discovered and were sold to coin collectors by the federal government in the early 1970s. These dollars were uncirculated and are called GSAs (named after the General Services Administration) and come in holds that mimic the holds used for proof silver Eisenhower dollars.
Rare Coin Site

This link gives you access to ebay and all ebay items in this category

Thursday, May 7, 2009

1921 MORGAN SILVER DOLLAR


"NICE COIN"

This coin has very nice clear date and wonderful detail. Ridges on the pinwheel stand out clearly, very sharp looking coin.
Great coin to add to your collection or the start of one.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

1896 MORGAN DOLLAR


MS - 60 or higher

SLIGHTLY DIRTY, BUT SHOWS NO WEAR

ALL LINES SHARP & CLEAR!

HAIR ABOVE EAR TOTALLY UNWORN

RIM CRISP AND SHARP

BREAST FEATHERS TOTALLY DEFINED

TALONS FULLY ROUNDED

NO WEAR TO BE SEEN UNDER LOUPE!!
LUSTER IS FROSTY WITH ABSOLUTELY NO VISIBLE WEAR!

BEAUTIFUL EYE APPEAL

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Coin Book Reviews: A Guide Book of Morgan Silver Dollars by Q David Powers

The 2nd edition of "A Guide Book of Morgan Silver Dollars, A complete History and Price Guide" was released in paperback form on March 31, 2005.
The first chapter discussed the appeal and challenges of collecting Morgan Dollars and a few tidbits about the history of the Morgan Dollar. While only 5 and 1/2 pages long, the first chapter is filled with interesting facts. As you enter chapter two, the book goes back a ways and discussed the history of dollar coins in general going back to the Spanish Milled Dollars, then the Mint Act of 1792 and how US coinage began. There are several paragraphs discussing the early dollar coins, there popularity, or lack thereof, and how the dollar was eliminated and replaced with the Trade Dollar.
The book does a very decent job of describing the events that were happening during this time period such as the troubling times for silver companies and the political involvement to help them out that eventually led to the Morgan Dollar. Chapters 3 and 4 are packed with excellent information on the design process for the Morgan Dollar and them the minting process. For a new collector, this is very good information.
Chapter 5 discusses the five, yes five different mints that produced Morgan Dollars, although the Denver mint only produced Morgan Dollars for one year, the year 1921. Chapter five also gives a little bit of history about each of the mints.
Chapter 6 discusses the various hoards of silver dollars discovered long after the demise of the dollar. Some once thought scare dates were now plentiful as the US Treasury began releasing and selling Silver Dollars held in vaults for years.
Chapter 7 delves into the variety of ways you can collect Morgan Dollars. If you are at all familiar with Morgan Dollars, then you know that there is a multitude of ways to collect this coveted coin. Chapter 7 will give you many ideas to help you narrow down the way you may want to collect this series
Chapter 8 discusses grading and the ANA grading scale. If you are familiar with the scales, then there is not much new here. Also, this is also where I think the book could stand some improvement. There are pictures providing examples for each grade, but like most, if not all books about grading, there are only descriptions for MS60 and above. I would have liked to see large pictures for each MS grade. This would give collectors a clear indication of the impact of bag marks in regards to grading.
Chapter 9 discusses the many varieties within the Morgan series while Chapter 10 is where the real meat of the book is. Chapter 10 contains a page for each and every year and mint of the entire Morgan Dollar series. Each page contains information on keys to collecting, circulation strikes, prooflike coins, price guide, availability guide, mintage and distribution and varieties. Each page is jam-packed with information very specific to each date and mint. In addition, there is a summary for each year that discussed things going on at the time and other general information about Morgan Dollars for that year. This type of information no doubt took years to gather and is invaluable to the serious Morgan Dollar collector.
Chapter 10 is buy far the longest and provides incredible detail for each and every year and mint of the Morgan series. There is one page for each date/mint that provides information such as optimal collecting grade, PCGS population (although outdated as more coins become certified), estimated field population, total mintages, varieties, etc. In addition, there is a page for each year that discusses collecting and how life was during that particular year. In all, chapter 10 is for the series Morgan Dollar collector.
In summary, if you are a series Morgan Dollar collector, or just a beginner, this is a must have book. The information provided in this book is incredible and provides the collector with incredible information into collecting one of the most popular coins collected today.
This book gets 4 1/2 stars.
If this book had blown up pictures of Mint State type coins, it would have rated a 5. Since the Morgan Dollar is most desired in Mint State, it puzzles me as to why graded pictures are not provided.

By : Keith Scott
Author Resource:- Keith Scott has been a collector for over 30 years. His website has Coin Book Reviews. He also writes Coin Collecting Articles for fun. Visit his websites for a history of US coins, metal market updates and news about your favorite coins.
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Thursday, April 2, 2009

1923-S Peace Silver Dollar


This is a good example of the way Silver Dollars should look like. It is a 1923-S Peace 90% Silver Dollar that is around Very Fine circulated condition. It is an excellent investment because it is a minted coin.


Friday, March 20, 2009

1878 7TF Morgan Dollar


This 1878 7TF Rev of 79 Morgan shows plenty of obvious circulation. The surfaces have a bit more than average wear for a coin this age. There are still some details, however, in key areas. It has a light grey color.
First year Morgans get quite pricey and this one makes a nice "starter coin" for new collectors who don't want to dive right in and spend a lot until they learn more about dates and grades and so forth. This coin was scanned to give you a close view of the true condition. The rims are in solid shape.