The Final Morgan Dollar of the 1880s: The 1889 Philadelphia Mint Issue
The Morgan Dollar is America’s most sought after coin because it hits the Collector’s Tri-Fecta: it was the largest silver coin ever issued for circulation in the United States, it was also the longest tenured silver coin in United States Mint history, and it has one of the best 'stories' of any collector’s coin around. Known to many a collector as the 'True Coin' of the 'Wild West', many famous outlaws throughout American frontier history made their living by robbing banks and trains for their bags of Morgan Dollars… Who would have thought they would be even more popular more than 133 years later?
How do you take a coin that hits the Collector’s Tri-Fecta and make it even better? How about finding them in beautiful uncirculated condition after 133 years!
The Iconic Wild West Silver Dollars
The Morgan Dollar’s history is one intertwined with that of the United States, as it was an integral piece of United States social history. The 'Wild West' earned its nickname thanks to some of the most famous (or infamous, as many will argue) gangsters to ever walk the nation… Jesse James and the James Gang, Billy the Kid, the Doolin-Dalton Gang, the Wild Bunch, and last but certainly not least Robert Leroy 'Butch Cassidy' Parker and Harry 'the Sundance Kid' Longabaugh.
Each of these individuals, and many more whose names are lost to history, terrorized the banking and railroad industries so much that the 'Wild West' was born alongside the iconic image of an outlaw carrying a large bag of silver dollars out of the bank/train on horseback.
Did you know? The coin was named after its designer, George T. Morgan, an Assistant Engraver at United States Mint. On his design the obverse depicts a profile portrait representing Liberty, while the reverse depicts an eagle with wings outstretched.
133+ Year Old Collecting Relics that Survived
Paper money was slowly becoming an integral part of our culture. As a result, the large silver coins being used for everyday transactions were now stored away and not used. After they were struck, most coins went right to the vaults of the Treasury Department. The Pittman Act of 1918 melted down nearly half of the entire mintage of Morgan Dollars struck from 1878 to 1904. Which coins would most likely be the first out of the vaults to be melted? Why the most abundant ones of course.
With a total mintage of over 21 million, it was almost assured that the majority of the melted Morgan Silver Dollars were going to be from the 1889 issue.
