The Final New Orleans Morgan Dollar
1904-O in stunning PCGS Certified MS64
The New Orleans Mint and its special 'O' mint mark has one of the strangest stories in U.S. history you will ever hear. For starters, it's the only U.S. Mint to be owned and operated by THREE different countries.
After opening its doors in 1838, it produced silver and gold coins all the way until the doors shuttered in 1909. The most popular coin produced by the fabled New Orleans Mint is the iconic Morgan Silver Dollar that was produced there from 1879 until 1904.
We recently came across several mint condition rolls of 1904 New Orleans Mint Silver Dollars while at a local coin show and had them sent out for certification. The results were unbelievable -- many of the coins came back as MS64 graded pieces.
Three Countries, One Mint, & One Wild Story
To say the New Orleans Mint has had a very rich history would be an understatement. The tale first began in 1835 when the Federal Government was facing a shortage in circulating coinage -- as a result they create the New Orleans Mint.
This new Mint operated continuously from 1838 until January 26, 1861, when the state of Louisiana seceded from the United States of America. This 'new' government let all Federal employees remain, but only if they became employees of the state and not the Federal Government -- however this status would last long.
The very next month, March, saw Louisiana join the Confederate Government and the Mint changed nations once more. Then the following year, in April of 1862, the Union would retake New Orleans and the Mint was finally back where it had started in 1835 as a part of the United States of America’s Federal Government.
Only the Finest from the 'Hand-Me-Down' Mint< /br>
Some of the Rarest O-Mint Silver Dollars Known Today
New Orleans Mint Silver Dollars were notorious for their poor strikes in comparison to their counterparts from San Francisco and Philadelphia -- largely in part to their status as the 'Hand-me-down Mint'.
They earned this moniker due to the fact that most of their coin-striking machinery (dies and presses) came second hand from the Philadelphia, San Francisco, or Carson City Mints.
With poor quality strikes being the 'norm' for the New Orleans Mint, it has made finding O-Mint Morgan Silver Dollars in a collector quality uncirculated condition a difficult task -- let alone finding them in stunning MS64.
