Morgan Silver Dollars

One of the most beautiful silver coins ever minted by the United States is the Morgan Silver dollar.  Morgan Silver dollars were minted from 1878 to 1904, with one final year in 1921.  Named after George T. Morgan, who designed the coin, Morgan Silver Dollars are 90% silver and 10% Copper, giving them a total silver content of 0.77344 troy ounces (24.057 grams) per coin.

Morgan Silver dollars arose from the passage of the Bland-Allison Act in 1878.  This act required the Treasury Department to purchase large amounts of silver, which was available in abundance from the Comstock Lode silver strike which had taken place in Nevada in 1858, and strike it into coins.

Morgan Silver dollars have been collected on several occasions and melted down because of the silver content.  Despite this, they are still largely available and, with the exception of some collector coins, most qualify as junk silver coins with no numismatic value. They are readily available from coin shops, at online stores and on eBay.   Because some Morgan silver dollars have a numismatic value and a premium that reflects this be cautious when it comes to buying the coins.  Don’t pay too much.

Adding Morgan Silver dollars to your stash of silver coins is an excellent idea both because of their silver value and because they are beautiful coins.  Morgan Silver Dollars also bring with them a sense of history, taking you back to a time when the currency was sound and based on real value, not on the whims and wishes of politicians.  These are the dollars that settled the West and because of that they deserve a place in your silver coin collection.