Pre-1921 90% Silver Morgan Dollar in Cull Condition
It took a while for prospectors in Nevada to realize how much silver they were overlooking in their search for gold, but once they did, a migration to rival the California Gold Rush began. Starting in 1859, the Nevada Silver Rush lasted about twenty years and resulted in nearly 7 million tons of silver production along with considerable amounts of gold.
Henry Comstock, the Silver Lode Namesake
While the actual discoverer of silver in Nevada’s Virginia Mountains is disputed, a man named Henry Comstock lent his name to the silver lode. Comstock was an uneducated man with no business experience, but he took over the claim of the two ill-fated Grosh brothers whose cabin he was entrusted to care for while Allen headed for California with a friend to raise fundsafter his brother Hosea’s death from a foot infection. The men got lost on the way with Allen eventually succumbing to complications of frostbite and his friend, Maurice Bucke, returning to his native Canada to practice psychiatry. Comstock filed for the abandoned claim and several others, which he ultimately sold. His lack of business acumen led to him becoming nearly destitute, and he took his own life several years later while prospecting in Montana.
Silver Dollar Production Suspended in 1904
Up until the Fourth Coinage Act of 1873, bullion producers could have their silver converted to legal tender at the rate of 16 ounces of silver to one ounce of gold. But the Comstock strikes drove down the price of silver, letting producers make huge profits by having their ore converted to coins. The Act sought to end that, but pressure from special interests led to the Bland–Allison Act, requiring the Treasury to purchase between two and four million dollars' worth of silver per month to be made into dollar coins. This resulted in a glut of silver dollars, and the production of the coins was suspended in 1904. Silver dollar production wasn’t resumed until 1921.
Morgan Silver Dollar Design
The silver dollars made between 1878 and 1904, and again in 1921, were designed by U. S. Mint Assistant Engraver George T. Morgan. The coin’s face depicts a profile portrait representing Liberty surrounded by thirteen stars and the national motto, E Pluribus Unum. The reverse depicts an eagle with outstretched wings holding arrows and an olive branch in its talons. An olive wreath spreads up from below with In God We Trust above the eagle’s head. United States of America radiates around its outer edge with One Dollar inscribed at the bottom.
U.S Treasury Mint Marks
Because of the bounty of the Comstock Lode, the Treasury established a mint branch in Carson City, Nevada, as it had done in San Francisco during the California Gold Rush. Coins made there carry a CC mint mark. Unsurprisingly, the Carson City mint produced mostly silver coins until it ceased production of U.S. coins in 1903. Morgan dollars were also made at the Mint’s Philadelphia, New Orleans and San Francisco facilities, and in Denver when production was resumed in 1921. 1921 Morgans are the only coins from that series to carry the D mint mark. The Morgan design was replaced by the Anthony de Francisci-designed Peace dollar later that same year.
Pre-1921 Morgan Silver Dollars
The Great American Coin Company® is pleased to offer pre-1921 Morgan Silver Dollars minted between 1878 and 1904 for both collectors and history buffs. These 90% silver coins are in ungraded cull condition and may have defects ranging from dents, dings, and scratchesto staining or excessive cleaning, but are historically significant because their silver comes from the mines of the Comstock Lode. They’re an important part of any portfolio and are an inexpensive way to launch a beginner on a rewarding, life-long interest in coin collecting. They make great novelty gifts that capture an important time in U.S. history, too.
