Morgan Dollar
The Morgan Dollar is today one of the most famous and desired American coins in existence, thanks to its colorful history. These coins were ignored in circulation. Since the production of its previous design, the Seated Liberty dollar, Morgan Dollar was the first standard silver dollar minted. Due to the passage of the Fourth Coinage Act, an act which also ended the free coining of silver, it was ceased. The coin is named after its designer George T. Morgan, United States Mint Assistant Engraver. The obverse shows a profile portrait representing Liberty, while the reverse shows an eagle with wings outstretched.
Morgan silver dollars were minted between the years 1878 and 1921, with a notable break between 1905 and 1920. The year 1885 is not even so special in this matter. Although there are many authentic 1885 Morgan silver dollars in circulation, still in China they are making counterfeit coins with this date.
The most common are the 1921-dated coins, and there exists a substantial collector market for pristine, uncirculated specimens of the rarer dates and mint marks. In collector popularity Morgan dollars are second only to Lincoln Cents. The design, large size, and inexpensive nature of most dates of the Morgan dollar make them highly popular.
Morgan Dollar Composition
It contains 90% Silver and 10% Copper, and weighs 26.73 grams
Investing in Morgan Dollar
Morgan Dollars have become very popular as an investment opportunity for coin collectors, because they cost a reasonable amount of money to buy, have performed very well in the past as an investment, and are beautiful to behold. But like any investment, you must do your homework first if you expect to come out ahead over dealer profits, inflation, rare coin appreciation in general, and knowing which specimens to buy in particular, to ensure that you don’t take a loss instead.
Investment should only be made in the highest grade specimens, because the Morgan Dollar series exists in generally higher grades than most other series. If you can afford to buy Proof Morgan, you should, because those have performed very well over the last fifteen years. The very high grade, MS-65 or better are the next best option for investment. They are expensive compared to MS-60 to MS-63, but their incredible rarity in the age of encapsulation makes them a good investment.
