The Morgan Dollar - 1878 to 1921
September 16, 2008
The Morgan Dollar is a United States Silver Dollar named after its designer, George T. Morgan. These were made from 1878 to 1904, and then again, in 1921, just for that year. He designed both sides of this coin and his personal monogram shows close to Lady Liberty's neck on the front side of the coin. Morgans design used Anna Willess Williams, who was a schoolteacher and, occasional model, from Philadelphia. The back of the coin showed what has been called a rather malnourished eagle.
The silver coin itself is large, 38.1 mm in diameter, weighs 26.73 grams, is made of .900 fine silver and has a reeded edge. The total silver content is .77344 troy ounces. Late in the 1850s, the Comstock Lode was discovered in Nevada. This had been called the biggest silver strike in history and had the effect of driving down silver prices all over the world. As a result of this strike, Congress initiated the Bland-Allison Act in 1878, which made it a requirement for the Treasury Department to buy great amounts of silver to make coins from. Therefore, the first Morgan Dollar was made on March 11, 1878.
