Silver
Coins:
An Introduction to Collectible Silver Coins
of the United States
By Mike Will
Coin collectors and investors have a big opportunity
to find beautiful and profitable coins from amongst
the many coins that have been issued by the United
States in the past two hundred years. Here is a guide
to the most popular American silver coins.
The Morgan Dollar, 1878-1821
The so-called Morgan Dollar was first minted in 1878
after the passage of the Bland-Allision act of that
same year.
The Philadelphia Mint asked engravers William Barber
and George T. Morgan to create ideas for a new design.
After due consideration, the Morgan motif won out,
and hence the dollars became known as “Morgan” dollars.
The portrait was modeled after Miss Anna Willess Williams,
a girl of 19, who sat for Morgan earlier, and who was
depicted on several varieties of pattern half dollars
in 1877.
This dollar didn’t start out as a collector’s
item because the government, under pressure from a
powerful silver lobby, minted hundreds of millions
of silver dollars, most of which languished unused
in bank and treasury vaults.
For a long time, the Morgan dollars were not held
in high regard by collectors, but this changed completely
in 1962. In that year the US government began to sell
1000 piece silver dollar treasury bags to the public
for the face value of $1000. All the dollars were sold
to private collectors, and ever since the Morgan dollar
has been a sought after coin.
The Peace Dollar, 1922-1964
In 1922, the Peace dollar design was altered to show
the features in low, shallow relief. Thus, much of
DeFrancisci's artistry was lost. A quantity of 1922
High Relief business strike dollars that had been minted
went to the melting pot, so that there would be just
one standard type of 1922.
Mintage of regular-relief Peace silver dollars was
continuous from 1922 through 1928 and again in 1934
and 1935. Mintage was accomplished at Philadelphia
and San Francisco in each of these years, and intermittently
at Denver.
The Walking Liberty Half Dollar (1916-1947)
In 1916 the design of Adolph A. Weinman was selected
for the new half dollar motif to replace the Barber
design which had been in use since 1892. Weinman, a
sculptor, also produced the Liberty Head or "Mercury" dime
introduced the same year.
The design has been a favorite with numismatists ever
since the time of issue, and many consider it to be
one of the most beautiful motifs ever employed on a
circulating coin.
The Franklin Half Dollar (1948-1964)
In 1948 John R. Sinnock, chief engraver of the Philadelphia
Mint, produced a new design for the half dollar, to
replace the Liberty Walking motif which had been in
use since 1916. The Franklin half dollar depicts a
head and shoulders portrait of Franklin on the obverse,
facing right, with “Liberty” above and “In
God We Trust” below. The date is to the right.
The reverse shows the Liberty Bell with “United
States of America” above and “Half Dollar” below.
The motto “E Pluribus Unum” is to the left
while a small eagle is to the right.
The Kennedy Half Dollar
This coin was minted in 1964 following the assassination
of John F. Kennedy. Because of Kennedy’s popularity
and the fact that later half dollars, after 1965, contain
only 40% silver, the 1964 coin has been hoarded by
collectors and the ordinary public alike.
These are some of the collectible silver coins that
have been minted in the United States since the founding
of the U.S. mint. Whether you are interested in coins
as a hobbyist, a historian or an investor, you will
find a lot to choose from in the coinage of the U.S.A.
Mike Will is the Director of Encore Gold, http://www.encoregold.com,
a leading worldwide dealer in gold and silver coins
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