One of the most popular coins in US history, the head of the coin shows the profile of Miss Liberty with the opposite side being that of an eagle with it's wings fully extended.

Authorization of this dollar was procured with another legislative act known as Bland- Allison.  With free minting of silver having ended, the United States Treasury was forced to spend between two and four million dollars on silver at fair market value every month.  In 1890 the buying of silver was set by a particular quantity versus price and silver dollars were only to be minted for one more year. However, in 1893 this was again changed and the silver dollar resumed annual production.

Between 1898 and 1904, all of the silver quantities purchased since 1893 were required to be used for the production of silver dollars, including the Morgan until no silver remained. At that point, no Morgan Silver Dollars were made again until 1921. At that time it was ordered that millions of older silver dollars be melted down and recoined. This resulted in the Morgan dollar being minted for one additional year only, in 1921.  Things remained quiet regarding the Morgan Silver Dollars for the better part of forty years. Then, in the early ninety sixties an unknown supply of these coins were found in the U.S. Treasury vaults. Some of which were considered rare by then. Collectors and others began purchasing an extraordinary amount of these coins at face value.

To show the popularity of the Morgan Silver Dollar, in 2006 a special commemorative silver dollar was produced honoring the old San Francisco mint. There were a total of 100,000 gold and 500,000 silver commemorative coins authorized. The reverse side of that coin was a slightly modified version of the Morgan Silver Dollar eagle.

Collecting Morgan dollars is not the same as investing in rare coins and many consider this coin to be an excellent gauge of the coin industry in general. The analysis of rare coin values also places a great deal of importance on this popular series due to the fact that it is widely held by both collectors and investors alike. However, one of the top reasons for beginning to collect these coins is that the entire series is actually incredibly under priced. As you begin to do do some investigating you will come to see that a large number of dates and mint-marks are still being offered in the same relative price range as many of today's common issues now in production by the US Mint.

I find it amazing to that many early silver dollars in high grades are not reaching prices of five to ten times today's prices, especially considering their strong significance historically. In 1917 the authorized melting of almost 300,000,000 coins created an investment opportunity whose possibilities are still being considered to this day.

Produced at 5 different mints over a time period of 28 years, the Morgan Silver Dollar contains dates and mint-marks that are currently overlooked. This scenario creates an ideal opportunity for investors. Also, the overall popularity of this classic United States silver coin insures that it is wide distributed as past specimens that have been graded are among the community of collectors. This community is so vast that it ensures that even large dealers will only have access to a limited number of coins regardless of the demand.

When the time comes to purchase a coin, it's important to be sure that you are buying only from a reputable coin broker. With the current abundance of online auction sites, it can be very easy for a dishonest seller to attempt to pass off coins that are actually of a lower grade than promised simply due to the fact that you will not have had the chance to personally view and appraise the coin. For this reason I highly recommend that when purchasing coins in higher grades you purchase only coins that have been graded by a third-party service such as PCGS, NGC or SGS.

Best answer:

Answer by Scott Stevenson
If you're talking about the "Hot Lips" variety, figure about $ 30 for one where the portrait is basically an outline with a few major details left, up to about $ 1500 for one with only a tiny bit of wear on the highest points of the design. As the coin gets more wear, the value quickly drops toward the $ 30 mark.

Add your own answer in the comments!

Morgan Dollar


Image by epburn
My sister holds an 1892 Morgan Dollar from a collection of coins. The coin is silver.

Best answer:

Answer by vsquad25
as much as someone is willing to give you for it. so from my stand point, 2 cents.

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!

silver trade unit


Image by sirqitous
pure silver Morgan Dollar knock-off

Best answer:

Answer by cyndi
you need to go to a coin dealer for the best possible price

Give your answer to this question below!

EDC


Image by [mementosis]
- Every Day Carry - the things that are always with me.

the first (and perhaps only) change will be to upgrade to some load-bearing carabiners.

clockwise from top left:

- Victorinox Swiss Army Cybertool 34
Smaller than a traditional multitool, with all the traditional bells & whistles of a Swiss Army Knife. Screwdriver w/ 8 bits, everything from standard slot-head & philips to Torx; mini-pliers, a straight pin, a pen, etc. i use this more often than any other tool i own. and it's apparently the only knife i own that i'm legally allowed to carry in the City.

- Used Rubber wallet
made from discarded industrial-strength inner tubes. after 15 years of daily use it still looks brand new.

- Keys, Flash Drives
(4GB SanDisk Cruzer Micro = bootable Ubuntu Linux, 8GB LaCie ItsaKey = IT Toolkit)

- Panasonic Lumix TS1
waterproof, shockproof, wide angle, HD video, perfect for all occasions.

- Moleskine Volant notebook
smaller than the standard Moleskine, with perforated pages. great for taking notes or distributing ad hoc business cards.

- CountyComm Embassy Pen
a solid tube of aluminum, hollowed out to fit a Fisher Space Pen cartridge. knurling on the body and grip of the pen, screwtop with a springy yet sturdy clip. best.pen.ever. until i buy the stainless steel version

- Casio G-Shock Cockpit Series
best timepiece i've ever owned. analog and digital, dual timezones, 4 alarms, stopwatch, timer. waterproof and shockproof. ion-plated stainless steel. or so they say.

- 4Sevens Quark AA² Tactical flashlight, R5 Edition
runs on AA batteries, waterproof, anodized aluminum, goes from .2(!) lumens to 205(!!!) lumens with a quarter-twist of the head. programmable, with 5 other output modes to choose from. perfect for anything.

- Blackberry 9650
an upgrade from my last BB (8330), and an improvement in all areas. more RAM, optical trackpad, WiFi, better camera, OS6 compatible. if they ever release it. plus it's one of the only Sprint phones that can work w/ GSM, so if & when i travel abroad i can unlock the phone & pop in a SIM card.

- 1900 Morgan Dollar
i've always carried a coin. first it was a steel penny, then a silver quarter, then a silver half-dollar, and now i've got this.

Best answer:

Answer by Ms.Franky
If you know the true value of the coin you can sell them on ebay. If you don't know the value take them to a coin collector and have them appraised. The dealer may purchase them from you or even try and sell them for you.

Add your own answer in the comments!

Materials Scientists, Conservators Join Forces to Preserve Silver Artifacts and Art


Image by University of Maryland Press Releases
(Photo Description: Antoine-Louis Barye, Walking Lion; Striding Lion (Racing Trophy), 1865, silver on marble plinth, 19 1/2 x 26 3/4 x 8 3/4 in.,The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.This sculpture, whose detailed surface makes it difficult to protect from tarnish, would be a prime candidate to receive a new, nanometers-thick coating being developed by materials scientists and conservators at the Walters Art Museum and the A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland. Credit must accompany photo.)

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Where there's silver, there's tarnish. Getting the tarnish off your flatware might be only an occasional inconvenience, but to museum curators and conservators, it's a threat to irreplaceable works of art.

To protect these objects for generations to come, University of Maryland scientists have teamed up with conservators from the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Md., to develop and test a new, high-tech way to protect silver art objects and artifacts, using coatings that are mere nanometers thick.

The technique, called atomic layer deposition (ALD), will be used to create nanometer-thick, metal oxide films which, when applied to an artifact, are both transparent and optimized to reduce the rate of silver corrosion. The films are created when an object is exposed to two or more gases that react with its surface.

"ALD gives us an exquisite level of control, literally at the atomic level," says Ray Phaneuf, a professor of materials science and engineering (MSE) working on the project. "It's an effective, low-cost strategy to reduce corrosion that preserves artifact appearance and composition while complying with the rigorous standards of art conservation practice."

Eric Breitung, a scientist who runs E-squared Art Conservation Science, proposed the collaboration after conducting preliminary investigations into the use of ALD on silver at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.

"I approached members of the Clark School faculty because of their expertise and the university's extensive ALD facilities at the Maryland NanoCenter," he says, adding that the faculty members' previous collaborations with museums made them a good match for the Walters and its silver collection.

Walters Art Museum Conservation Scientist Glenn Gates explains the goals the new coating has to achieve.

"First, its appearance must be acceptable for display in a museum context. It has to be tough enough to endure transport and handling, but not so tough that it can't be removed. It needs to be completely removable so an object can be re-treated to meet future standards of conservation and aesthetics. And finally, it should not cause any harm to a piece, even if it breaks down."

Gates, who works with the Walters' world-class silver collection, is well acquainted with the battle against tarnish. He points out the project's figurative mascot, Antoine Louis Barye's 1865 Walking Lion sculpture, as exactly the sort of piece that could one day benefit from the new treatment. It has been cleaned and lacquered twice since 1949, but in both cases ultimately experienced deterioration problems with its coatings. It is currently unlacquered but must be kept in a special exhibition case to ward off tarnish.

"The Walking Lion represents a complex shape that, being difficult to coat with traditional lacquer, might benefit from ALD protetection," he says.

The team will test the new technique, first on small samples of fine and sterling silver, and then on objects from Gates' own collection, such as 19th century demitasse spoons and Morgan silver dollars. While the Walters does not expect any pieces from its collection to receive the experimental treatment during the course of the study, once it has been proven effective and safe, the Walking Lion would be a prime candidate for this procedure.

The three-year project is one of the first to be funded by the National Science Foundation's Chemistry and Materials Research at the Interface between Science and Art (SCIART) grant program, which supports projects in the field of cultural heritage science through the funding of collaborations among conservation experts in museums and scientists in academia. The SCIART program will be highlighted at the 2011 national meeting of the American Chemical Society, which has invited the team to present their work.

The project's other team members include the museum's Director of Conservation and Technical Research Terry Drayman-Weisser, a recognized metals expert, and, from the University of Maryland's Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Professor Gary Rubloff, Research Associate Laurent Henn-Lecordier, and Graduate Assistant Amy Marquardt, who brings to the project her previous experience working on bronze patinas with the Smithsonian's Museum Conservation Institute.

See this release online:
newsdesk.umd.edu/othercategory/release.cfm?ArticleID=2265

To request an interview with Walters Art Museum staff, please contact the Manager of Public Relations, Amy Mannarino, at amannarino@thewalters.org or at 410-547-9000, ext. 277. For media representatives interested filming on location, a 2-week notice is required and must be scheduled for the weekdays the museum is open to the public (Wednesdays through Fridays).

Visit the Walters homepage at www.thewalters.org.

Best answer:

Answer by Ms.Franky
If you know the true value of the coin you can sell them on ebay. If you don't know the value take them to a coin collector and have them appraised. The dealer may purchase them from you or even try and sell them for you.

Add your own answer in the comments!

Materials Scientists, Conservators Join Forces to Preserve Silver Artifacts and Art


Image by University of Maryland Press Releases
(Photo Description: Antoine-Louis Barye, Walking Lion; Striding Lion (Racing Trophy), 1865, silver on marble plinth, 19 1/2 x 26 3/4 x 8 3/4 in.,The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.This sculpture, whose detailed surface makes it difficult to protect from tarnish, would be a prime candidate to receive a new, nanometers-thick coating being developed by materials scientists and conservators at the Walters Art Museum and the A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland. Credit must accompany photo.)

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Where there's silver, there's tarnish. Getting the tarnish off your flatware might be only an occasional inconvenience, but to museum curators and conservators, it's a threat to irreplaceable works of art.

To protect these objects for generations to come, University of Maryland scientists have teamed up with conservators from the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Md., to develop and test a new, high-tech way to protect silver art objects and artifacts, using coatings that are mere nanometers thick.

The technique, called atomic layer deposition (ALD), will be used to create nanometer-thick, metal oxide films which, when applied to an artifact, are both transparent and optimized to reduce the rate of silver corrosion. The films are created when an object is exposed to two or more gases that react with its surface.

"ALD gives us an exquisite level of control, literally at the atomic level," says Ray Phaneuf, a professor of materials science and engineering (MSE) working on the project. "It's an effective, low-cost strategy to reduce corrosion that preserves artifact appearance and composition while complying with the rigorous standards of art conservation practice."

Eric Breitung, a scientist who runs E-squared Art Conservation Science, proposed the collaboration after conducting preliminary investigations into the use of ALD on silver at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.

"I approached members of the Clark School faculty because of their expertise and the university's extensive ALD facilities at the Maryland NanoCenter," he says, adding that the faculty members' previous collaborations with museums made them a good match for the Walters and its silver collection.

Walters Art Museum Conservation Scientist Glenn Gates explains the goals the new coating has to achieve.

"First, its appearance must be acceptable for display in a museum context. It has to be tough enough to endure transport and handling, but not so tough that it can't be removed. It needs to be completely removable so an object can be re-treated to meet future standards of conservation and aesthetics. And finally, it should not cause any harm to a piece, even if it breaks down."

Gates, who works with the Walters' world-class silver collection, is well acquainted with the battle against tarnish. He points out the project's figurative mascot, Antoine Louis Barye's 1865 Walking Lion sculpture, as exactly the sort of piece that could one day benefit from the new treatment. It has been cleaned and lacquered twice since 1949, but in both cases ultimately experienced deterioration problems with its coatings. It is currently unlacquered but must be kept in a special exhibition case to ward off tarnish.

"The Walking Lion represents a complex shape that, being difficult to coat with traditional lacquer, might benefit from ALD protetection," he says.

The team will test the new technique, first on small samples of fine and sterling silver, and then on objects from Gates' own collection, such as 19th century demitasse spoons and Morgan silver dollars. While the Walters does not expect any pieces from its collection to receive the experimental treatment during the course of the study, once it has been proven effective and safe, the Walking Lion would be a prime candidate for this procedure.

The three-year project is one of the first to be funded by the National Science Foundation's Chemistry and Materials Research at the Interface between Science and Art (SCIART) grant program, which supports projects in the field of cultural heritage science through the funding of collaborations among conservation experts in museums and scientists in academia. The SCIART program will be highlighted at the 2011 national meeting of the American Chemical Society, which has invited the team to present their work.

The project's other team members include the museum's Director of Conservation and Technical Research Terry Drayman-Weisser, a recognized metals expert, and, from the University of Maryland's Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Professor Gary Rubloff, Research Associate Laurent Henn-Lecordier, and Graduate Assistant Amy Marquardt, who brings to the project her previous experience working on bronze patinas with the Smithsonian's Museum Conservation Institute.

See this release online:
newsdesk.umd.edu/othercategory/release.cfm?ArticleID=2265

To request an interview with Walters Art Museum staff, please contact the Manager of Public Relations, Amy Mannarino, at amannarino@thewalters.org or at 410-547-9000, ext. 277. For media representatives interested filming on location, a 2-week notice is required and must be scheduled for the weekdays the museum is open to the public (Wednesdays through Fridays).

Visit the Walters homepage at www.thewalters.org.

Best answer:

Answer by Sunny
The government contracted a young designer by the name of George T Morgan to design and engrave a new silver dollar. Morgan then engaged a young school teacher, Anna Williams, to sit for him so he could engrave her image as the "liberty Head" on the obverse of the coin. Anna became quite famous as a result of this sitting and her image being engraved on the nation's silver dollars. The reverse of the coin depicts an eagle resulting in the coin sometimes being referred to as the "buzzard dollar". Relatively inexpensive, this was a coin that was introduced in 1878 mainly due to political pressure from silver mine owners to reinstitute silver dollars after production had been halted 5 years earlier.
BTW, do you have one???

Give your answer to this question below!

Moolah - Morgan Dollars II


Image by Jeffry B
Minted from 1878 to 1904, & 1921

I wanted to do something with a "moolatte", but.....
Taken for Macro Mondays group challenge

Best answer:

Answer by William
THE GAME

Add your own answer in the comments!

Moolah - Morgan Dollars


Image by Jeffry B
Minted from 1878 to 1904, & again in 1921
Taken for Macro Mondays group challenge

Best answer:

Answer by Taiping
The O mint mark tells where it was minted. It is worth around $ 14 to $ 16 in the grades you state. It had a mintage of 11,875,000 so it is not a rare or scarce date. As with most New Orleans minted dollars the value goes up quite a bit if the coin is in mint state. It's value in low grades depends on the value of silver when the coin is sold. I would hold onto it for a while for silver is low now.

Give your answer to this question below!

A Few Bucks


Image by LostBob Photos
60 Silver Dollars from my mother's estate. Soon to be lost to the auctioneer at eBay.