United States · Dollar · 1878–1921
| Country | United States (United States Mint) |
| Denomination | Dollar |
| Years struck | 1878–1921 |
| Gross weight | 26.73 g |
| Fine silver (AGW/ASW) | 24.057 g (0.7734 ozt) |
| Composition | 90.0% silver, 10.0% copper |
| Diameter | 38.1 mm |
| Thickness | 2.4 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Designer | George T. Morgan |
The Morgan dollar is a United States silver dollar struck from 1878 to 1904 and again in 1921. Each coin contains 0.7734 troy ounces (24.057 g) of silver in a 90% silver, 10% copper alloy. It is the most widely collected classic US silver coin, and huge Treasury hoards mean common dates in circulated grades often trade near their melt value.
| Issue | Mintage | Rarity | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1878 7TF · 7 Tail Feathers | 9,759,550 | Details | |
| 1878 8TF · 8 Tail Feathers | 699,300 | Semi-key | Details |
| 1878-CC | 2,212,000 | Semi-key | Details |
| 1879-CC | 756,000 | Semi-key | Details |
| 1880-S | 8,900,000 | Details | |
| 1881-CC | 296,000 | Semi-key | Details |
| 1881-S | 12,760,000 | Details | |
| 1882-S | 9,250,000 | Details | |
| 1885-CC | 228,000 | Semi-key | Details |
| 1885-O | 9,185,000 | Details | |
| 1886 | 19,963,000 | Details | |
| 1887 | 20,290,000 | Details | |
| 1889-CC | 350,000 | Key date | Details |
| 1893-S | 100,000 | Key date | Details |
| 1895 | 12,880 | Key date | Details |
| 1895-O | 450,000 | Semi-key | Details |
| 1895-S | 400,000 | Semi-key | Details |
| 1896 | 9,976,000 | Details | |
| 1900 | 8,830,000 | Details | |
| 1903-O | 4,450,000 | Details | |
| 1904-O | 3,720,000 | Details | |
| 1904-S | 2,304,000 | Semi-key | Details |
| 1921 | 44,690,000 | Details | |
| 1921-D | 20,345,000 | Details | |
| 1921-S | 21,695,000 | Details |
Authorized by the Bland-Allison Act of 1878, which required the Treasury to purchase large quantities of domestic silver and coin it into dollars. Production ran at the Philadelphia, New Orleans, San Francisco, and Carson City mints, with Denver joining only in 1921. Most Morgans went straight into Treasury and bank vaults rather than circulation; the Pittman Act of 1918 melted over 270 million of them, and the great Treasury releases of the early 1960s put millions of uncirculated survivors into collector hands.
The obverse shows a left-facing head of Liberty modeled by Anna Willess Williams, wearing a Phrygian cap and a crown of wheat and cotton. The reverse shows an eagle with outstretched wings clasping arrows and an olive branch. Morgan's initial M appears on both sides — at the truncation of the neck on the obverse and on the ribbon loop on the reverse. The mint mark, when present, sits below the wreath bow on the reverse.