Morgan Dollar Silver Coins

Design of the Morgan Silver Dollar – The head of Lady Liberty takes up most of the obverse (front) of this silver coin. She is encircled by the date of issue, 13 stars, and the words, ‘E ‘ PLURIBUS ‘ UNUM’. This phrase, which translates to ‘Out of many, one’, was first chosen for official United States use in 1776.

The reverse (back) features a bald eagle with wings spread perched upon a branch and arrows. The eagle is partially surrounded by a wreath. Above his head sits the motto ‘In God we trust’. Around the rim are the words ‘UNITED STATES OF AMERICA’ separated by a star on either side from ‘ONE DOLLAR’.

Morgan, who studied under the direction of instructors from the Royal Mint in London, placed an ‘M’ on both sides of the coin to lay his claim to the design. He made slight revisions to the coin’s design when it was reintroduced in 1921.

Morgan Silver Dollar Coin Minting Information – The largest and heaviest silver coin since the Civil War, the Morgan silver dollar contains a hefty 0.77344 ounces of pure silver. It was minted continuously from 1878 to 1904 when the government exhausted its supply of silver bullion. Congress would pass the Pittman Act in 1918, recalling over 270 million silver dollars for melting and the Morgan dollar would be minted one last year in 1921 before being replaced by the Peace Silver Dollar.