2021 Morgan Silver Dollar

Purchase Today

Honor the 100th Anniversary of the Last Year of the Morgan Dollar

The Morgan Silver Dollar is one of the most well-known and beloved coins in American history. While the final year of issue for Morgan Silver Dollars was in 1921, they are still to this day, a century after the unique coins were last released into circulation, prized and passed down for generations. Marking the centennial anniversary of its final issue, the United States Mint has released a collection of 2021 Morgan Silver Dollars created through the use of modern technology and historical U.S. Mint assets.

The 2021 Morgan Silver Dollar is available in different editions commemorating the mints that struck the coins and privy marks for those that no longer exist. Austin Rare Coins & Bullion, an industry leader in rare coins, is honored to offer the unique reissue of one of the most widely beloved, coveted, and collected coins in American numismatics. Collecting these coins is a great way to honor the numismatic contributions and history of the Morgan Silver Dollar.

The History of The Morgan Silver Dollar

The Morgan Dollar was minted from 1878 to 1904 with one reissue in 1921. It was struck at five U.S. Mints: Carson City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, New Orleans, and Denver. The coin was brought into existence following the 1859 Comstock Lode, which was the largest silver strike in the world. The lode resulted in an overload of silver to the market. However, the Coinage Act of 1873 ended up putting an end to the manufacture of silver coins in the United States as values dropped. The Bland-Allison Act revived silver legal tender again in 1878, requiring the U.S. Treasury to purchase a certain amount of silver and to mint two million silver dollars per month. This is when the production of Morgan Silver Dollar started and continued until the year 1904.

The Morgan Dollar was named after its designer, George T. Morgan. In 1876, following the Coinage Act, the US Mint recognized that the nation desperately needed a new silver dollar coin. The director of the US Mint, Henry Linderman, directed his chief engraver, William Barber, and George T. Morgan—who had worked as an engraver for the Royal Mint in London before being recruited as a “Special Engraver” for the U.S. —to create designs for a new silver dollar. Morgan’s design featured his depiction of Lady Liberty. Morgan used Philadelphia school teacher Anna Williams as a model for his obverse design of Lady Liberty for his silver dollar. The design also featured a heraldic bald eagle on the reverse side, as required by U.S. coinage law, Morgan’s design was used for the approved Silver Dollars following the Bland-Allison Act; the coin that soon became known as the Morgan Dollar.

Honoring History: The 2021 Morgan Silver Dollar

In the early 1900s, the Comstock Lode was deteriorating as the supply of silver was decreasing, which caused the silver coinage production to halt. Eventually, the 1918 Pittman Act authorized melting down over 300 million stored Morgan Silver Dollars and selling the bullion to the British Empire to help them cover the deficit that resulted from World War I. The Pittman Act resulted in the US Mint sitting on millions of ounces of silver bullion. Minting the silver bullion into dollars allowed more silver certificates to be put into circulation. This eventually led to a reissue of the Morgan Silver Dollar in 1921. Production of the Morgan Dollar restarted in February 1921. By the end of the year, over 85 million 1921 Morgan dollars had been struck. However, this time production ended for good as a new silver dollar design, the Peace Dollar, celebrating the armistice that ended WWI, was struck concurrently.

In honor of the 100th anniversary of the last year of production for the Morgan Dollar, the United States Mint released the 2021 Morgan Dollar in five variations resulting from the 1921 Silver Dollar Commemorative Coin Act, which was signed into a law in January 2021 and required the striking of a legal tender Morgan Silver Dollar. The five variations of the 2021 Morgan Silver Dollar honor the branch mints that contributed to the coining of Morgan Silver Dollars between 1878 and 1904, as well as the final 1921 release. The 100th anniversary Morgan Dollars are being struck at the three mints still operating: Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco. The other two will be struck at the Philadelphia branch but will feature "O" and "CC" privy marks respectively to honor the fabled and no-longer operational mint branches in New Orleans and Carson City that historically struck the Morgan Dollars. This collection of coins bear a rendition of the historical design, with the obverse featuring the 2021 date. Unlike the original silver dollars that are being honored, which were struck using .900 fine silver, 2021 Morgans are struck on .999 fine silver planchets. It has been stated that all five varieties of the 2021 Morgan Dollar will be limited to a release of 175,000 coins per version.'

Get Your 2021 Morgan Dollars

2021 Morgan Silver Dollar Characteristics & Specifications

The US Mint took great care to recreate the renowned designs of the original Morgan Silver Dollar. On the obverse is a left-side portrait of Lady Liberty. She wears a Phrygian cap and a crown representing unity, consisting of a Southern crop, cotton, and a Northern one, wheat. She also wears a head ribbon that bears her name, “LIBERTY.” Thirteen stars, “E PLURIBUS UNUM”, and date of issuance encircle her effigy.

On the reverse side of the coin, a heraldic eagle holds arrows and an olive branch within an open wreath. The national motto, “IN GOD WE TRUST,” is inscribed above its head. Rim inscriptions read, “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” and “ONE DOLLAR.” Some coins feature a “CC” or “O” privy mark in recognition of the historic Mint branches in Carson City, NV and New Orleans, LA, respectively, where some of the original Morgan Dollars were minted.

Specifications

Denomination	$1
Finish	Uncirculated
Composition	99.9% Silver
Silver Weight	0.858 troy oz.
Diameter	1.500 inches
Edge	Reeded

Get 2021 Morgan Silver Dollars from Austin Rare Coins & Bullion

The collection of uncirculated 2021 Morgan Dollar—rendered in polished 99.9% silver—is sure to be a collector favorite for years to come. Austin Rare Coins & Bullion is where you can buy 2021 Morgan Silver Dollars. We have a wide selection of these commemorative coins in the different available variations. What’s more, we have valuable original Morgan Dollars that were produced between 1878 and 1921.