The 1881-O Morgan DollarMorgan Silver Dollar dated 1881 and minted at the New Orleans branch of the US Mint. The coin is named after the designer, George T. Morgan, who at the time was United States Mint Assistant Engraver.
The 1881-O is easy to find and can usually be purchased at a reasonable price.
Mint marks can be found above the DO in DOLLAR. If no mint mark is present then the mint is Philadelphia, but in 1881 it may be CC (Carson City), S (San Francisco) or O (New Orleans).
The Obverse shows an image of Liberty, designed by George T Morgan.
The edge is reeded (milled).
The Reverse shows an eagle holding arrows and an olive branch, also designed by George T Morgan.Image credit: Mountain View Coins.
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Mintage: 5,708,000 (may include coins in sets)
Minted at US Mint - New Orleans
In USA, For the second time in American history (after 1841), the USA had three Presidents in one calendar year starting with Rutherford B. Hayes, then on March 4th James A. Garfield (who died in September after being shot), and on September 19th Vice-President Chester A. Arthur took over the Presidency. Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell form the Oriental Telephone Company. It's a memorable year for Western fans: The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral occurs in Tombstone, Arizona; Billy the Kid is shot and killed by Pat Garrett; and Sioux Chief Sitting Bull leads in the Indian Wars.
The Morgan Dollar was a USA silver coin minted from 1878 to 1904 and then again in 1921. It had a currency value of one US dollar. In 2021, a .999 Silver Morgan Dollar was released to mark the 100th anniversary of the last Morgan Dollar.
The name Morgan derives from the designer George T. Morgan (1845-1925). Morgan was originally from Birmingham, England, where he worked with William Wyon but moved to America in 1876 to become the assistant engraver at the US Mint. The image of Liberty was modelled by a Philadelphia school teacher named Anna Willess Williams.
Morgan later became Chief Engraver of the U.S.Mint from 1917 until 1925 and he is probably best known for the Morgan Dollar, although he designed many other coins too. You can see a small 'M' on the truncation of the neck.
The Morgan Dollar was brought about due to the Bland–Allison Act of 1878 and during the early days the coin was often referred to as the Bland Dollar (after Richard P. Bland who introduced the Bill), although some called it the buzzard dollar as they disliked the image of the eagle.
Specifications
- Diameter: 38.1 mm
- Thickness: 2.4 mm
- Weight: 26.73 g
- Edge: Reeded
- Silver Content: 90% (Copper 10%)
- Philadelphia (No mint mark, although modern coins use 'P')
- New Orleans (Mint mark = 'O')
- San Francisco (Mint mark = 'S')
- Carson City (Mint mark = 'CC')
- Denver (in 1921 only: Mint mark = 'D')
The Morgan Dollar remains a popular coin with collectors and investors.
We have a few articles on Morgan Dollars:
The United States mints many famous coins in gold, silver and lesser metals. The USA has several Mints, such as Philadelphia, San Francisco, West Point (NY) and Denver.
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