1883-O Morgan Dollar

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%)

In all, over 650 million Morgan Dollars were minted. They were made in five different mints:

• 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 Morgan Dollar – 1878 to 1921
• What is a Morgan Dollar?

The US Mint branch at New Orleans, Louisiana, produced coins between 1838-1861 and 1879-1909. It produced more than 400 million coins in gold and silver. The mint mark is 'O'.
The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a constitutional federal republic composed of 50 states. It's currency is the Dollar (USD $1) and that is equivalent to 100 cents.

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.