1878 Morgan Dollar
The big old Morgan silver dollar is one of the most popular and eagerly sought after coins by collectors today. There never seems to be enough of them to satisfy the demands of those who want one or more of them as souvenirs of a bygone era in American history. The old cartwheel dollars have long been a symbol of Western lore and the pioneers who settled much of our country.
But silver dollars were not always the favorite coin of the realm. During much of the coin’s long existence there were complaints that it was too big, too bulky and heavy, and far too subject to changing in value with the price of silver. Most people of a hundred years ago preferred gold as a means of storing their wealth. Some even favored the use of banks and paper money, which was a radically progressive way of thinking at a time when both were somewhat unreliable.
Millions of Morgan dollars were made under the terms of the Bland-Allison Act, which gave legal-tender status to silver money. The Act also required the treasury to purchase at market price $2,000,000 to $4,000,000 worth of silver each month and coin it into silver dollars at a ratio to gold of 16 to 1. Each coin contained 412.5 grains of nine-tenths pure silver. Continuing production was thus assured for the western silver mines and their owners who sought to maintain an artificially high price for their silver bullion. The general public, especially people in the East, were not accustomed to using large silver coins and found them inconvenient for most transactions. As government stockpiles of the dollars grew, their storage became a burden. The coins did not circulate well, but they did become a valuable asset as backing for the government’s paper currency. The increased public confidence in paper money made it all the more valuable as a convenient means of payment, and lessened the need for circulating silver dollars.
By 1904 supplies of silver bullion were nearly exhausted and storage of millions of Morgan silver dollars became a very expensive and unnecessary burden. A remedy was sought in 1918 under provisions of the Pittman Act (April 23, 1918), which require melting of not more than 350 million silver dollars. Accordingly, 207,232,722 of the old dollars went to the melting pot. Many of them were still stored in original unopened bags directly from the mints that made them. It is thought that many of the rarest dates today are a result of the indiscriminant melting of so many coins. The entire issue of uncirculated 1895 dollars seemingly must have been thus destroyed leaving none for collectors today.
Additional meltings have occurred throughout the lifetime of the Morgan dollar, and it is estimated that more than half of all of the dollars of this kind ever made have now been lost to melting. Of the pieces destroyed, nearly 250 million were melted for sale to England at $1 per fine ounce. Others were converted into dimes, quarters and half dollars.
Incredibly, after such mass destruction, the silver mining industry forced a change in the Pittman Act that required purchase of enough domestic silver bullion to replace all of the melted dollars. Under this authority 86,730,000 Morgan dollars were coined in 1921 at the Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco Mints.
Are Flea Markets Good Places To Find Rare Coins?
This day John had found a small iron bank that seemed to be filled with coins. The bank was old, and John reasoned that the coins inside must be equally aged and very likely quite valuable. There was a patent date of 1912 on the bank. How could anything that old not be rare and worth more than what the vendor was asking? Suspense and excitement filled the air. What was in the bank? Would it yield all of the scarce date coins missing from his small collection? Would they be worth ten or perhaps 100 times what he paid for them?
As you might guess, when the bank was opened it turned out to be filled with late-date Lincoln cents. There were a couple of older pieces in the group, and even two well worn Indian Head cents that probably were in the original stash when it was set aside. The majority of the coins were simply pieces taken from circulation and used to fill the bank so that it would appear to be more valuable than it was. Did this deter John from his ongoing search for overlooked flea market treasurer? Of course not. Hunting is half of the fun. But John’s experience did reinforce the axiom that valuable coins rarely turn up in unexpected places.
Valuable coins are either rare or so recognizable that many people know how to spot them. The chances are slim of ever finding something worth a fortune that has gone unnoticed by hundreds of others. The most successful coin collectors have built their collections by carefully selecting significant pieces and assembling them into sets. Yes, it takes time and patience to put together a nice collection, but the rewards are well worth the effort and in the long run it is the time spent on one’s hobby that make it such a pleasant diversion. I would never dissuade anyone from searching for old coins in any likely place, but be aware that they hardly ever turn up at flea markets or country auctions. That is what makes them rare and valuable.