Silver Dollars

Silver Dollars at Silver.com

One of the most popular silver coins struck by the US Mint is the Silver Dollar. Before dollars just consisted of green paper bills, the US Mint used to strike dollar coins, made out of actual silver content. Learn about the history and popular designs of these Silver Dollars, right here at Silver.com.

Background on the Silver Dollar

The US Mint first struck the Silver Dollar back in 1804. These coins, naturally, had a face value of $1 (USD). Although the history of the Silver Dollar started in 1804, these coins were very scarcely struck from 1804 to 1836. However, in 1836, the US Mint upped the silver content of their coinage to 90%, and thus the Silver Dollar became more popular and more regularly issued.

Silver Dollars were regularly struck from 1836 to 1873 as the United States was flooded with silver from mines. In 1873 Silver Dollars took a few years off from minting. This hiatus was due to the US Mint’s free coining of silver.

Silver Dollars returned in 1878 and were issued annually until 1904. They once again took a break but returned in 1921, where they were issued annually until 1928. Silver Dollars returned for two years from 1934 to 1935 before being halted again. Silver Dollars would not return until the 1970s.

They have since returned as of 2021 featuring popular designs from the 1900s, but primarily as collector’s items.

Morgan Silver Dollars

The most popular design featured on the Silver Dollar was the Morgan Silver Dollar. These coins were issued from 1878 to 1904, and again in 1921. These coins are named after their designer, George T. Morgan, who designed both the obverse and reverse design fields.

The obverse features a rendition of Lady Liberty. Morgan used the likeness of a Philadelphia school teacher, Anna Williams, for this design. 13 stars, representing the original 13 colonies, the year of issue, and “E Pluribus Unum” surround the design.

The reverse showcases a heraldic eagle design. The eagle is in front-facing relief, with its wings spread out wide. Inscriptions such as the face value, nation of issue, and “In God We Trust” surround the design.

Over 656 million of these coins were struck from 1878 to 1921, across five branches of the US Mint.

• Philadelphia Mint: 305,446,347
• New Orleans Mint: 186,097,629
• San Francisco Mint: 131,188,373
• Denver Mint: 20,345,000
• Carson City Mint: 13,766,041

Peace Silver Dollars

Directly following the Morgan Silver Dollar, was the Peace Silver Dollar. These coins were struck annually from 1921 to 1928, and again from 1934 to 1935. The design was created by Anthony de Francisci who won a contest to create both the obverse and reverse designs.

The obverse features his rendition of Lady Liberty. She’s in left-profile relief, wearing a radiate crown. The year of issue is at the bottom while the inscription “Liberty” is seen at the top. “In God We Trvst” with a “v” instead of a “u” is also shown. Francisci used the likeness of his wife for this depiction.

The reverse shows a bald eagle perched in right-profile relief. The sun can be seen illuminating the scene from the bottom right. The face value is shown along with inscriptions such as “United States of America”, “E Pluribus Unum”, and “Peace.”

A total of 3 branches of the US Mint struck these coins.

• Philadelphia Mint: 111,230,179
• San Francisco Mint: 52,286,000
• Denver Mint: 27,061,100

Other Silver Dollar Designs

• Seated Liberty: These coins were struck from 1836 to 1873 and featured designs from Christian Gobrecht. Liberty seated on a rock is shown on the obverse while a heraldic eagle design is on the reverse. “In God We Trust” was added in 1866.
• Eisenhower: The last Silver Dollar issued was the Eisenhower Silver Dollar. Circulation Silver Dollars at this time didn’t contain actual silver, however, from 1971 to 1978 collector’s editions were released with 40% silver. Frank Gasparro designed both sides, with the obverse showing President Eisenhower, and the reverse showing a modified Apollo 11 patch.

Certified Silver Dollars

Another popular option is to purchase these Silver Dollars as Certified Silver Coins. Certified coins are graded from 1 to 70, however, due to the age of Silver Dollars, it’s common for these to be graded in the mid to low 60s.

Purchasing Silver Dollars at Silver.com

Contact the Silver.com customer service team at 1-888-989-7223 with any questions you may have regarding these Silver Dollars. Our team can also be reached via email or through our online chat feature.