The history of silver dollars is incomplete without mentioning the most valuable two coins Morgan and Peace Silver dollars minted in the American soil. Morgan is stated to be the first minted silver dollar whereas Peace dollar is popular for the coin design symbolizing peace. Both are favorites of coin collectors and are valued highly in the world market.
Why Morgan silver coins are popular?
The Morgan dollar was first minted in 1878 named after its designer George T. Morgan. It came into existence after the restoration of American bimetal minting system. The front of the coin depicts portrait of Liberty and the back has been engraved with wings stretched eagle carrying olive branch and arrows. The lady of Liberty is replica of Morgan’s friend daughter, Anna Williams. The face of the coin even has the motto of U.S. ‘E Pluribus Unum’. The dollar was in circulation for more than forty years, the longest coin in circulation. The Bust silver dollar is similarly designed however Morgan dollar is crafted quite finely.
Why Peace dollar is quite famous in coin collector’s spectrum?
The lovely Peace Silver dollar came into existence due to the need of change in utilizing the old coins like Morgan dollar. Moreover, the Pittman Act of 1918 made it essential to mint more type of coins hence the Peace Dollar came into existence. The name stuck to it because while it was minted, the First World War came to an end. Its face was designed by Anthony De Francisci, an Italian by birth.
The face of the Peace Dollar is of Liberty profile with billowing hair and having a radiant crown symbolic of rising Sun or a new era after the war. The Liberty face is replica of Anthony’s wife Teresa. The front part of the coin has the U.S. motto ’In God We trust’ along with the date of pressing. For the back face an Eagle at rest carrying an Olive branch perched in front of Sunburst was selected out of the two designs put forward by Anthony.
The well-preserved Morgan and Peace silver dollars are highly priced. The year the coin was minted matters a lot in raising its worth. Its price depends upon it remaining as new as minted recently. Even fading of any finest detail will reduce its value. The oldest silver dollar coin well preserved minted in 1878 or of 1879 is rare to find. There are limited versions of Peace dollar as it wasn’t there long in circulation, thus rare to find the perfect Peace dollar.
