US Silver Dollar

[bigjarofwasps]

Hi Guys,

Thought I`d share my last buy with you.

a 2005 Silver Dollar. One day, I`ll own a gold one...

[Josef Rietveld]

Nice, shiny but with a lack of history. I'd always had a faible for st.george

regrads

josef

[bigjarofwasps]

Hi Josef,

Yes I agree that St George & the Dragon, will always win hands down, especial when there on a gold sovereign

I think that the silver dollar is a nice coin, none the less.

A few facts, that might be of interest...

Minted at West Point and contain one ounce of 0.999 pure silver. These are legal tender silver dollar coins authorized by the United States government. These coins do not carry a "W" mintmark like the proof (mirror finish) issues. There is no mintmark on uncirculated silver eagles since the government produces these coins mainly as silver bullion for investors rather than coin collectors.

[bigjarofwasps]

Jim,

Here`s the Wisconsin silver quarter, I was telling you about....

Gordon.

[Jim Baker]

Gordon,

I've never seen this one. Not legal tender, but it is an ounce of silver. Probably a private venture for profit or a commemorative of some type. It does have a nice "proof" finish. I have a few of this type from North or South Dakota with a buffalo featured on the obverse. Again, they are buried somewhere.

I need to get them out and review what I have. I've gotten into the habit of buying them and just putting them away. I will probably never be rich, so it's something I can leave to the kids.

[bigjarofwasps]

Gordon,

I've never seen this one. Not legal tender, but it is an ounce of silver. Probably a private venture for profit or a commemorative of some type. It does have a nice "proof" finish. I have a few of this type from North or South Dakota with a buffalo featured on the obverse. Again, they are buried somewhere.

Cheers Jim, I thought as much

I need to get them out and review what I have. I've gotten into the habit of buying them and just putting them away. I will probably never be rich, so it's something I can leave to the kids.

You & me both!!!

Gordon.

[bigjarofwasps]

Found this thought it might be of interest........

The United States has minted dollar coins, on and off, since 1794. The coins have been made of many substances, gold, silver, copper, nickel, brass, zinc, & manganese. Certainly, the most popular, among the general populous and collectors alike, is the US silver dollar. If you are interested in collecting other US coins, visit our US Coin Collecting and US Coin Grading pages.

As a rule, the composition of the US silver dollar is 90% silver and 10% copper (to add strength and durability). The actual silver weight (ASW) is .7736 troy ounces. There was a brief period of silver dollar production when the silver content was upped slightly to compete in foreign markets, but this coin, known as a Trade Dollar, was never intended for domestic circulation. The last circulating silver dollar coins minted in the 1970s contained only 40% silver to 60% copper nickel.

During the early years of US coinage, silver was at least as scarce as gold, and at some times, it was even more valuable. Mintage's in the early years were very limited due to this scarcity of silver. There was a break in production in silver dollars of some 32 years from 1804 till 1836. Silver was just too scarce and too valuable. It was not until the finding of the "Comstock Lode" in 1850 in Nevada that large quantities of silver dollars could be produced. Even this huge silver find eventually played out. This resulted in another large gap in silver dollar production as the mint ran out of silver in 1904. It was not until after the huge melt of 1918 that silver dollar production was resumed in 1921. By 1926, this silver pool also was running low. Production quantities shrunk until they were again suspended in 1928, resuming only for two years in 1934-5.

Starting in 1986, the US mint began producing the Silver Eagle dollar coin which is 100% silver totaling a full troy ounce. This however is not a circulating coin as the silver content is worth at least 5 times as much as the face value. In the early years, when the silver content was more valuable then the face value, hoarding occurred. However, the value of a dollar up until the mid 1960s was historically significantly higher than the value of silver.

Silver dollars have been minted at six locations including;

Philadelphia 1793-present - Flowing Hair, Capped Bust, Sitting Liberty, Trade, Morgan, Peace, Eisenhower, Silver Eagle (no mint mark or 'P')

New Orleans 1846-1904 - Sitting Liberty, Morgan('O' mint mark)

Carson City 1870-1893 - Sitting Liberty, Trade, Morgan('CC' mint mark)

San Francisco 1859-1992 - Sitting Liberty, Trade, Morgan, Peace, Eisenhower, Silver Eagle ('S' mint mark)

Denver 1921-1934 - Morgan, Peace ('D' mint mark)

West Point 1995, 2001-present - Silver Eagle ('W' mint mark)

Without question, the most popular collectable US silver dollars are the Morgan 1878-1921, Peace 1921-1935, and Silver Eagles 1986-present. These are the most readily available and (relatively) inexpensive of the collectable silver dollars. Approximately a billion of these coins have been minted.

There are several key dates and hard to acquire coins in this grouping. The most prominent ones are the 1889 and 1893 Carson City, the 1893, 1895, and 1903 New Orleans, the 1893, 1894, and 1895 San Francisco and the 1893, 1894, 1895, 1899, 1921 and 1928 Philadelphia, also the 1995 West Point. There are three of these coins that are particularly difficult to find and quite pricey. The 1893 'S', the 1895 'P' and the 1995 'W'. Of these, the 1895 'P' is a rare bird indeed, commanding an impressive $11,000 in only 'Fine' condition. The 1893 'S' commands a staggering $250,000 price in its highest grades.

[bigjarofwasps]

Mint Marks

Morgan Silver Dollar

(Weight is 412? Grains and .900 Fine Silver)

1878-1921

The Morgan silver dollar was named for its designer George T. Morgan, who placed an M on both sides of the coin to lay his claim. These coins were minted from 1878 until 1904 in the Philadelphia, New Orleans, San Francisco, and Carson City mints. Letters signifying the mint of the coin (commonly referred to as a mint mark) were stamped on the reverse side of the coin underneath the branches on which the Eagle sits. Only Morgan silver dollars coined in Philadelphia have no mint mark.

The coins were discontinued in 1904 after the government exhausted its supply of silver bullion. In 1918, Congress passed the Pittman Act and recalled over 270 million silver dollars for melting. The silver dollar gained new life in America in 1921 and in that year the Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Denver mints coined the last Morgan silver dollars.

[bigjarofwasps]

Peace Silver Dollars

These same three mints also began production of Peace silver dollars in 1921. Their mint marks (except for coins minted in Philadelphia) are located underneath the word "ONE" next to the eagle on the coin's reverse. These coins were designed by medalist Anthony DeFrancisci to commemorate World War I and were minted until 1935. Peace dollars were actually struck again in Denver in 1965 but were never released to the public. All were melted and none from this date have been preserved.

[bigjarofwasps]

American Eagle Silver dollar

American Eagle Silver dollars coins have been produced each year by the United States government mint since 1986

The American Silver Eagle is the official silver bullion coin of the United States. It was first released by the United States Mint on November 24, 1986. It is struck only in the 1 troy oz denomination which has a nominal face value of one dollar and is guaranteed to contain one troy ounce of .999 pure silver. It is authorized by the United States Congress and its weight and content is certified by the United States Mint. The American Silver Eagle bullion coin may be used to fund Individual Retirement Account investments. The United States Mint also produces a proof version for coin collectors. The Silver Eagle has been produced at three mints. One is the Philadelphia mint, and some of those issued there carry a "P" mintmark. In the early years of the series, the San Francisco mint issued proofs and these bear an "S". More recent proofs are from the mint at West Point, New York. The latter have a "W" on the reverse.

Edited June 15, 2007 by bigjarofwasps

[mariner]

Silver Eagles seem to be a relatively cheap & nice coin to collect, however, am I missing something with this one?

Granted its a Proof, but surely all these new ones will be? Anyway have a look and see what you think...

Ebay - 110136362709

I certainly wouldn`t consider paying this much for one, especially when you take into consideration, that you can pick one up for about ?15!!!!!

[Guest Darrell]

Reminds me a couple of years ago, I received a commemorative Silver Dollar in coin shop as part of my change of a purchase. I spent it at a 7/11 a day later and you should have seen the look on the Tellars face. You'd think I was handing her play money. After a few minutes of explaining that .. yes .... they did mint these things, she accepted it

[Andwwils]

You should have taken it to your local coin shop and gotten at least bullion-rate for it.

In regards to the ebay coin, it's a deep-mirror cameo proof and some people think those are worth a premium. I collect Seated-Liberty Dollars myself...talk about expensive! I'm lucky to add a new coin to my collection once every couple of years.

Edited June 17, 2007 by Andwwils

[mariner]

Andwwils,

Yes it appears that I may have `gone off half c*cked`, with my original comment. I`ve since surfed the net, and have discovered that there are several types of coin grading from `BU`, to ones that have been graded by a computer!! This coin appears to have been a proof coin, which is made slightly differently to a normal BU coin, hence the higher price. So I`ll get back in my box...

Re your seated Libertys never heard or seen these ones, go any pics?

Edited June 18, 2007 by mariner

[Andwwils]

Hold on.

Edited June 18, 2007 by Andwwils

[Andwwils]

1847 Seated Liberty

[Andwwils]

The above is a coin that I purchased off of ebay about a year-ago, haven't gotten a new one since. These are substantially rarer than the Morgan, Peace and even Trade Dollars that you'll come accross regularly. I've always liked the profile of liberty "resting attentively."

Edited June 18, 2007 by Andwwils

[bigjarofwasps]

Thought this might be of interest.....

Grading classifications...

Uncirculated coins are new coins that have never been in circulation. Coins may have been stored for many years in original Mint sealed bags, or stored in bank wrapped rolls, or carefully preserved by collectors. As a result, Uncirculated coins exhibit no wear from general circulation. Depending on contact they may have had with other coins and atmospheric conditions during or after coining, blemishes, bag marks and toning may be present. Uncirculated coins may lack luster and still be considered Uncirculated. Because Uncirculated coins represent greater quality and scarcity, they carry higher values. Uncirculated grades range from MS-60 Typical to MS-70 Perfect. Most Uncirculated coins range from MS-60 to MS-63+, as very few coins meet the technical standards for MS-65 or higher. It takes years of experience to become an expert at the grading of Uncirculated coins. Littleton's veteran buyers have developed great expertise in purchasing and grading Uncirculated U.S. coins.

Proof coins are made by special process using carefully selected coin blanks and dies, which are meticulously polished and burnished to remove any and all imperfections. The coin blanks are hand-fed into a specially adapted coin press, and are struck twice - at slow speed and with extra pressure - to produce high-relief features contrasted against deep mirror-like surfaces. The dies are polished frequently, and are replaced after only a limited number of strikes. The finished Proof coins are inspected to rigid standards, handled only with gloves or tongs, and specially packaged for delivery to collectors.

[mariner]

Anddwils,

Did a bit a research on your seated liberty coins, your not joking about the prices of them are you!!!

[coastie]

Silver Eagles seem to be a relatively cheap & nice coin to collect, however, am I missing something with this one?

Granted its a Proof, but surely all these new ones will be? Anyway have a look and see what you think...

Ebay - 110136362709

I certainly wouldn`t consider paying this much for one, especially when you take into consideration, that you can pick one up for about ?15!!!!!

Look closer and you will find that it's a 1 pound (12 troy oz's) coin. Today's spot price for silver is 13.32 so bullion price of 12 oz's is about $159 cap that off being a proof and these punders are more uncommon drives up the price.

Then again here comes my rant bear with me: Some UK ebayer's think $1 = 1 english pound.

[bigjarofwasps]

Look closer and you will find that it's a 1 pound (12 troy oz's) coin. Today's spot price for silver is 13.32 so bullion price of 12 oz's is about $159 cap that off being a proof and these punders are more uncommon drives up the price.

Then again here comes my rant bear with me: Some UK ebayer's think $1 = 1 english pound.

No worries coastie, its good to have a rant now & again, it clears the air, and getting things off your chest keeps the old blood pressure down...

But getting back to the coin, I have since been advised that because this coin is listed as proof, and clearly doesn`t have a mint mark, then it isn`t a US mint coin. I`ve been informed that there are loads, of private mints within the US that are knocking this stuff out. I suppose they may have used the same methods as the US mint to get the proof finish, but its all down to collecting needs in the end really. I`d rather have a pukka mint marked one myself, but there we go.