The Morgan dollar is a United States dollar coin minted from 1878 to 1904, in 1921, and beginning again in 2021 as a collectible. It was the first standard silver dollar minted since the passage of the Coinage Act of 1873, which ended the free coining of silver and the production of the previous design, the Seated Liberty dollar. It contained 412.5 Troy grains of 90% pure silver (or 371.25 Troy grains = 24.057g; 0.7734ozt of pure silver). The coin is named after its designer, United States Mint Assistant Engraver George T. Morgan. The obverse depicts a profile portrait representing Liberty, modeled by Anna Willess Williams, while the reverse depicts an eagle with wings outstretched. The mint mark, if present, appears on the reverse above between D and O in "Dollar".
The dollar was authorized by the Bland–Allison Act. Following the passage of the 1873 act, mining interests lobbied to restore free silver, which would require the Mint to accept all silver presented to it and return it, struck into coin. Instead, the Bland–Allison Act was passed, which required the Treasury to purchase between two and four million dollars' worth of silver at market value to be coined into dollars each month. In 1890, the Bland–Allison Act was repealed by the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, which required the Treasury to purchase 4,500,000 troy ounces (140,000kg) of silver each month, but only required further silver dollar production for one year. This act, once again, was repealed in 1893.
In 1898, Congress approved a bill that required all remaining bullion purchased under the Sherman Silver Purchase Act to be coined into silver dollars. When those silver reserves were depleted in 1904, the Mint ceased to strike the Morgan dollar. The Pittman Act, passed in 1918, authorized the melting and recoining of millions of silver dollars. Pursuant to the act, Morgan dollars resumed mintage for one year in 1921. The design was replaced by the Peace dollar later the same year.
In the early 1960s, a large quantity of uncirculated Morgan dollars in their original bags were discovered in the Treasury vaults, including issues once thought rare. Individuals began purchasing large quantities of the pieces at face value and then removed them from circulation through hoarding, and eventually the Treasury ceased exchanging silver certificates for silver coin. Beginning in the 1970s, the Treasury conducted a sale of silver dollars minted at the Carson City Mint through the General Services Administration. In 2006, Morgan's reverse design was used on a silver dollar issued to commemorate the old San Francisco Mint building. The US Mint began striking Morgan Dollars again in 2021, initially as a commemorative to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the conclusion of the design's final usage, then as an annual release starting in 2023.
Background
In 1876, Richard P. Bland introduced a bill in the House to resume coinage of the standard silver dollar.
William B. Allison added amendments to the bill in the Senate
In 1873, Congress enacted the Fourth Coinage Act,[1] which effectively ended the bimetallic standard in the United States by demonetizing silver bullion.[2] Prior to enactment of the Coinage Act, silver could be brought to the mints and coined into legal tender for a small fee.[3] With such a system in place, bullion producers could have silver coined into dollars when the intrinsic value of a silver dollar was lower than the face value, thus making a profit, flooding the money supply and causing inflation.[4] The act ended production of the standard silver dollar (then the Seated Liberty dollar, as designed by Christian Gobrecht) and provided for mintage of a silver trade dollar, which was intended to compete with Mexican dollars for use in the Orient.[4] Under the act, bullion producers were allowed to bring bullion to the mints in order to be cast into bars or coined into the newly authorized trade dollars for a small fee.[4] Trade dollars initially held legal tender status, but it was revoked in 1876 to prevent bullion producers from making a profit by coining silver into trade dollars when the value of the metal was low.[5] The restrictions on free coinage laid out in the Coinage Act initially met little resistance from mining interests until the price of silver declined rapidly due to increased mining in the Western United States.[2] Protests also came from bankers, manufacturers and farmers, who felt an increased money supply would have a positive impact. Groups were formed that demanded the free coinage of silver (or "free silver") in order to inflate the dollar following the Panic of 1873.[6]
Beginning in 1876, several bills were introduced in the House of Representatives in an effort to resume the free coinage of silver.[6] One such bill introduced into the House by Democratic Representative Richard P. Bland of Missouri was passed in the fall of 1876.[6] Republican senator William B. Allison of Iowa added important amendments to the bill in the Senate. The House bill allowed Free Silver; one of Allison's amendments struck that provision.[6] This same amendment allowed for the issuance of silver certificates for the first time in United States history.[6] The bill was vetoed by President Rutherford B. Hayes.[7] The president's veto was overridden on February 28, 1878.[7] What came to be known as the Bland–Allison Act required that the Treasury purchase between two and four million dollars' worth of silver per month, to be coined into silver dollars at the former silver/gold value ratio of 16:1, meaning that one ounce of gold would be valued the same as sixteen ounces of silver.[3]
Design history
A pattern half dollar created by George T. Morgan
A pattern for the standard silver dollar created by William Barber
In 1876, Director of the Mint Henry Linderman began efforts to redesign the nation's silver coins.[8] Linderman contacted C.W. Fremantle, Deputy Master of the Royal Mint in London, requesting him to "find a first class die-sinker who would be willing to take the position of Assistant Engraver at the Mint at Philadelphia."[8] In response to Linderman's request, Fremantle wrote "My inquiries as to an Assistant Engraver lead me very strongly to recommend for the post Mr. George Morgan, age 30, who has made himself a considerable name, but for whom there is not much opening at present in this country."[8] An agreement was reached between Linderman and Morgan for the engraver to work at the Philadelphia Mint under Chief Engraver William Barber on a six-month trial basis.[8]
Morgan arrived in Philadelphia on October 9, 1876.[8] His earliest pattern coins designed during his tenure at the Philadelphia Mint were intended for the half dollar.[9] In 1876, Morgan enrolled as a student at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts to prepare to create a new Liberty head design.[10] Morgan also obtained studies from nature of the bald eagle for preparation of the reverse design.[10] For the representation of Liberty, Morgan sought to depict an American woman rather than the usual Greek–style figures.[10] Morgan's friend, artist Thomas Eakins, suggested he use Anna Willess Williams of Philadelphia as a model.[10] In total, Morgan had five sittings with Williams; he declared her profile to be the most perfect he had seen.[10]
Morgan's design, struck as a half dollar pattern in 1877
On October 18, 1877, Linderman requested Superintendent of the Philadelphia Mint James Pollock to "instruct Mr. Morgan to prepare without delay, dies for a silver dollar, the designs, inscriptions, and arrangement thereof to be the same as the enclosed impression for the Half Dollar and numbered '2' substituting the words 'one dollar' in place of 'half dollar'". Linderman also ordered Pollock to "instruct Mr. Barber to prepare a reverse die for a dollar with a representation of an eagle as well as the inscriptions required by law. He will select whichever of his Heads of Liberty he prefers for the obverse of the same."[11] Linderman evidently preferred the designs of Morgan over those of the Chief Engraver; he wrote Pollock on February 21, 1878, "I have now to state for your information, that it is my intention, in the event of the silver bill now pending in Congress, becoming law, to request the approval by the Secretary of the Treasury, of the dies prepared by Mr. Morgan."[12]
Production
A coinage press at the Philadelphia Mint
Production of the coins did not commence until March11, more than a week after the passage of the Bland–Allison Act.[13] The first acceptable strike, after adjustments to the press, was coined at 3:17p.m. at the Philadelphia Mint.[13] This piece was given to President Hayes; the second and third were given to Secretary of the Treasury John Sherman and Mint Director Henry Linderman.[13]
Linderman desired to involve the western mints of San Francisco and Carson City in production in order to help reach the monthly quota necessary under the Bland–Allison Act.[14] Pressure was so great at the Philadelphia Mint that it halted production of all other coins and began operating overtime.[15] Use of the western mints was delayed, however, as all dies were prepared at the Philadelphia Mint, and it was believed that the Western mints did not have the proper equipment to prepare the dies for use.[16] During the second week of production, Linderman pointed out what he called a "slight imperfection" in the dies for the dollar.[16] The reason for the changes was to reduce the relief of the designs and to change the number of tail feathers on the eagle from eight to seven; this was done because all prior United States coinage depicted the bald eagle as having an odd number of tail feathers.[16] The high relief had caused the dies to have a shorter life.[15] Dies were eventually sent to the Western mints, arriving in both San Francisco and Carson City on April 16, 1878.[17] The New Orleans Mint began striking the new silver dollars in 1879.[18]
The Denver Mint, established in 1906, struck the coins for only one year, in 1921.[19] The mint marks appearing on the coins are none, representing Philadelphia, "CC" for Carson City, "S" for San Francisco, "O" for New Orleans and "D" for Denver.[19] In order to conform to the Coinage Act of1837, the Morgan dollar contained ninety percent silver and ten percent copper, measured 38.1 millimetres (1.50in) in diameter and weighed 412.5 grains (26.73g). Thus the pure silver content was 371.25 Troy grains = 24.057g; 0.7734ozt.[20]
Key date
The key date in the Morgan dollar series is the 1893-S Morgan dollar which was struck at the United States San Francisco Mint. With a mintage of 100,000 coins struck, it the lowest mintage of any Morgan Dollar. It is thought that few survived in mint state (MS) because the majority of the coins were in circulation.[21][22] In 2021 an 1893-S Morgan dollar in MS-67 sold for US$2,086,875.00.[23]
Ohio senator John Sherman authored the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, forcing the Treasury to purchase 4,500,000 troy ounces (140,000kg) each month.
Mintage of the Morgan dollar remained relatively steady until the passage of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act on July 14, 1890.[24] The act, authored by Ohio senator and former Treasury secretary John Sherman, forced the Treasury to increase the amount of silver purchased to 4,500,000 troy ounces (140,000kg) each month.[25] Supporters of the act believed that an increase in the amount of silver purchased would result in inflation, helping to relieve the nation's farmers.[26] The act also received support from mining interests because such large purchases would cause the price of silver to rise and increase their profits.[26] Despite the Act's requiring large purchases of silver indefinitely, it provided that the Mint must coin 2,000,000 silver dollars each month only until 1891.[27] Since the Treasury already had a surplus of silver dollars, minting of dollars dropped sharply beginning in 1892.[24][failed verification] The silver that remained after mintage of the dollars was used to mint dimes, quarters and half dollars.[24]
Beginning early in 1893, a number of industrial firms, including the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad and the National Cordage Company went bankrupt.[28] The resulting bank runs and failures became known as the Panic of 1893.[28] In June of that year, President Grover Cleveland, who believed that the Panic was caused by the inflation generated by the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, called a special session of Congress in order to repeal it.[27] The act was repealed on November 1, 1893.[27] On June 13, 1898, Congress ordered the coining of all the remaining bullion purchased under the Sherman Silver Purchase Act into silver dollars.[27] Silver dollar production rose again,[19] until the bullion was exhausted in 1904, when it ceased.[29]
Senator Key Pittman was responsible for the act that called for the melting of up to 350,000,000 silver dollars.
The German government began a propaganda campaign during World War I to discredit the United Kingdom's currency in India.[29] The Germans convinced Indian citizens that British banknotes in that country could not be redeemed for silver. This led to a run on the British supply of silver.[29] In response, United States Democratic senator Key Pittman of Nevada introduced legislation in 1918 that was intended to offer financial relief to the British government.[30] The bill, passed on April 22, 1918, stated that "sales of silver bullion under authority of this act may be made for the purpose of conserving the existing stock of gold in the United States, of providing silver for subsidiary coinage and for commercial use, and of assisting foreign governments at war with the enemies of the United States".[30] The Pittman Act authorized the U.S. to melt up to 350,000,000 silver dollars,[30] and this commenced immediately after the Act's passage.[30] The U.S. eventually melted a total of 270,232,722silver dollars.[30] Of that amount, 259,121,554were sold to the United Kingdom at the cost of one dollar per troy ounce.[30]
The U.S. only minted the Morgan dollar again during 1921,[31] the only year in which Morgan dollars were struck at the Denver mint. Since the Treasury had destroyed the obsolete Morgan dollar dies in 1910, Morgan had to create an entirely new master die.[32] Another provision of the Pittman Act authorized the U.S. to mint a replacement coin for every silver dollar melted.[31] During the same year, the Peace dollar was first issued to commemorate the end of World War I.[33] The Peace dollar was supposedly minted to replace the Morgan dollar under the terms of the Pittman Act but without congressional authorization, despite the fact that the Act did not describe the coin design.[33] The change in design was actually authorized under an 1890 act of Congress,[34] which stated:
But no change in the design or die of any coin shall be made oftener than once in twenty-five years from and including the year of the first adoption of the design, model, die, or hub for the same coin:
Provided, That no change be made in the diameter of any coin:
And provided further, That nothing in this section shall prevent the adoption of new designs or models for devices or emblems already authorized for the standard silver dollar and the five-cent nickel piece as soon as practicable after the passage of this act.[35]
Carson City Mint Morgan dollars
Until 1964, U.S. citizens could redeem paper money known as silver certificates for silver dollars at a U.S. Treasury mint on demand. In 1962, an individual redeemed a silver certificate and received a rare and valuable Morgan dollar in exchange. The coin was from a bag of silver dollars in the vault of the Philadelphia Mint.[36][37] This incident triggered huge interest, and between November 1962 and March 1964, millions of Morgan and Peace dollars were sold to the general public.[36] The demand to exchange silver certificates for silver dollars was so great that lines formed outside of the Treasury Building in Washington, D.C. Some people in line were pushing wheelbarrows.[36] The U.S. Treasury discovered previously unknown mint bags in its vaults containing slightly more than 2.8 million Carson City silver dollars.[37] Treasury officials decided to hold them back because the total number of coins minted at the Carson City mint were generally lower than others.[36]
On May 12, 1969, the Joint Commission on Coinage held a meeting in order to determine the best way to sell the Carson City-minted dollars. They recommended a mail bid sale.[38] Legislation was passed on December 31, 1970, directing the Treasury to transfer the silver dollars to the Administrator of General Services who was given the responsibility for marketing and selling the coins.[39] The legislation also stated that all proceeds from the sale were to be "covered into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts."[39] Congress supplied the General Services Administration with $10 million to market the dollar coins.[38] Advertising consisted of posters and brochures distributed to post offices, banks and various financial institutions, as well as television documentaries.[38] The coins were sorted and mounted in small plastic display cases.[38] The GSA conducted a total of seven mail bid sales between 1972 and 1980.[38] In total, the sales generated $107million in revenue.[38]
San Francisco commemorative dollar reverse
2006 commemorative silver dollar, bearing Morgan's reverse design with modifications
On June 15, 2006, legislation was approved that provided for the minting of a silver dollar and a five dollar gold coin in "commemoration of the Old Mint at San Francisco," with surcharges to be given to the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society in an effort to rehabilitate the Old Mint.[40] In total, 100,000gold and 500,000silver commemorative coins were authorized.[40] Authorization came at the behest of several hobby publications, who enlisted readers to contact their local congressmen and persuade them to pass necessary legislation.[41] The approved designs include a frontal view of the Old Mint building on the obverse and a copy of Morgan's eagle design on the reverse.[42] Mint artist Joseph Menna made a new model for the reverse, employing a 1904 San Francisco-minted dollar as his model.[43]
Modern Morgan Dollars
Obverse of the 2021 Morgan dollar2021 Morgan dollar in a United States Mint display box
On September 22, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation to allow the minting of Morgan and Peace dollar coins in 2021, the 100-year anniversary of the transition from the Morgan to Peace dollar in order to "commemorate this significant evolution of American Freedom".
House Bill 6192 (2021 Silver Dollar Coin Anniversary Act) allows production of Morgan and Silver dollars at 26.73g and no less than 90% silver (24.057g = 0.7735ozt). On December 18, 2020, the United States Senate unanimously approved the bill, and it was signed into law by President Donald Trump on January 5, 2021. The Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee unanimously approved the design on January 19, 2021, with recommendations which were sent to the Secretary of the TreasurySteven Mnuchin, one day before the end of the Trump administration. There is no known mintage limit, and mintage could not begin until after January 1, 2021.[44]
The US Mint then released order information for both dollars, priced at $85 apiece. Both coins are "0.858 troy oz. of .999 fine silver with an uncirculated finish"[45] Morgan Dollars were made available for purchase in May 2021, and sold out on the U.S. Mint website in 45 minutes, and had a staggered order window based on the different mint marks. Peace Dollars were available beginning later in the same year. Each coin shipped in October 2021. High demand of these coins led to controversy over U.S. Mint ordering procedures and resulted in delays from the originally intended release dates. The 2021 Morgan Dollars were minted in the active mints of Philadelphia (no mint mark), Denver (D), and San Francisco (S). Two-thirds of the Philadelphia-minted dollars contained "privy marks" for the now defunct Carson City (CC) and New Orleans (O) mints. The 2021 Peace Dollars had no mint mark and were only minted in Philadelphia.[46] After the chaos caused by the CC and O dollars, the Household Order Limit was reduced from 10 to 3 for the remainder of the dollars.
The US Mint originally decided to continue the Morgan and Peace Dollar program for 2022 and beyond[47] minted in San Francisco (S) with a proof finish, but on March 14, 2022, announced that the planned 2022 releases had been scrapped due to "supply chain issues, production capacity and shipping logistics", and the rising price of silver, with plans to resume the program in 2023.[48]
For 2023, the US Mint announced plans to release Morgan Dollars in three finishes: Uncirculated, minted by the Philadelphia Mint with no mint mark, 275,000 mintage limit; Proof, minted by the San Francisco Mint with an S mint mark, 400,000 mintage limit; and Reverse Proof, released as part of a 2-coin set with a Peace Dollar, minted by the San Francisco Mint with an S mint mark, 250,000 mintage limit.
The 2023 Uncirculated Morgan Dollar was released by the US Mint on July 13, 2023, and sold out on the first day of issue.
Mintage figures
1881 Morgan Dollar Reverse
The dollars were produced every year between 1878 and 1904 at a total of four different mints. Each mint, with the exception of Philadelphia, has its own mint mark. In 1921 production was resumed for one year only, with this year being the only one where the Denver mint was used, until 2021.[49] The number of dollars surviving are unknown as the Pittman Act resulted in the melting of millions of these coins, and the individual dates melted were never recorded. PCGS CoinFacts estimates survivals are less than 10% of the mintage.
The Coinage Act of 1873 or Mint Act of 1873 was a general revision of laws relating to the Mint of the United States. By ending the right of holders of silver bullion to have it coined into standard silver dollars, while allowing holders of gold to continue to have their bullion made into money, the act created a gold standard by default. It also authorized a Trade dollar, with limited legal tender, intended for export, mainly to Asia, and abolished three small-denomination coins. The act led to controversial results and was denounced by critics as the "Crime of '73".
The United States Mint is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury responsible for producing coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce, as well as controlling the movement of bullion. The U.S. Mint is one of two U.S. agencies that produce money in the case of minting coinage; the other is the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, which prints paper currency. The first United States Mint was created in Philadelphia in 1792, and soon joined by other centers, whose coins were identified by their own mint marks. There are currently four active coin-producing mints: Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco, and West Point.
The dollar coin is a United States coin with a face value of one United States dollar. Dollar coins have been minted in the United States in gold, silver, and base metal versions. Dollar coins were first minted in the United States in 1794.
The Coinage Act of 1792, passed by the United States Congress on April 2, 1792, created the United States dollar as the country's standard unit of money, established the United States Mint, and regulated the coinage of the United States. This act established the silver dollar as the unit of money in the United States, declared it to be lawful tender, and created a decimal system for U.S. currency.
The Eisenhower dollar is a one-dollar coin issued by the United States Mint from 1971 to 1978; it was the first coin of that denomination issued by the Mint since the Peace dollar series ended in 1935. The coin depicts President Dwight D. Eisenhower on the obverse, and a stylized image honoring the 1969 Apollo 11 Moon mission on the reverse. Both sides were designed by Frank Gasparro, with the reverse based on the mission patch designed by astronaut Michael Collins. It is the only large-size U.S. dollar coin whose circulation strikes contained no silver.
The American Silver Eagle is the official silver bullion coin of the United States.
The American twenty-cent piece is a coin struck from 1875 to 1878, but only for collectors in the final two years. Proposed by Nevada Senator John P. Jones, it proved a failure due to confusion with the quarter, to which it was close in both size and value.
The Peace dollar is a United States dollar coin minted for circulation from 1921 to 1928 and 1934 to 1935, and beginning again for collectors in 2021. Designed by Anthony de Francisci, the coin was the result of a competition to find designs emblematic of peace. Its obverse represents the head and neck of the Goddess of Liberty in profile, and the reverse depicts a bald eagle at rest clutching an olive branch, with the legend "Peace". It was the last United States dollar coin to be struck for circulation in silver.
The Seated Liberty dollar was a dollar coin struck by the United States Mint from 1840 to 1873 and designed by its chief engraver, Christian Gobrecht. It was the last silver coin of that denomination to be struck before passage of the Coinage Act of 1873, which temporarily ended production of the silver dollar for American commerce. The coin's obverse is based on that of the Gobrecht dollar, which had been minted experimentally from 1836 to 1839. However, the soaring eagle used on the reverse of the Gobrecht dollar was not used; instead, the United States Mint (Mint) used a heraldic eagle, based on a design by late Mint Chief Engraver John Reich first utilized on coins in 1807.
The Draped Bust dollar is a United States dollar coin minted from 1795 to 1803, and was reproduced, dated 1804, into the 1850s. The design succeeded the Flowing Hair dollar, which began mintage in 1794 and was the first silver dollar struck by the United States Mint. The designer is unknown, though the distinction is usually credited to artist Gilbert Stuart. The model is also unknown, though Ann Willing Bingham has been suggested.
The Kennedy half dollar, first minted in 1964, is a fifty-cent coin issued by the United States Mint. Intended as a memorial to the assassinated 35th president of the United States John F. Kennedy, it was authorized by Congress just over a month after his death. Use of existing works by Mint sculptors Gilroy Roberts and Frank Gasparro allowed dies to be prepared quickly, and striking of the new coins began in January 1964.
The San Francisco Mint is a branch of the United States Mint. Opened in 1854 to serve the gold mines of the California Gold Rush, in twenty years its operations exceeded the capacity of the first building. It moved into a new one in 1874, now known as the Old San Francisco Mint. In 1937 Mint operations moved into a third building, the current one, completed that year.
The United States trade dollar was a dollar coin minted by the United States Mint to compete with other large silver trade coins that were already popular in East Asia. The idea first came about in the 1860s, when the price of silver began to decline due to increased mining in the western United States. A bill providing in part for the issuance of the trade dollar was eventually put before Congress, where it was approved, and signed into law as the Coinage Act of 1873. The act made trade dollars legal tender up to five dollars. A number of designs were considered for the trade dollar, and an obverse and reverse created by William Barber were selected.
The gold dollar or gold one-dollar piece is a gold coin that was struck as a regular issue by the United States Bureau of the Mint from 1849 to 1889. The coin had three types over its lifetime, all designed by Mint Chief Engraver James B. Longacre. The Type 1 issue has the smallest diameter of any United States coin minted to date.
The America the Beautiful silver bullion coins comprise a series of silver bullion coins with a face value of a quarter dollar. The coins contain five troy ounces of silver, making them the largest silver bullion coins ever issued by the United States Mint. The design of the coins duplicates exactly—though enlarged—each of the America the Beautiful quarters. They were issued from 2010 to 2021. The coins were available for sale during the year in which their corresponding circulating coin is issued. The coins are distributed by the United States Mint's network of authorized bullion dealers, and may be resold at the discretion of the Director of the National Park Service.
The copper-nickel three-cent piece, often called a three-cent nickel piece or three-cent nickel, was designed by US Mint Chief Engraver James B. Longacre and struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint from 1865 to 1889. It was initially popular, but its place in commerce was supplanted by the five-cent piece, or nickel.
The three-cent silver, also known as the three-cent piece in silver or trime, was struck by the Mint of the United States for circulation from 1851 to 1872, and as a proof coin in 1873. Designed by the Mint's chief engraver, James B. Longacre, it circulated well while other silver coinage was being hoarded and melted, but once that problem was addressed, became less used. It was abolished by Congress with the Coinage Act of 1873.
The Liberty Head double eagle or Coronet double eagle is an American twenty-dollar gold piece struck as a pattern coin in 1849, and for commerce from 1850 to 1907. It was designed by Mint of the United States Chief Engraver James B. Longacre.
The McKinley Birthplace Memorial gold dollar was a commemorative coin struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1916 and 1917, depicting the 25th President of the United States, William McKinley. The coin's obverse was designed by Charles E. Barber, Chief Engraver of the Mint, and the reverse by his assistant, George T. Morgan. As McKinley had appeared on a version of the 1903-dated Louisiana Purchase Exposition dollar, the 1916 release made him the first person to appear on two issues of U.S. coins.
The five Panama–Pacific commemorative coins were produced in connection with the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. Struck at that city's mint, the issue included round and octagonal $50 pieces. Excepting modern bullion coins, these two gold pieces are the highest denomination ever issued and the largest coins ever struck by the United States Mint. The octagonal $50 piece is the only U.S. coin to be issued that is not round.
↑ Richardson, William Allen, ed. (1891). Supplement to the revised statutes of the United States. Vol.1. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. pp.806–807. Archived from the original on October 19, 2021. Retrieved November 1, 2020. 26 Stat L. 484, amendment to R.S. §3510
1 2 Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Mint (1972). Domestic and Foreign Coins Manufactured by Mints of the United States 1793–1970. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. pp.137–138.
Julian, R.W. (1993). Bowers, Q. David (ed.). Silver Dollars & Trade Dollars of the United States. Wolfeboro, New Hampshire: Bowers and Merena Galleries. ISBN0-943161-48-7.
Van Allen, Leroy C.; Mallis, A. George (1991). Comprehensive Catalog and Encyclopedia of Morgan & Peace Dollars. Virginia Beach, Virginia: DLRC Press. ISBN978-1-880731-11-6.
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