You may be aware that David J. Ryder served as the 34th and 39th Director of the U.S. Mint, under Presidents George H.W. Bush and Donald Trump, and was named one of Coin World’s Most Influential People in Numismatics (1960-2020). During his tenures, he implemented significant changes and a wide range of new programs that increased demand for the Mint’s products. Among his many accomplishments, one of the most impressive is the release of the 2021 100th Anniversary Morgan Silver Dollars, which commemorated the 100-year anniversary of the last Morgan Silver Dollar minting in 1921.
The Morgan Silver Dollar remains popular with coin collectors to this day—in part because of the coin’s beautiful, iconic designs, and in part because of the role it played during exciting, turbulent, and significant periods of American history—the coin that helped build the Old West. The Morgan Silver Dollar was one of the very first U.S. coins to be minted at five different branches of the U.S. Mint—Philadelphia, New Orleans, Carson City, Denver and San Francisco—struck from 1878 to 1904, then again in 1921. It was only produced one year at the Denver Mint, 1921, and the Carson City Mint closed in 1893.
Today more people collect Morgan silver dollars than at any other time. Yet, unlike the beginning of the 20th century, there are no more large hoards. Millions of Morgans disappeared into private collections where they could remain for years. That makes locating Morgans in good condition more difficult, resulting in Morgan Silver Dollars being some of the most sought-after treasures in American coinage history!
The Morgan Silver Dollar was a 90% silver dollar with an American design that was originally minted to bolster the silver market following the huge Comstock Lode silver strike in Nevada. Though its official name is the “Liberty Head Dollar,” it’s usually referred to by the name of the designer of its iconic Lady Liberty obverse, George T. Morgan. Morgan, who designed seven U.S. coins, had a very clear vision of what the Goddess of Liberty image on the obverse should look like. But his search for the perfect model was fruitless until a friend introduced him to a schoolteacher by the name of Anna Williams.
Though his requests that she model for the new coin were repeatedly turned down, persistence paid off when Miss Williams finally agreed to pose, with the stipulation that she remain anonymous. Of course, that was a promise that couldn’t be kept, and her secret was revealed by a sharp-eyed Philadelphia newspaperman. Forever more after that, she was known as the “Silver Dollar Girl.” At various times in its history, the coin was nicknamed the “Cartwheel” due to its size and weight, and the “Buzzard Dollar” because some people thought the eagle on the reverse looked more like a buzzard than an eagle.
After 1904, there was a hiatus in minting Silver Dollars because demand was low, and the bullion supply was exhausted. Then in 1918, Congress passed the Pittman Act. That Act authorized the melting of a vast sum of Morgan Silver Dollars to send to Great Britain to help that country during World War I. According to U.S. Mint records, 259,121,554 Silver Dollars were melted, nearly half of the entire mintage of Morgans up to that time!
The Pittman Act also included a clause at the behest of the country’s “silver barons” requiring the purchase of enough U.S. mined silver to replace all those melted silver dollars. That provision in the Pittman Act galvanized the U.S. Mint to again begin minting Silver Dollars, but since the new design was not ready to be put into production, the mint instead resurrected the Morgan for one more year of minting, in 1921. Another mass melting occurred during World War II, when the Silver Act of 1942 resulted in the melting of another 53 million-plus Silver Dollars.
This is your opportunity to get these wonderful Sets of Morgan Silver Dollars encapsulated with labels featuring the hand-signed signature of David J. Ryder—all in matching NGC-certified Mint State-63 (MS63) grades. Whether you choose the 50-Pc. Set, the 30-Pc. Set, the 20-Pc. Set or the 10-Pc. Set, you are assured of getting some key-date Morgans that are significant to collectors. Take a look!
This monster Morgan Set includes:
This amazing Morgan Set includes:
20-Piece Set 1878 – 1921 Morgan Silver Dollars
This impressive Morgan Set includes:
This appealing Morgan Set includes:
All in matching grade MS63 condition, all encapsulated with labels hand-signed by former two-time U.S. Mint Director David J. Ryder.
As a bonus, each purchase will include a letter hand-signed by former U.S. Mint Director David J. Ryder highlighting how the 2021 Morgan Silver Dollars came to exist, along with his thoughts relating to the process of bringing one of America’s favorite coins back into production!
“As the 100th anniversary of this moment in our history approached, there were strong efforts to recognize these coins. The 1921 Silver Dollar Coin Anniversary Act made this a reality, calling for the production of 2021-dated Morgan and Peace Dollars. Then and now, the Morgan Dollar is an American classic. It is an honor to share the excitement of these coins with collectors who appreciate holding history in their hands. ”
David J. Ryder
Former Director of the U.S. Mint and current ambassador for Modern Coin Mart.*
Putting together a complete date and mint mark set for any particular coin is one of the ultimate goals of any coin collector—and that’s especially true with the history-soaked, complete, 96-coin Morgan Silver Dollar collection. Completing a collection becomes a challenging task when one or more of the coins are uncommon or have a high price tag.
But here the work has been done for you with these amazing collections, each with different dates and mint marks—NO DUPLICATIONS. Better yet, every Morgan is certified in collectors-quality MS63 condition, and every Morgan features a label hand-signed by David J. Ryder, two-time former Director of the U.S. Mint and the man who resurrected the Morgan program after 100 years of dormancy!