September 21st, 2009 — Coin Collecting, Liberty Head Silver Dollars, Morgan Silver Dollar, US Coins
Liberty Head silver dollars have been referred to in many different ways over the years. First they were called Buzzard Dollars, because no one really liked the original design of the rather scrawny eagle on the back. The large, heavy coins were also referred to as Cartwheels, and are today most commonly referred to as Morgan Dollars, after their creator, George T. Morgan.
Though when they first appeared in 1878 these coins weren’t popular at all, today Liberty Head silver dollars are one of the most collectible coins in the world, among silver and all other types of coins. When these coins were minted, the dollar coin had been discontinued for 5 years already, with Americans showing a clear preference for paper dollars. The coins were minted because of the large silver surplus created by the purchase of silver from the Comstock lode in Nevada, to keep Nevada’s economy above water. To use the silver, these coins were commissioned.
George Morgan was an Englishman who designed the Liberty Head silver dollars, and despite his post as US Chief Engraver after that, one he held for over 40 years, these coins were the only American ones he ever designed. Because these coins weren’t popular and few people used them, production stopped in 1904. Many of the coins were melted down in 1918 to help Great Britain’s war efforts. Then more were minted in 1921, but only for a brief time before the Peace Dollar was minted to commemorate the end of the war, and quickly became the most popular silver dollar in America.
The Liberty Head silver dollars continued to be melted town, and the public showed little interest in collecting them until about 1972, when a large collection of over 400 bags of the rare Carson City minted dollars was discovered. The collection ended up selling at auction for over $7 million dollars. While all these dollars are collectible, some are more valuable and sought out than others.
The most rare Liberty Head silver dollars are those minted in 1895. Called the “king” of these dollars, some have sold for over $100,000 at auction. What makes these coins particularly valuable is their rarity, and the mystery surrounding them. Twelve-thousand 1895 coins were struck, according to mint records, yet only about 80 have ever been accounted for, and all of those were proofs. None of the regular circulation coins have been recovered. Whether they were ever minted at all comes into question, but doesn’t lessen the mystique of the coin.
Liberty Head silver dollars, aside from the 1895 strike, aren’t particularly rare because millions of these coins were minted. They were larger than typical coins, and the original eagle design wasn’t popular, yet today they’re consider one of the most collectible US coins available. Online auctions are an inexpensive and ideal way to purchase these collectible coins, whether you want to purchase them to begin investing in silver, or to make the Liberty Head silver dollars an important part of your coin collection.
Originally posted 2008-11-11 14:00:28. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Related Posts -
Canadian Coins Coins and Paper Money -> Coins: Canada -> Commemorative Whether you are from Canada, or just interested in collecting Canadian coins, there are plenty of options out there and many of these coins are actually quite valuable. Before you get started with your collection, it’s a good idea to know...... -
Rare Gold Coins money -> Coins-World -> Gold Gold is one of the most popular substances in the world, and rare gold coins are highly sought out by collectors, not just for the precious gold content, but because of the rarity of the coins and the designs themselves. How do you know...... -
Coin Collecting 101 Coin collecting is an industry that has grown to encompass billions of dollars in sales. The earliest hobby of coin collecting is capable of being traced as far back as 1300 AD, which is when an Italian scholar known by the name of Fracesco Petrarca began to save coins and...... -
Judging Your Collection Based on Coin Collecting Values If you are serious about collecting coins, then one of the things that you should be putting consideration into when collecting is coin collecting values. The thing about coin collecting values is that they let you know what price a particular coin is going for. In other words, if you...... -
Collecting Maple Leaf Canadian Coins If you are looking for an intriguing coin collection, consider adding Maple Leaf Canadian coins to your collection. These Maple Leaf coins are the official Canadian bullion coins and they are created and distributed by the Royal Canadian Mint. They come in a number of different metal types including gold,......
Related Websites - What to do with those State Quarter maps? Over Christmas I found a Hawaii quarter, which is the fiftieth quarter in the State Quarters series from the US Mint. We got home late Thursday and amongst all of the unpacking we punched out the last circle in the map and put Hawaii in. We looked it over for......
- Melt value If you're into precious metals investing, one good way to get involved is to own bullion (the metal itself) directly. You can buy bars of the stuff, or buy coins with a substantial content of some precious metal, like gold, silver, palladium, or platinum. The more current, more common bullion......
- Federal Reserve cracks down on competitive money The almighty dollar has some would-be competition: The Liberty Dollar purports to be an alternative to the U.S. Dollar; "Fed Ex competes with the Post Office [...] now there's the Liberty Dollar competing with the greenbacks printed by your government," Paul Harvey is quoted as saying on the Liberty Dollar......
- Finally, a market for the new dollar coins One of my colleagues at work asked if he could buy one of the Presidential $1 coins off of me. His daughter lost a tooth, and she had requested that he ask the Tooth Fairy for "one of the new gold dollars." My colleague, not 100% sure he could get......
- Modern coin collecting fun but useless for preserving wealth The state quarters series is in the final stretch. The South Dakota quarter was released at the beginning of the month. (Will this be the only US coin with George Washington on it twice?) Only ten more states to go. There is a lot of educational value in the release......
Online Stores
September 15th, 2009 — 1896 Silver Dollar, Coin Collecting, US Coins
An 1896 silver dollar is one of the Morgan dollars that were minted from 1868 to 1904, and then later again in 1921. The image on these coins was designed by George T. Morgan, and while his dollar is a collector favorite today, easily found in online auctions, they were virtually ignored when they were created.
By 1873, the American collar coin was discontinued. Paper money was favored over coins. So when the large, Morgan dollar came onto the scene in 1878, few people were interested in using them. After the Comstock lode was discovered in Nevada, America’s richest silver strike to date, it was necessary to use that silver to keep Nevada’s economy from collapsing. Pressure was put on the government to make a silver dollar, so the US Treasury, despite the veto by President Rutherford B. Hayes, purchased a few million dollars worth of the silver for coinmaking. Some of that silver was used in the 1896 silver dollars, as well as other dollars from that era.
Morgan, a native of England, was brought over to be an engraver for the director of the Philadelphia Mint. Morgan’s design competed with the design by the normal designer and Chief Engraver, William Barger. Morgan’s coin was chosen, with its head of Lady Liberty on the front and a small eagle on the back. Soon after, Morgan became Chief Engraver and remained there for over 40 years, then became Chief Engraver for the United States Mint in his 70s. The 1896 silver dollar as well as all Morgan dollars produced, bear the distinction of being the only American coin Morgan ever designed.
Less than two weeks after Congress authorized the minting, the first Morgan dollars were struck, on March 11, 1878. Philadelphia produced most of the Morgan dollars, but a small mint in Carson City near the silver Comstock lode produced some dollars of that era. Though that mint closed in 1893, after the mine was essentially emptied of silver. The 1896 silver dollars was one of the 500 million Morgan dollars minted between 1878 and 1904. Despite their numbers, the coins weren’t popular with consumers. There were many used coins, in fact, that in 1918, over 270 million were melted to provide Great Britain with silver during the war. Morgan dollars were produced again in 1921, to the tune of 86 million, but stopped the following year so that the Peace dollar, which became popular, could be produced to commemorate the end of World War I.
Millions more Morgan dollars, including the 1896 silver dollar, were melted down for their silver content in the following years. In fact, it wasn’t until 1972, when the General Services Administration auctioned 2.9 million Morgan dollars, the rare ones produced by the Carson City mint that closed in 1893, that the Morgan dollar interested collectors at all. Then LaVere Redfield, a stock investor who had hoarded 400 bags of Morgan dollars, died in 1974 and his 11 tons of Morgan dollars were auctioned for $7.3 million dollars, giving the Morgan dollar real status in the coin world.
Originally posted 2008-10-14 14:00:58. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Related Posts - Silver Bullion Coins Coins & Paper Money -> Bullion -> Silver People buy silver bullion coins for a few different reasons. Some buy them because of the precious metal content as an investment and buffer against inflation. Some people buy them because they fear that one day our popular currency will become worthless,......
-
Morgan Silver Dollar Coin Collecting -> US Coins -> Dollar Coins -> Morgan (1878-1921): 1878-1921, 1885-93, 1894-98, 1899-1904, 1921 The Morgan Silver Dollar is considered by many to be one of the most valuable US coins that you can collect. It’s history ranges from 1878 to 1904, and during its run, it was...... -
Wheat Penny Money -> Small-Cents -> Lincoln-Wheat-1909-1958 Probably one of the easiest coins to acquire for a coin collection is the wheat penny. This coin was a United States penny minted from 1909 to 1958. The coin goes by many names, including the Lincoln Wheat Cent and Wheatie, and was worth 1...... -
Introduction to Rare Coin Collecting Coin dealers, just like any other type of dealer or business, requires stock that they can sell to the public. Rather than obtaining or acquiring their stock from a factory or manufacturer however, they obtain their coins from the public instead. Classic types of rare coins have to be acquired...... - Liberty Head Silver Dollars money -> Coins-US -> Dollars Liberty Head silver dollars have been referred to in many different ways over the years. First they were called Buzzard Dollars, because no one really liked the original design of the rather scrawny eagle on the back. The large, heavy coins were also referred......
Related Websites -
Ponzi Scheme: Bernie Madoff and the $50 Billion Hoopla You're Hearing About The biggest non-news item to break last week was this Bernie Madoff fellow and his billion dollar Ponzi Scheme. I say it's non-news because the people that lost money here are admitting they didn't really know how the guy was able to consistently make money. If you invest in something...... -
The Deflation Scam The media has been going on and on about deflation. Long-term bond prices have also been trending up and long term yields have been dropping, which means that the market thinks there will be long-term deflation. Even the Consumer Price Index numbers that came out claim that inflation is under...... -
Applying a SmartArt style SmartArt Styles are preset formatting specs (border, fill, effects, shadows, and so on) that you can apply to an entire SmartArt diagram. They make it easy to apply surface texture effects that make the shapes look reflective or appear to have 3-D depth or perspective. SmartArt Styles do not include...... -
The Truth About Taxes Note: Although I try to keep GRS a politics-free zone, today’s topic is inherently political. I’ve stayed as neutral as possible in the article, but I know that there’ll be some political discussion in the comments. Please keep conversation civil, as always. Because I was frustrated with my own ignorance...... -
2009 Purse for the US Open Tops the Records at $21.6 Million The US Open purse for the 2009 competition is going to top $21.6 million, which is going to mark the third year in a row that the prize money for this tournament has increased by a sum of $1 million dollars. In addition to this base $21.6 million dollar purse,......
Online Stores
September 9th, 2009 — Coin Collecting, Gold Coins, Gold Eagle Coins
Gold Eagle coins are American currency, first released in 1986, that contains the stated amount of actual gold weight claimed in troy ounces, with a silver and copper alloy added to make the coins less soft and more wear resistant. The coins are an official US gold bullion coin, authorized by the Gold Bullion Coin Act of 1986.
The first Gold Eagle coins minted from 1986 to 1991 are dated with Roman numerals. Gold Eagle coins from 1992 onward switched to Arabic numbering. These coins are worth far more than their face value, because of their gold content. In the beginning of 2008, a $5 American Golden Eagle was actually worth about $110, with this amount varying daily, of course, based on the price of gold. The US Mint makes a proof suitable for collectors, most which carry the mint mark of “W” (which stands for the West Point mint in New York) beneath the date.
The design on Gold Eagle coins is often referred to as one of the most beautiful to grace an American coin. It features Lady Liberty holding a torch and an olive branch, her hair flowing, with the Capitol building in the background. The reverse of the coin boats an eagle above his nest of hatchlings, with the mother eagle watching over her brood. The male eagle carries an olive branch, long known as the symbol for peace. The coins come in four sizes: one-ounce, half-ounce, quarter-ounce and one-tenth ounce. The American Golden Eagle has become the most widely traded gold bullion coin in the world.
Gold Eagle coins are certainly valuable to coin collectors, and investors, thanks to their gold content. For collectors interested solely in the design, Golden Eagle proofs are a great addition to your collection. They’re designed specifically for coin collectors, and don’t carry the high price of the real gold bullion coins. These are widely available in places like flea markets, online stores and online auctions and their value is based on their condition. They should be graded like ordinary coins, from poor to uncirculated, and judged on that basis.
True Gold Eagle coins, though, are an actual investment whose gold content and purity are actually guaranteed by the US Government. American Eagles are actually even valid deposits for Individual Retirement Accounts, otherwise known as IRAs. Every major government holds gold in reserve because it’s a tangible asset. What you hold in your hand is what’s valuable, unlike paper money and coins, whose value is representative of assets like gold that are held in the treasury.
Gold Eagle coins are an easy and affordable way to invest in gold. Where big investors might trade for gold in thousands of dollars or more at a time, the average investor or beginning investor can choose to purchase American Eagle coins instead. The value may vary daily with the price of gold, but the rarity of real gold virtually ensures that the value won’t drop dramatically as other investments can.
Originally posted 2008-10-16 05:00:50. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Related Posts -
Buffalo Nickels Coins and Paper Money -> Coins - US -> Nickels -> Buffalo (1913-1938): 1913-19, 1920-29, 1930-38, Mixed Lots The popular US coin called the Buffalo Nickel was only minted from 1913 to 1938, but it quickly became one of the most popular coins and certainly one of the most collectible....... -
Determining Rare Coin Values in Your Collection When you are deciding whether or not you would like to add a specific coin to your collection, one of the things that you are going to want to take into account is rare coin values. The rare coin values that you find will ultimately be determined by availability of...... - Silver Bullion Coins Coins & Paper Money -> Bullion -> Silver People buy silver bullion coins for a few different reasons. Some buy them because of the precious metal content as an investment and buffer against inflation. Some people buy them because they fear that one day our popular currency will become worthless,......
-
Collection Coins Collecting antique gold coins is an excellent buy, and if you are trying to combine a hobby with an investment, then collection coins are a much needed asset for any portfolio. If you are unfamiliar with what buying an antique gold coin can do for you, then you are going...... -
Starting a Gold Coin Collection There are a number of different ways that you can buy gold, not only as jewelry or gold bars but also in the form of a gold coin collection as well. Buying into a gold coin collection is a much better option, it is also much simpler and it can......
Related Websites - Have Gold Prices Peaked? In case you were asleep, last week saw gold break all records and almost closed at $900/Oz. I still think its a good time to buy for long term investors. Lets see what other investment advisers think. According to Merill Lynch, we're already in a recession and according to Richard......
-
Gold At $100 Off Its 2006 Highs Gold has retreated quite a bit since its high of $730 on May 11th 2006. Its currently trading around $630/oz. I see this as a good buying opportunity. While I'm against dollar cost averaging, I think gold is in the beginning of a bull cycle and this justifies buying on...... -
How To Invest In Gold The first question you're probably asking is whether gold is a good investment to begin with. Take a look at the performance of gold prices over the past 5 years versus the stock market. As you can see, gold is up over 100% while the Dow Jones Industrial Index is...... -
Is Gold a Worthwhile Investment? If you happen to turn on CNBC, listen to a radio show about investing, or read any financial newsletter or magazine, itâs not going to be long before you see and advertisement about some company which will show you how you can invest in gold and other precious metals...... -
![[Perth Mint Lunar Series Gold Dragon 1 Ounce coin]](http://www.livingoffdividends.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/perth_mint_lunar_series_gold_dragon.jpg "[Perth Mint Lunar Series Gold Dragon 1 Ounce coin]")
Gold Play: Great Time To Invest As I've mentioned before I think the US is going to enter a period of inflation and recession brought on by the trade & budget deficit and precipitated by the devaluing dollar. Both Oil and Gold have been in a slow and quiet bull market for the past few years.......
Online Stores
Liberty Head silver dollars have been referred to in many different ways over the years. First they were called Buzzard Dollars, because no one really liked the original design of the rather scrawny eagle on the back. The large, heavy coins were also referred to as Cartwheels, and are today most commonly referred to as Morgan Dollars, after their creator, George T. Morgan.
