Silver Coinage

The production of Morgan dollar which was named after George T. Morgan, who was U.S Mint assistant engraver, started in 1878 and ended in 1921. Actually, for a period of 17 years starting 1904, silver dollars were not minted. Congressional on again-off again acts governed acquisition of silver and production of coins for the currency supply.

Although the coins were not produced for sometime, 1918 Pittman Act brought back the precious silver dollar.  This Act stipulated that 270 million silver dollars in existence should be melted down; each silver coin was to be minted into a new peace dollar.

The major setback was, Morgan dies had already been destroyed and peace dollar dies were actually not ready. The dies and the 1921 Morgan dollar were redesigned by Morgan, featuring an eagle with outstretched wings at one side and Lady Liberty on the other side. Three mints were used to produce over 86 million coins.

During the 1930s, money supply was endangered by hoarding of gold and silver coins and this threatened to worsen the Great Depression. An executive order that forbade hoarding of coins was passed and it was also agreed to extend issuance of paper based currency instead of coins.

There are many factors to consider in determining the value of Walking Liberty Half Dollars.  These pieces were manufactured between 1916 and 1947 and have a high silver content.  When you calculate the value of the coin, you need to look at values including the price of silver, percentage of silver in the coin, price of copper, percentage of copper in the coin, total weight in grams, ounce to gram conversion factor and the pound to gram conversion factor.

You should also look at other factors including the mint mark.  These coins were minted in Denver (D), Philadelphia (P) and San Francisco (S).  Even coins made within the same year can have a difference in value with some mint marks.  You can also check the Numismatic Value Range to see what people usually pay for specific coins.

There are also ways to calculate the melt value of silver, but you probably want to focus on the above values when you are investing in Liberty Walking Halves.  The price of silver and copper are the only factors that may change and they can change on a day to day basis, so you need to keep this in mind when determining values.

Did you know that the five cent denomination was not always the nickel? In fact, the nickel as we know it today would not be introduced until long after the monetary system within the United States was established.

Originally, the five cent coin was known as the half disme, pronounced “deem.” The coin was basically half the weight and value of the disme or dime. Under the Coinage Act of 1792, the denomination had 20 and 4/5 grains of standard silver, which made for 18 and 9/16 grains of pure silver. Famously, some half disme patterns were struck in 1792, although it is known that some circulated. Legend has it that these coins were minted from silver personally deposited by George Washington.

The first larger scale production of the denomination took place in 1794 when the Flowing Hair design was used. Coins were minted bearing the dates 1794 or 1795, with a total production of 86,416.

The half disme remained in use for more than five decades, however there were some complaints about its very small size, which led it to become easily lost. Also, when the market price of silver rose, the denomination became unprofitable to produce. Eventually, the solution was found in a five cent piece struck from a composition of copper and nickel, first used in 1866. The same composition continues to be used to the present day.

The Coinage Act of 1792 officially created the dollar as the unit of currency for the United States of America. It was passed on April 2, 1792 and provided that the dollar or unit would have 371 and 4/16 grains of standard silver. This yielded 416 grains of pure silver. Ultimately, the initial composition would be slightly changed, but the silver dollar remained an important unit within currency for many decades to come.

The first design featured Liberty with Flowing Hair, as designed by Robert Scot. There were also fifteen stars on the obverse, which represented the number of states in the Union. Eventually, this idea of stars for states was abandoned as the country rapidly expanded. Instead, there were 13 stars used for the original states.

Mintages at the early mint were quite low. There were just 1,758 acceptable pieces minted and released for the 1794 silver dollar. In the second year, there would be 160,295 pieces.

Especially for the first year, examples are highly prized by collectors and fetch steep prices when they are available for sale.

The next designs for the dollar would feature Liberty with a Draped Bust, Seated Liberty, and eventually the better known Morgan and Peace Silver Dollars.