2021 Morgan and Peace Silver dollars

2021 is exciting for the new and old numismatists among us, as we are about to witness the re-release of the historic Morgan dollars and Peace dollars. It is 100 years since we saw the transition from the Morgan dollars to the Peace dollars. To honor the 100th anniversary of these coin the U.S. mint opened the 2021 Morgan dollars for order in May this year and the 2021 Peace dollars with a date to be determined, with anticipated shipments in October of 2021.

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Morgan and Peace dollars - The original release

Any history of Morgan dollars starts with the Bland-Allison act of 1878 that decreed that the U.S. treasury should buy a prescribed amount of Silver every month from Western miners and produce Silver coins. The Morgan Silver Dollar was a result of this surplus amount of Silver bought by the U.S. Treasury. The surplus came about due to the Silver coming from the Comstock Lode in Nevada. Literally billions of Morgan Silver dollars were minted in Philadelphia, San Francisco(S), New Orleans(O), Carson City(CC) and Denver(D) mints between 1878 and 1904 and then again in 1921. Designed by George T. Morgan, the Morgan dollar is considered his masterpiece as Assistant Mint engraver in Philadelphia mint.

When the U.S. mint decided to stop minting the Morgan dollars and move to a completely new design, it was the end of the Great War. Most people thought it would be the final war that the world will ever face in such a large scale and peace would ensue. The Peace dollar was meant to symbolize the start of this presumably peaceful era. Though this sentiment was rudely disturbed just 20 years later, the Peace dollar did usher in a brief yet prosperous period in American history called the ‘roaring twenties’.

Frank Duffield, the editor of The Numismatist published an article in November 1918 suggesting that a victory coin be released. Farran Zerbe, a numismatist released a paper which was presented in the American Numismatist Convention in 1920 in Chicago, that supported a peace coin commemorating the end of the First World War.

As it was more than 25 years since the Morgan dollars were struck, it was replaced with a new coin without any congressional approval. The US mint announced a design competition for the new Peace Silver dollar and Anthony de Francisci, a young medal designer won it.

Morgan and Peace dollars - The 2021 release

2021 will see the release of the following Morgan and Peace dollars

• Morgan Silver Dollars will be struck with Denver, Philadelphia and San Francisco mint marks.

• Morgan Silver dollars will be struck with Carson City and New Orleans privy mark to honor the history of these two former facilities. The privy marks will appear in the same position on the reverse as the Mint marks do on the originals, below the eagle’s tail feathers. They will be struck at the Philadelphia Mint. The CC privy mark will be presented incuse on a cartouche, while the O privy mark will have a dot in the center.

• Peace Silver dollars will be struck with the Philadelphia Mint mark.

All five of the 2021 Morgan dollar will be limited to a release of 175,000 coins per version, while the 2021 Peace dollar will be struck with a mintage ceiling of 200,000 coins.