The Morgan dollar is among the most historic U.S. coins ever minted. Named after the designer, U.S. Mint Assistant Engraver George T. Morgan, it was produced from 1878 to 1904 and in 1921. The obverse depicts Liberty as a youthful woman wearing a Phrygian cap, worn by emancipated slaves of ancient Rome, together with a headdress of cotton and wheat— staples of the U.S. economy. The reverse features a Bald Eagle with outstretched wings, symbolic of the power of the U.S. government. The eagle bears in its great talons both an olive branch and 3 arrows, representing a nation of peace but one that is poised for war. The dollar was authorized by the Bland-Allison Act of 1878, which required the Treasury to purchase an enormous 2 to 4 million dollars worth of silver each month to be coined into dollars. Later, in 1918, the passage of the Pittman Act ultimately led to the melting of over 270 million Morgan silver dollars held in treasury reserves. Today, the few that remain are cherished specimens of a bygone era that serve to immortalize the memory of a young, prosperous, and powerful United States of America.
