US Dollar Coins

In 1795, a depiction of Lady Liberty with a Draped Bust replaced the silver dollar’s obverse (front). The reverse of the coin, consisting of an oddly undernourished-looking eagle, remained fairly consistent until 1798, when it was replaced by what is known today as the Heraldic Eagle. That raptor made it onto the backs of the 1804 silver dollars, which are among the rarest and most mysterious U.S. dollar coins ever minted.

From 1840 until 1873, Seated Liberty silver dollars were put into circulation, even though by 1853 the value of the silver in the coin was worth more than a buck, making their use as currency problematic. In some years, tens of thousands of coins were issued, although in two years (1871 and 1872) more than a million were struck. Rarest of all are the 1870-S dollars minted in San Francisco—less than a dozen are thought to have been produced.

The Morgan silver dollars of 1878 to 1904 and 1921 came next. Designed by the U.S. Mint’s chief engraver, George T. Morgan, the coin featured a profile of a garlanded Lady Liberty on the obverse, with an eagle clutching arrows and an olive branch on the reverse. Morgans are one of two silver-dollar types scrutinized by VAM fans, who scour the surfaces of these coins to determine the actual dies used to strike them. For the enthusiastic coin collector, this minute level of detail is part of the joy of the pursuit.

Peace dollars (1921-1928 and 1934-1935) also get the VAM treatment. Named for the word "PEACE" stamped below the perched bald eagle on the coin’s reverse, Peace dollars replaced the Morgans at a time when a post-World War I nation was looking for a hopeful sentiment on its coins. Sculptor Anthony de Francisci won the open competition for the coin’s design. Collectors prize the so-called high-relief coins struck that first year—the relief was so deep that the coins could not be stacked reliably.

Of course silver was not the only material used to mint dollar coins. In 1849, the year of the California gold rush, gold dollar coins were minted. The original design, sometimes called the Type One Gold Dollar, featured a Liberty head on one side and a wreath on the other. Coins from 1849 whose wreaths appear open at the top are extremely rare and command megabucks at auctions.

In 1854, the gold Indian Princess dollar was introduced—coins bearing a Princess with a small head were struck from 1854 to 1856; larger-headed Princesses were produced until 1889. Gold dollar coins, especially the original Liberty heads, were sometimes soldered into jewelry. As you’d expect, coins with solder marks are worth less than those without.

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