Coin Collector Guide

Collecting US silver coins is an excellent way of investing in silver for your future. Not only are silver coins a solid investment they provide a fascinating hobby as well. A nicely presented coin collection is a thing of beauty; you can see and feel the value in your hands. In recent years the value of silver has risen and it is expected to continue going up in the future. However, the value of a coin is in more than just its metal content. A coin also has “collectable value” based upon its rarity. Naturally, the more common a coin is the less its collectable value will be. Many silver coins are in such short supply that they value significantly more than their silver content, while others are so common that they can be obtained very near to their silver value – an excellent...

Of all the coins that were minted in the United States during the 1800s, the Morgan Silver Dollar is by far the most sought after. Anyone who has received one of these as a hand me down from an older relative stands to cash in on a significant pay day. Some people go so far as to refer to the Morgan Silver Dollar as the king of all United States issued silver coins. After this many years, the pure beauty of this silver coin remains breathtaking. If one were to attempt to buy a certain date/mint Morgan Silver Dollar that is found to be in mint condition, they could expect to pay no less than $2,000. Morgan Silver Dollar   Another silver coin that was minted during the 1800′s is the Liberty Seated Dime. Although this coin isn’t nearly as common as Morgan Silver Dollars, it is...

1921-1928  &  1934-1935 The Silver Peace Dollar was originally proposed to be a commemorative coin issued to memorialize with the ending of World War I; however the final decision was made to issue the Silver Peace Dollar as a circulating coin. The coin, which got its name from having the word “peace” imprinted at the bottom of the coin’s reverse, was designed by Anthony de Francisi. The replacement to the Morgan Silver Dollar, the Silver Peace Dollar was struck from 1921 until 1928, then after a pause of six years it was minted again in 1934 and 1935. The Silver Peace Dollar was briefly minted again in 1965 (bearing the date 1964) but no examples were ever released and eventually melted down.  Containing 0.77344 troy ounces of silver, the Silver Peace Dollar was the last...

1878-1904 & 1921 The Morgan Silver Dollar, which was named after its designer, George T. Morgan, was minted from 1878 – 1904 and then again for one year in 1921. Each Morgan Silver Dollar has a finesse of .900 which gives it 0.77344 troy ounces, or 24.057 grams of silver. The coin was commissioned after the Bland-Allison Act was passed; which called for the US Treasury Department to buy large amounts of silver, and strike it into coins. This was at a time when the cost of silver was very low due to the Comstock Lode silver strike in Nevada; which to this day is the largest silver strike in history. The Morgan Silver Dollar was minted up to 1904 when there was a large supply of the dollars in circulation and a shortage of silver bullion. Finally in 1918 the Pittman act was passed...

1840 – 1873 The Seated Liberty Dollar was first minted in 1840. At that time the same obverse design was used for all U.S. silver coins. The design was created by Christian Gobrecht. The obverse features Lady Liberty sitting on a rock, in her right hand she holds the Union Shield inscribed with the word “LIBERTY” and in her left hand she holds a long staff, The reverse side of the Seated Liberty Dollar features an eagle with the Union Shield across its breast. The eagle is holding an olive branch in its right talons and three arrows in its left talons. The words “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” appear in an arc around the upper half of the coin and the words “ONE DOL.” at the bottom below the eagle. The Seated Liberty Dollar was struck at four different mints;...

1986 – Present The American Silver Eagle was first produced by the U.S. Mint in November of 1986. This coin contains 9.999% pure silver and although it bears a One Dollar face value it has never been circulated nor has it ever been available at face value. The American Silver Eagle is an ideal way to collect silver as it is recognized and trusted around the world for its silver content. The American Silver Eagle has been minted at three different mints; Philadelphia, San Francisco, and West Point. The value of the American Silver Eagle is based on more than just its silver content. Due to the limited numbers produced and the varying numbers minted each year this coin also enjoys “collectable value” with some years and mint mark combinations bringing much more than others. The...

1892 – 1915 The Barber Half Dollar is also referred to as the Liberty Head Half Dollar. Throughout the 1880s relatively little quarters and halves were struck as the government had sufficient stock piles of older coins in it’s vaults to satisfy demand. By 1890 the stockpile of quarters and halves  had dropped to levels low enough as to require more normal production numbers. At this time plans were being made to modify the design of US silver coins. In 1890 a contest was setup at the behest of Mint Director James P. Kimball to obtain a new design for US silver coins. The Treasury received around 300 entries, but not a single one was deemed to be good enough for use on the new coins. In 1891 the task of designing the new coins was turned over to Charles E. Barber, chief sculptor...

1948 – 1963 The Benjamin Franklin Half Dollar was the first circulated US coin to feature a real person, who was not a president, in the design. The idea for a coin to honor Benjamin Franklin came from Mint Director Nellie Tayloe Ross. Franklin was very well known and respected not only for his role as one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, but also for his talents as a writer, printer, scientist and inventor. Sinnock died in 1947 before the design of the Benjamin Franklin half dollar was completed. He had not included an eagle in the design, although the Coinage Act of 1873 mandated that an eagle had to appear on all US silver containing coins bigger than the dime. The task of adding the eagle to the reverse was given to Gilroy Roberts. The Federal Commission of Fine Art disapproved...