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| Philadelphia, Draped Bust |
United States
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$1 1799 BB-167,B-14
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NGC XF 40
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The Philadelphia mint is the oldest US mint, established in 1792 and operating from the original three buildings through 1833. The first silver dollars from this mint were issued in 1794 featuring the flowing hair Liberty design. My example from this historic mint is the second design, the draped bust Liberty, that commenced in 1795.
Purchased from Heritage Auctions, July 2014. 'Nicknamed the "tears" variety for a series of small die lumps in the field opposite Liberty's eye and nose. These lumps are diagnostic, as are die lumps under the AM of AMERICA for Die State II. All examples of this variety are weakly struck on Liberty's hair, which is often mistaken for wear. The current coin is bright silver-gray, with traces of luster remaining within Liberty's hair strands and a touch of gold at the rims. The BB-167 variety is normally found in VF or lesser grades. XF examples of the variety are scarce.'
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| New Orleans, Seated Liberty |
United States
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$1 1846 O
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NGC AU 50
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The New Orleans mint was the first branch mint established for issuing silver coinage. Charlotte and Dahlonega were also established at the same time, 1835, but only produced gold coins. These mints were needed to support commerce in the South of the nation. Operations at the New Orleans Mint started in 1838 and stopped in 1861 during the Civil War. They resumed in 1879 and ended for good in 1909. My example is from the first year of silver dollar coinage, 1846, when only 59,000 were produced.
From the January 2014 FUN US Coin Signature Auction, Orlando.
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| San Francisco, Trade Dollar |
United States
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T$1 1878 S
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NGC AU 58
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The San Francisco mint was opened in 1854 to turn the gold from the mines of the California Gold Rush into US currency and it was well positioned to handle the silver from the Comstock Load, discovered in 1859. Seated Liberty silver dollars were struck here in great quantities, contributing to a glut of silver dollars and raising their monetary value well above their silver content. Congress halted the production of silver dollars in 1873 but allowed the issue of the Trade Dollar for foreign exchange, particularly with China. The Trade Dollar failed to live up to expectations and production, except for proofs, was ended in 1878. My example is from the last year of regular issue.
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| Carson City, Morgan |
United States
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$1 1883 CC
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PCGS MS 67
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The Carson City mint started operations in 1870 to handle silver from the Comstock Load. Seated Liberty and Trade Dollars were struck here but the lower quantity of Morgan Dollar issues makes them attractive to collectors. Production at the mint was suspended after 1885 and resumed briefly from 1889 to 1893. My example is from a common year but a gem grade.
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| Denver, Peace |
United States
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$1 1922 D
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NGC MS 66
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The Denver mint was established in 1862 but did not start production until 1904. Silver dollar production began in 1921 with the Morgan Dollar and switched to the Peace Dollar in 1922. My example of this beautiful tribute to the end of the Great War is from the first year of issue from Denver and suffers the common problem of the reduction in relief that the mints were forced to undertake to extend the life of the dies.
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| West Point, ASE |
United States
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S$1 2013(W) EAGLE
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PCGS MS 70
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The West Point mint began it's career as a silver bullion storage facility in 1937, started issuing coins in 1974 and gained official mint status in 1988. The American Silver Eagles were first minted at West Point in 1999 and have primarily been minted here starting in 2001. My example is the enhanced finish variety that only came out in the two coin mint set in 2013. The special process features three finishes, heavy frost, light frost, and brilliant polish.
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