Morgan Silver Dollar Overview
- 1881 Morgan Silver Dollar Cc
- Value Of 1881 Silver Dollar Lady Liberty
- 1881 Morgan Silver Dollar Cc
- 1881 Morgan Silver Dollar Value Chart
This 1881 New Orleans Mint Morgan dollar is ranked number 52 with a mintage of 5,708,000. It also holds the place of 12 out of 26 from Morgan dollars made at the New Orleans Mint. This New Orleans Morgan dollar is in Circulated condition. It has full detail on both the obverse and reverse of the coin. 1881 Morgan Dollar The 1881 Morgan Dollar (Buy on eBay) had a relatively high mintage of 9,163,000 coins struck for circulation. It remains relatively available, although most pieces encountered will.
A series of simple but elegant silver coins minted from 1878 to 1904 and then again in 1921, the Morgan silver dollar is one of the most iconic and widely collected specimens in the history of U.S. coinage.
It was the first coin to be made in silver following the Coinage Act of 1873, an act which had discontinued the policy known as “free silver,” whereby those in possession of silver bullion could have it struck into coins for a small fee.
It was the Bland-Allison act, passed in 1878, that revitalized the use of silver in coinage by requiring the U.S. Treasury Department to coin between two and four million dollars’ worth of silver each month. The Morgan silver dollar was the first silver coin created under this new legislation.
George T. Morgan, an engraver at the U.S. Mint, designed both faces for the Morgan silver dollar, though the details of his reverse design caused much controversy in the coin’s first year of mintage.
In the center of the obverse face is a large profile bust portrait of Liberty. Above her head is the motto “E PLURIBUS UNUM,” and below her head is the year of mintage. Near the rim is a ring of stars, and the along the rim is a series of bumps known as denticles.
On the reverse face is an eagle with spread wings, perched with one leg on a bundle of arrows and the other on an olive branch. Along the upper two-thirds of the rim is the legend “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” and along the bottom is the denomination “ONE DOLLAR.” Below the eagle is a wreath, and above is the motto “In God We Trust.”
Morgan silver dollars are made of 90% silver and 10% copper, with a diameter of 38.1mm and a mass of 26.73 grams.
History of the 1881 Morgan Silver Dollar
The year 1881 saw the fourth mintage of the Morgan silver dollar.
The 1881 Morgan silver dollar is unique among many U.S. coins in that it was minted in four separate locations: Philadelphia, San Francisco, New Orleans, and Carson City.
The Philadelphia mint reports producing 9,163,975in 1881. In San Francisco, 12,760,000; in New Orleans, 5,708,000; and in Carson City, by far the lowest-producing location of the year, 296,000 silver dollars were produced.
From a design standpoint, the 1881 mintage of the Morgan silver dollar is standard, the kinks in Morgan’s reverse design having been worked out by the fourth year of minting.
Compositionally, too, the 1881 mintage is representative of the rest of the series: 90% silver, 10% copper, a diameter of 38.1mm, and a mass of 26.73 grams.
Valuing the 1881 Morgan Silver Dollar
As is the case with all coins containing a high percentage of precious metal, the 1881 Morgan silver dollar commands a decent price independent of its grade.
1881 Morgan Silver Dollar Cc
Value Of 1881 Silver Dollar Lady Liberty
According to the current bullion value for silver, the melt value of this coin is $12.71.
However, even at lower grades, this coin is worth more as a collector’s item. The numismatic value (what the coin is worth to collectors) of this coin is to a certain extent determined by where it was minted.
The mint mark for these coins is found under the base of the wreath, below the eagle’s tail on the reverse. A nonexistent mint mark represents Philadelphia; an “S” represents San Francisco; an “O” represents New Orleans, and a “CC” represents Carson City.
For Philadelphia, San Francisco, and New Orleans mintings, the values are more or less the same up until the Uncirculated (MS-65) grade: for Good through Fine grades, between $20 and $30; for About Uncirculated (AU-50), $42; and for Uncirculated (MS-60), around $50.
For Uncirculated (MS-65) coins minted in Philadelphia, the value jumps dramatically to $709. Finally, for Proofs minted in Philadelphia, the value is $3,076!
1881 Morgan Silver Dollar Cc
Uncirculated (MS-65) coins from San Francisco are valued at $180, and those from New Orleans are worth as much as $1,380!
1881 Morgan Silver Dollar Value Chart
Because of the rarity of Carson City minted coins and the low production numbers for this location in 1881, the values for most grades with this mint mark are higher than the others. Even Good graded coins are worth $311, and this increases to $500 for Uncirculated (MS-60) and $929 for Uncirculated (MS-65).