Dollar Coin Collecting

Things to remember before we start:

Obverse- heads' side.

Proof- refers to the process of refining which, first, manually involves putting burnished coin blanks into presses equipped with special dies. Each coin is stamped several times which makes the softly frosted and finely detailed images give the illusion of floating above the field.

Reverse- tails' side.

The Flowing Hair Dollar is the original silver dollar of the United States. It was made in the second year of the United States Mint's operation. The coin was produced for only two years and was able to produce about 162,000 coins. In its place the Bust Dollar took over in mid-1795.

Nowadays these dollars are very much sought after, and collectors are known to bid great sums for those of excellent condition.

The Bust Dollar had a uniform mintage but has various errors/varieties. Coinage stopped in 1804 at 19,570 coins for that year, with these coins holding the date 1803. Coins dated 1804 were actually made in 1834 upon the U.S. Department of State’s orders and are said to be the most important dollar coins ever made, and held the distinction of being the most valuable United States coins before the sale of the 1933 St. Gaudens Double Eagle. Overtime, 1804 dollars came to represent American numismatics. Currently, 15 coins are known to exist, with at least one stored in the Smithsonian Institute.

Modern Copies

It has been reported recently that perfect copies of Bust Dollars are being made in China. To get around these, the most common steps are buying from known dealers or purchasing sealed and certified coins.

The Gobrecht Dollar arrived in the aftermath of the 1831 phasing out of the suspension of silver dollar coinage. The coin displays the seated liberty obverse, the pattern to be copied by all silver issues in 1839. The Gobrecht Dollar is one of the most costly dollar type coins in United States coinage, especially the 1836 circulated variety which is the only solid mintage figure with a minting of 1600 coins. Restrikes of these coins were made into the 1870s for collectors, but this second supply proved to be rare, too, and just as valuable, if not more important than the 1836.

Seated Liberty Dollars were minted in 1840 and at a larger volume than the Gobrecht Dollar before it. These Liberty Dollars stayed public until 1853. By that year, the value of the silver exceeded the face value of the coin. The coin then went on to be minted exclusively for trade with China. This was stopped in 1870 and the dollar was placed once more in normal circulation when the price of silver lowered.

1921 Morgan Silver Dollar

With tons of silver coming in from the Comstock Lode in northern Nevada, coining silver dollars was once more enforced by the government. But this mine would close down soon after.

George T. Morgan was responsible for designing the entire coin. This coin was made at five different US Mint locations.

Morgan silver dollars were last minted in 1921, with the end of World War I ushering in a new coin. A special dollar—nicknamed the Peace Dollar—was created to mark this global milestone. Due to the positive public response, the Peace Dollar design replaced the Morgan as the regular silver dollar from that point on.

1889-CC, 1893-S, and 1895 Proof

These three dates/mints will present a real challenge to interested collectors for these are the most important of the entire Morgan series. Observe their low mintage figures.

• 1889-CC: 350,000

• 1893-S: 100,000

• 1895 Proof: 12,880

The 1895 Proof is one of the most valuable in the list with a PF-65 coin capable of fetching around $60,000. There are only 880 pieces of 1895 Proof coins known to have survived. Unsurprisingly, attempts have been made to forge an 1895-P by getting rid of a mintmark from an equally rare 1895-O or 1895-S.

Some Peace dollars are declared rarities, for reasons like lower mintage numbers, shortage of certified examples, or a shortage of examples in a certain grade. The higher the grade, the rarer the examples likely to exist.

Considered as rarities are Extra-Fine Grade 1921, 1928-P, and 1934-S Peace Dollars. The 1925-S and 1928-S issues have higher mintage figures but are worth more, due to scarcity of examples of these two coins.

Eisenhower Bicentennial 1975–1976 (all dated 1976)

The Eisenhower Dollar remembers two events in 1969: the death of Dwight D. Eisenhower and the Apollo 11 moon landing. Meant for only a seven year period, the coins were often saved as souvenirs on Eisenhower.

Special reverses were included in all quarter dollar, half dollar, and dollar coins during 1975 and 1976 to mark the bicentennial of America's independence. One interesting detail is that the date was shown as 1776-1976 for the quarters, half dollars, and dollars minted in 1975 AND 1976, with no 1975 dated coins.

Silver Issues

Some Eisenhower Dollars were minted in a 40% silver clad to be sold to collectors. All of these were minted at the San Francisco Mint, carrying the years 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, and 1976. These coins were either uncirculated or proof. Both uncirculated coins and proof issues were sold in elaborate protective cases. The uncirculated coins acquired the nickname 'Blue Ikes,' while the proofs were 'Brown Ikes'. Coins minted in 1975 and 1976 for the Bicentennial come with the quarter and the half dollar of that year. The uncirculated coins were sold by the Mint for three dollars; the proof versions for ten dollars. Two varieties of the Bicentennial dollar were produced in 1975 and can be distinguished by the thickness of the lettering on the reverse. The Type I has thicker lettering. The Type II version is more common.

When hearing of the Anthony dollar, most numismatists comment that, as of 2007, it was the last coin made for circulation carrying the "S" mintmark of the San Francisco Mint.

The Susan B. Anthony dollar is excellent for beginning collections, being a short series with large mintages. Popular among collectors as the "Susie B," the simplest circulated set is made up of just 11 coins. The basic proof set has 6 coins. In the circulated set, the 1979 P "Near Date" or the "Wide Rim" is not easy to find. In the proof set, the main types are the 1979 Type I and Type II mintmarks and the 1981 Type I and Type II mintmarks.

With regard to trends in looking for the Susie B., a growing lot of coin collectors are going after coins with Full Talons (FT). The FT designation specifically refers to the talons on the feet of the eagle on the reverse. Sometimes because of either poor strikes or clogged dies, the eagle has indistinguishable toes. To be deemed as FT, the talons must be separated and rounded. There is even an “ultimate FT,” which shows the folds of skin on the toes.

This is all in the pursuit of superior strikes; other examples are Full Bell Lines on the Franklin half dollar, Full Head on the Standing Liberty Quarter, and Full Split Bands on the Mercury and Roosevelt Dime. Even if the FT designation is not yet accepted by any well-known Third Party Grading companies, it is beginning to gain adherents.

Click here to know more about:

the Sacagawea Golden Dollar,

the Presidential $1 Coins,

the First Spouse Gold Coins,

American Eagle Bullion Coins,

American Eagle Proof and Uncirculated Coins, and

American Buffalo 24-Karat Gold Coins.