U.S. Morgan Silver Dollar, San Francisco Mint

These large silver coins are known as Morgan dollars, named after their designer George T. Morgan. They were minted by the United States between 1878 and 1904, with a short one year revival in 1921, although the coins in this specific group are all dated 1881 and were minted in San Francisco.

The Morgan dollar was put into production at five U.S. Mints: Philadelphia, San Francisco, New Orleans, Carson City, and Denver. Their production coincided with America’s westward expansion and the industrial development of the late 19th century. Interestingly, despite the millions of Morgan dollars minted, they did not circulate widely in the eastern United States, where paper currency was preferred. However, they found popularity in the American West, where cowboys nicknamed them "cartwheels" due to their large size and weight.

The production of Morgan dollars was a result of the Bland–Allison Act of 1878, which required the U.S. treasury to purchase large amounts of silver for coinage. The act was passed to appease western silver mining interest, as the supply of silver had increased due to changing regulations on bullion as well as the mining of the Comstock Lode in Nevada. This came after a five year period where no silver dollars were produced for U.S. circulation, after the Coinage Act of 1873 ended the practice of silver producers being able to take silver to the mint to be turned into legal money.

The Morgan dollar's production was halted in 1904 due to depleted silver supplies, briefly resumed in 1921, and then gave way to the Peace dollar design later that year. However, many Morgan dollars were also lost as part of the Pittman Act during World War I, which authorized the United States to melt up to 350,000,000 silver dollars to be sold to the British government for commercial use and assistance in the war effort.

Each includes a Certificate of Authenticity and is guaranteed genuine.