1889-O Morgan Silver Dollar (New Orleans) – 90% Silver – Gilded Age Branch Mint – Choice Very Fine to Extra Fine (VF 35 – XF 40 / Circulated Cameo Contrast)

Technical Breakdown & Attribution

• Denomination: $1.00 / ONE DOLLAR

• Series: Morgan Silver Dollar (1878–1921)

• Year of Issue: 1889

• Mint Facility: New Orleans Mint (Identified by the distinct O mint mark centered below the wreath ribbon knot and above the letters D and O in DOLLAR on the reverse)

• Mintage: 11,875,000 (A workhorse 19th-century southern branch mint issue heavily circulated throughout the American South and frontier West)

• Designer: George T. Morgan

• Composition: 90% Silver, 10% Copper (.900 Fine Silver)

• Precious Metal Content: 0.77344 Troy Ounces of pure silver

• Original US Mint Specifications:

  • Diameter: 38.1 mm

  • Official Standard Weight: 26.73 grams (Gross reading registers 26 g on a 1-gram resolution scale)

• Obverse Design: Classic profile bust of Lady Liberty facing left wearing a Phrygian cap decorated with wheat and cotton blossoms, inscribed "LIBERTY", encircled by 13 stars, "E PLURIBUS UNUM", and date 1889.

• Reverse Design: Heraldic bald eagle with outstretched wings clutching arrows and an olive branch within an open laurel wreath, surmounted by "In God we trust", framed by "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA", the New Orleans O mint mark, and "ONE DOLLAR".

Historical Significance: The "Old Mint" in 1889

1. The Reopened New Orleans Mint: Originally seized by the Confederacy in 1861 and decommissioned during Reconstruction, the New Orleans facility was refitted under the Bland-Allison Act in 1879 to convert Comstock Lode silver into hard currency.

2. Workhorse Circulation: Unlike Philadelphia strikes that sat undisturbed in Treasury vaults for decades, 1889-O dollars were actively pushed into regional banking commerce across the South, paying railroad laborers, cotton farmers, and merchant accounts. Finding them with natural, unscrubbed circulation contrast is highly desirable.

3. The "O" Mint Mark Appeal: The New Orleans branch mint carries historical cachet as the only United States mint facility to have struck coins under three different governments (the United States, the State of Louisiana, and the Confederate States of America).

Condition & Visual Grade Assessment

• Assigned Technical Grade: Choice Very Fine to Extra Fine (VF 35 – XF 40 / Circulated Cameo Contrast)

• Preservation Highlights & Surface Profile:

  • Wear & High-Point Detail: Even, smooth honest circulation wear across Liberty's cheek and temple curls, while all primary letters in the headband inscription LIBERTY remain completely legible. The reverse displays clear wing feather separation along the outer spans, with typical central breast smoothing consistent with a mid-grade VF/XF coin.

  • Circulated Cameo Eye Appeal: Exceptional natural contrast: dark charcoal/slate-gray oxidation fills the protected recessed fields around the lettering, stars, and feathers, making Liberty's portrait and the eagle stand out in bright relief.

  • Surfaces: Original, uncleaned patina; completely free of harsh wire-brushing, polishing, whizzing, or chemical dipping.

  • Rim & Edges: Complete, sharp outer rims and intact beaded denticles on both sides with zero major rim gouges or edge damage.