1921 Morgan Silver Dollar (Philadelphia) – 90% Silver – Final Year of Issue – Choice About Uncirculated to Mint State (AU 58 – MS 60 Details / Obverse Tone Spotting)

Technical Breakdown & Attribution

• Denomination: $1.00 / ONE DOLLAR

• Series: Morgan Silver Dollar (1878–1921)

• Year of Issue: 1921 (The historic final year of the Morgan dollar design)

• Mint Facility: Philadelphia Mint (Identified by the absence of a mint mark above DOLLAR and below the wreath bow on the reverse)

• Mintage: 44,690,000

• 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 (Conforms to standard ~26 g gross reading on standard single-gram scales)

• Obverse Design: 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 1921.

• 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" and "ONE DOLLAR".

Historical Significance & Design Attributes

1. The Post-WWI Recoinage: After hundreds of millions of early Morgan dollars were melted under the Pittman Act of 1918 to supply bullion to Britain, the U.S. Mint coined the massive 1921 issue to replenish national silver reserves.

2. Re-Hubbed 1921 Shallow Relief: Because the original 19th-century hubs were destroyed in 1910, George T. Morgan re-engraved master dies in 1921, giving this final-year issue its characteristic low-relief portrait, wide border denticles, and smooth eagle breast contours.

3. Mother Mint Classic: Produced at Philadelphia alongside the debut of the 1921 Peace Dollar, marking the final transition from America's Gilded Age coinage into the Art Deco era.

Condition & Visual Grade Assessment

• Assigned Technical Grade: Choice About Uncirculated to Mint State (AU 58 – MS 60 Details / Obverse Tone Spotting)

• Preservation Highlights & Surface Profile:

  • Strike & Detail: Crisp, complete detail throughout Liberty's hair curls, cap leaves, and cotton blossoms. The reverse displays bold, well-defined wing feather texturing and sharp eagle talons.

  • Luster: Underlying satin-to-cartwheel luster remains lively across the protected fields on both sides.

  • Toning & Flaw Note (Details Attribution): Displays genuine, uncleaned surfaces with light ambient cabinet toning. The lower-left obverse field exhibits a cluster of darker oxidized toning specks/contact marks near the stars at 7 to 8 o'clock.

  • Rim & Edges: Complete, uniform beaded denticles and sharp reeded borders on both faces with no rim gouges, bumps, or