A Silver Dollar Coin - Some Fun Facts And A Small Amount Of History PDF Print E-mail
Written by Eric McMillan   
Saturday, 18 September 2010 17:00
The silver dollar coin is mainly used in the United States which has a face value of one dollar. However, the silver coins value itself, due to its element content, is much higher than its actual one dollar face value.
by EricMcMillan


The silver dollar coin is mainly used in the United States which has a face value of one dollar. However, the silver coins value itself, due to its element content, is much higher than its actual one dollar face value.

The silver dollar has been minted for many reasons and occasions and many of them commemorate different times, characters and people that need to be historically recognized. The silver dollar has basically become a major type of coin that every coin collector should have when considering coins from the United States.

The US mints the silver dollars in different parts of the country and has been doing so since 1794. A "mint mark" is made on each coin which shows which minting place it originates from. For example, mint marks on coins that indicate "C", "CC", "D", "O", "P", "S", "W" show that the coin was struck in Charlotte, Carson City, Denver, New Orleans, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and West Point, respectively.

Rather than being used for trade, the silver dollar is more of a collector's item and has been replaced by the one dollar bill. In 1971, there was some clamor to mint the silver dollar to use as regular currency again, but this was not such a popular idea with the masses. In fact, a movement called the "Save the Greenback" movement was made to demonstrate the people's view against changing the one dollar currency back into a coin.

During President Thomas Jefferson's administration, he halted the production of the silver dollar for the reason that dollars were starting to be exported around the world. Trading the silver dollar meant that the US would be sending out silver coins with the face value of silver coins have of one dollar, while each coin would end up being re-minted and kept in other countries because of its actual high silver content per coin.

The silver dollar coin of 1804 is probably one of the rarest that any collector would want to have in his collection. Although it was actually made in 1804, the coin is dated 1803 due to a small clerical error in the minter's bookkeeping. However, in 1834 the US mints continued to create silver coins to present as gifts to leaders of Asian countries whom they were trading with.

There have been many types of silver dollar coins minted in the years after the 1804 coin was created. Examples of these are the Seated Liberty dollar, the Morgan dollar, the trade dollar, the Peace dollar, the Eisenhower dollar, the Susan B. Anthony dollar, and even the Sacagawea dollar. Today, having a silver dollar coin would mean that you would have a little piece of US history right in your own pocket, which is definitely something worth keeping!

DISCLAIMER: This article is provided as information only and is not to be taken as financial advice.

Eric McMillan is an ex real estate guy, who markets on the internet and is a coin collecting fanatic. Visit his site for additional info on the past and value of the silver dollar coin. While you're there, grab your complimentary download of his Guide to Gold and Silver Coins.