Old Silver Dollars; The Bright Future Of American Silver Dollars

By Oscar Planc

Since the first days of America, the silver coin of choice has been the dollar. They have symbolized the lasting strength of the United States for over 200 years. American silver dollars are still sought by new and veteran coin collectors of all ages. They are not only beautiful works of art, they have a rich history being struck in silver dollar mints across the country.

From the beginning of the modern age, silver has become one of the major metals for world trade. Gold coins are very precious and brass or copper not valuable enough. Silver has the perfect balance of rareness and worth to make it the coin of trade around the world. The United States has always minted silver dollars since the end of the American revolution. The first old silver dollars were nearly ninety percent silver and were pressed from hand made dies giving them a hand made look that is loved by collectors.

The price of silver in the early days of America started to rise higher than gold. This led to the melting of old silver dollars to trade for gold coins. The United States mint had to stop striking silver dollars until prices stabilized in 1835. Silver prices calmed and the high price of silver settled to a normal place once again. This led to re-minting of American silver dollars. The first Liberty silver dollar began to be struck around this time.

The first design was the seated Liberty, designed by Christian Gobrecht. The design for the seated Liberty silver dollars was so popular that it was used on nearly all of America's silver coins of that era. This favorite design lasted until it was replaced in 1878 by the now famous Morgan silver dollar. These coins took advantage of the large silver strikes in the American west and soon the country was glutted with silver, driving it's value down. This caused the mine owners to lobby Washington to make it mandatory for the U S Mint to back each bank note with a silver dollar to insure its worth. That is why there were so many American silver dollars in circulation in the middle of the 1900s.

The value of Morgan silver dollars have kept them the easiest silver dollar to collect. There were so many of these struck in 5 different silver dollar mints across the country that there are many variations of series and dates to collect. Beginning coin collectors will do well to start off with a good grouping of Morgan American silver dollars valued at today's prices.

These days with the advent of the Internet coin collecting is very easy. Any collector can find American silver eagle dollars, Eisenhower silver dollars and even uncirculated proof sets without having to leave home. This has made it a snap for beginning collectors as well as seasoned pros. The joy and excitement of coin collecting can also be a smart investment.

Especially with the world's uncertain economy and the rising value of silver, this is one of the best times to start an American silver dollar collection for your enjoyment and your future. - 31899

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