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Silver Dollars
Silver dollars have a $1.00 face value but are at least 90% silver. Produced and sold for collectors in some of our popular numismatic series, today’s silver dollars are available with proof and uncirculated finishes and showcase some of our Nation’s most revered symbols, as well as tributes to people, institutions, and events that changed American history.
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Numismatic silver dollars are prized by collectors as part of our beloved American Eagle Coin Program. The brilliant and visually stunning coins feature sculptor Adolph A. Weinman’s Walking Liberty design. The United States Mint also produces silver dollars included in the annual Commemorative Coins program.
United States silver dollars have a rich history as one of the first coins minted for circulation in the early years of our new Nation, as well as coins that have been through several redesigns and issuances, including imagery that followed the same designs as other United States silver coins, such as silver half dollars. Designs shared with silver half dollars include the Flowing Hair, the Draped Bust, and the Seated Liberty designs. Among the imagery unique to the United States silver dollar are the early Gobrecht design, the Morgan design, the peace design, and the Susan B. Anthony silver dollars, to name a few.
American Eagle Silver Proof Coins
Timeline: United States Silver Dollars
1794-1795: The Flowing silver dollar was among the first United States coins produced by the new nation, appearing in late 1794. During this time, silver dollars, and silver half dollars, were the only early silver coins struck consistently for circulation. The Flowing Hair silver dollars showcased Liberty in profile with loose, windblow hair on only 1,758 coins. Mintages of early coins were low due to low availability of silver ore.
1795-1804: The Draped Bust silver dollar differed from the 1794 design in two significant ways. The new design featured a noticeably more shapely Liberty with curlier hair, and a larger eagle appeared on the reverse of the coin from 1798-1804.
1836-1839: Gobrecht silver dollars restarted the production of silver dollars after a brief hiatus. Named after their engraver, Christian Gobrecht, the coins carried Gobrecht’s design, while the coin’s reverse was updated to showcase an eagle with an arrow in its talons.
1840-1873: Seated Liberty silver dollar coins also featured Gobrecht’s design and were the first coins to include “IN GOD WE TRUST” on the reverse.
1873-1885: The amount of silver in the Seated Liberty silver dollar coin exceeded its value. These coins were removed from general circulation and used as Trade silver dollars primarily in Asian countries. These silver dollars were not for public use.
1878-1921: These silver dollars were designed by George T. Morgan, an Englishman who learned his craft at United Kingdom’s Royal Mint. Morgan and his mentor William Barber competed to create designs for the new silver dollars. The large heavy coins minted in 90% silver featured Morgan’s winning design, a visage of Liberty based on his friend and schoolteacher Anna Willess Williams.
1921-1935: The silver dollar coins issued from 1921 to 1935 are commonly referred to as Peace silver dollars. New York sculptor Anthony de Francisci’s imagery won a competition for the coin’s obverse artwork. De Francisi’s Liberty was modeled after his wife Teresa, and the silver dollar’s reverse featured an American eagle perched above the word “PEACE”.
1971-1978: Among the final U.S. silver dollars issued for circulation were the Eisenhower silver dollars. The Eisenhower silver dollar honored both the World War II hero on its obverse and the Apollo 11 Moon landing in its depiction of the American eagle landing on the Moon with Earth in the background. The Eisenhower coin was also the first minted in a clad finish.
1979-1999: The Susan B. Anthony silver dollars replaced the Eisenhower silver dollar. Chief Engraver Frank Gasparro created the coin using photos of the famous suffragette, as well as input from her descendants. The Susan B. Anthony silver dollar’s unique design also featured an 11-sided inner border. The coin would mark the first time a woman appeared on a circulating coin.
