Collectors Guide to Morgan Silver Dollars - Littleton Coin Company

The Only YearDenver Minted MorgansOriginally, the Denver Mint operated as an assay office, and neverstruck any Morgan silver dollars. In 1921, when silver dollar productionwas resumed, the Mint struck Morgans for the first and last time. A smallnumber of specially engraved Morgan silver dollars gave collectors unusualmementos of this remarkable occasion at the Denver Mint.In 1862, the government purchased the Clark-Gruber banking facility for$25,000 with the intention of establishing a branch Mint. However, due tohostilities with Native American tribes, the Denver facility was never ableto function as a branch Mint. Instead, it became an assay office, openingin September 1863. Miners brought in their gold, then it was melted andmade into bars. The bars were stamped with the fineness and theinscription “U.S. BRANCH MINT, DENVER.” In 1877, the building haddeteriorated, so funds were appropriated for a new Mint. Although the newMint building was completed in 1904, it was not until l906 that full coinageproduction began.The Pittman Act of 1918 authorized the U.S. government to melt downas much as $350 million worth of silver dollars. The resulting bullion wassold to Great Britain and shipped to India. This British colony’s currencywas to be backed by the silver bullion from America.To stabilize the price of silver, the Act also stipulated that thegovernment was to buy an equivalent amount of domestic silver to replacethose coins that were melted down. The Act proved advantageous in anumber of ways. The British government got the silver it needed to backIndia’s currency; the U.S. government received revenue from the millions12Denver “D”mint mark