1921 Silver Dollar
The Year of Two Different Dollars
Type: Morgan Silver Dollar Year: 1921 Mint Mark: No mint mark Face Value: 1.00 USD Total Produced: 44,690,000 Silver Content: 90% Silver Weight.7735 oz. Silver Melt: $20.68 Value: As a rough estimate of this coins value you can assume this coin in average condition will be valued at somewhere around $28, while one in certified mint state (MS+) condition could bring as much as $120 at auction. USA Coin Book Estimated Value of 1921 Morgan Silver Dollar is Worth $34 in Average Condition and can be Worth $56 to $189 or more in Uncirculated (MS+) Mint Condition. Click here to Learn How to use Coin Price Charts. Also, click here to Learn About Grading Coins. The Melt Value shown below is how Valuable the Coin's Metal is Worth (bare minimum value of coin). Current silver melt value. for a 1921 No mint mark is $20.68 and this price is based off the current silver spot price of $26.74 This value is dynamic so bookmark it and comeback for an up to the minute silver melt value. Want to join CoinTrackers and Track Your Coins 100% FREE? More of the Same 1881 Morgan Silver Dollar. Value of 1921 Morgan Silver Dollar. The 1921 Morgan silver dollar is by far the most plentiful today of any date in the Morgan series. In this year the Treasury caused tens of millions of coins to be struck to provide backing for Silver Certificates.
1921 was a unique year for the US silver dollar program. The Mint saw the return of the Morgan Silver Dollar, as well as the start of production for the Peace Silver Dollar. During this time in history, it was very uncommon for the Mint to produce two different types of designs for the same denomination coin in one year.
For the majority of the year, the Mint produced the Morgan Silver Dollar, while the design for the Peace Dollar was being finalized. After Anthony de Francisci’s design for the Peace Dollar had been approved, the Mint went to work, quickly implementing the design for production.
In the last months of 1921, the Morgan Silver Dollar was finally retired, and Francisci’s Peace Dollar was finally put into production. This change marked the end of the Morgan Dollar as the official US Silver Dollar design, which was used from 1878 till 1904, and again in 1921.
Similar to the Morgan Dollar, the Peace Dollar would continue to be minted until 1928, when it was discontinued due to a lack of silver. It would later be reintroduced in 1934 and 1935 before being officially discontinued.
About the 1921 Morgan Silver Dollar
After being on a hiatus for 16 years, George T. Morgan’s silver dollar had finally begun minting again in 1921. The reason for the 16-year gap between minting was due to the lack of silver blanks necessary to create the Morgan Dollar. The re-minting of the Morgan Dollar was short-lived and only lasted for about three-fourths of a year before being officially discontinued.
During this short minting run, the Morgan Dollar was minted in great numbers, with approximately 44,690,000 examples struck. This makes 1921 the year that the most Morgan Dollars were minted, far surpassing the next closest mintage of 21 million in 1889.
Like all other Morgan Dollars minted, the 1921 features a composition of 90% silver and 10% copper. The coin weighs 26.73 grams and has a diameter of 38.1mm or 1.5 inches. Reeding, or small bumps on the edge of the coin, is present and denticles can be found on both the obverse and reverse.
About the 1921 Peace Silver Dollar
Because of the Peace Dollar’s minting at the end of 1921, not many examples were produced. Only 1,006,000 coins were produced and distributed to the public. This low mintage makes the 1921 Peace Dollar much rarer than the 1921 Morgan Dollar.
Despite the low mintage, the 1921 Peace Dollar was greeted with positive reviews by the public. This increasing consumer demand and wide acceptance by the public led the mint to begin producing large quantities in the following years.
The Peace Dollar shares the same 90% silver, 10% copper composition as the Morgan Dollar. Even the weight and diameter were kept the same so the mint could use the same silver blanks that were used to produce the Morgan Silver Dollar. Reeding is present on the edges, but no denticles can be found on the obverse or reverse.
Value of the 1921 Silver Dollars
Although produced in the same year, the 1921 Morgan and Peace Dollars have very different values. This difference in price mainly comes from the difference in mintage numbers for the two coins.
Since a huge number of Morgan Dollars were minted in 1921, the prices tend to be much lower than other dates in the series. An average grade 1921 Morgan Silver Dollar tends to have a slight premium above the coin's silver content, valued at about $22. This value changes if the coin is in Uncirculated condition, increasing to around $35. If graded at MS-63, the 1921 Morgan Dollar is estimated to be worth $55.
The 1921 Peace Dollar is almost the exact opposite of the 1921 Morgan Dollar when it comes to mintage numbers and value. Because of its very low mintage, the 1921 Peace Dollar is much rarer and in turn much more valuable than the 1921 Morgan Dollar.
Even 1921 Peace Dollars that are in Good condition are valued at $70 and those in Extremely Fine condition are worth $105. Uncirculated examples sell for about $230 and MS-63 graded examples are valued at $440.
When it comes to coins and the prices that collectors place on them, prices are normally related to how rare the coin is compared to other dates in the series. This can clearly be seen with the 1921 Morgan and Peace Dollars, where the more common Morgan Dollar is priced much lower than the much rarer Peace Dollar.
Buying 1921 Morgan Silver Dollars
The 1921 Morgan dollar is the most unusual issue in the entire series. After 1904, with national silver bullion supplies all but exhausted, the government suspended coinage of silver dollars altogether. In 1918, under the Pittman Act, more than 270 million silver dollars were melted down for bullion.
By 1921, with the U.S. economy booming after World War One, the need for silver dollars became acute. The government resumed production for less than a full year, with a few minor refinements, until the newly-authorized Peace dollar design was rolled out in late 1921. Because of its orphaned striking after a long hiatus, the 1921 Morgan dollar could be considered a one-year type coin unto itself.
Like pre-1921 Morgan silver dollars, the 1921 strike is popular among investors and collectors because of its iconic design, excellent minting, large silver content, and numismatic history. They were produced at the Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Denver Mints.
Few silver survivors
While more than 86 million 1921 Morgan silver dollars were produced at all three mints combined, many were lost to the melting pot during the Great Depression and again in the 1960s and 1980s, when the price of silver skyrocketed. A small fraction survives in the higher Mint State grades, with population numbers roughly equal to those of pre-1921 Morgan silver dollars.
1921 Silver Dollar Mint
All of our Mint State 1921 Morgan silver dollars are certified for grade and authenticity by PCGS or NGC, the most-trusted independent certification companies, and then hand-select by AGE for outstanding eye-appeal and superior technical merit within grade.