NOVEMBER 9
2023•Morgan & Peace Dollars
2007•Utah State Quarter
The First Morgan and Peace Dollar Reverse-Proof Set Goes on Sale
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On November 9, 2023, the United States Mint released the first two-coin reverse-proof set pairing modern Morgan and Peace silver dollars. Struck at the San Francisco Mint and composed of 99.9 percent silver, the collector set gave two of America’s most celebrated silver-dollar designs a finish neither classic series had known during its original circulation era.
The release was part of the Mint’s continuing revival of the Morgan dollar of 1878–1921 and the Peace dollar of 1921–1935. Those historic designs had returned in 2021 for the centennial of the transition from Morgan to Peace coinage. After no 2022 issues were produced, the modern program resumed in 2023 with uncirculated coins, proofs, and—on November 9—the first Morgan and Peace dollars offered together in reverse proof.
The result joined nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century imagery with twenty-first-century minting technology. George T. Morgan’s Liberty and eagle and Anthony de Francisci’s Liberty and perched eagle were recreated from historical designs, but their mirrored devices and frosted fields gave them a distinctly modern appearance.
Two Legendary Silver Dollars
Few American coin designs have the recognition of the Morgan and Peace dollars.
The Morgan dollar emerged from the monetary politics of the 1870s and the enormous western silver industry. First struck in 1878, it became one of the defining coins of the late nineteenth-century United States.
The Peace dollar arrived after World War I. First struck in December 1921, it was conceived as a symbolic expression of peace and became the last circulating U.S. silver dollar design of the classic era.
Placed together, the two designs form a natural historical pair. One series ended in 1921; the other began that same year.
The U.S. Mint made that transition the foundation of the modern Morgan and Peace Dollar program.
The Morgan Dollar
The Morgan dollar takes its name from its designer, George T. Morgan, an English-born engraver who joined the United States Mint in 1876 and later became Chief Engraver.
Its obverse depicts Liberty in profile wearing a cap, agricultural elements, and a coronet inscribed “LIBERTY.” Thirteen stars surround the portrait along with “E PLURIBUS UNUM” and the date.
The reverse shows an eagle with outstretched wings clutching arrows and an olive branch, surrounded by a wreath. “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” “IN GOD WE TRUST,” and “ONE DOLLAR” identify the nation, motto, and denomination.
The original Morgan dollar was produced from 1878 through 1904 and again in 1921. Huge quantities were stored in Treasury vaults, and twentieth-century releases of those bags helped create one of the most active fields in American coin collecting.
The Peace dollar was designed by sculptor Anthony de Francisci.
Its obverse depicts Liberty wearing a radiant crown. De Francisci used his wife, Teresa, as a model while creating the portrait, though the finished image was an idealized representation of Liberty rather than a literal portrait.
The reverse shows a bald eagle at rest on a mountaintop, clutching an olive branch and facing rays of a rising sun. The word “PEACE” appears at the base.
The design was intended to capture the national desire for peace after World War I. The first 1921 Peace dollars were struck in high relief, making that inaugural issue especially distinctive.
Regular Peace dollar production continued through 1928, with additional coins struck in 1934 and 1935.
1921: The Year the Series Met
The connection between Morgan and Peace dollars is strongest in 1921.
The United States resumed Morgan dollar production that year after a long interruption. Later in the year, the Mint introduced the new Peace dollar.
Thus 1921 became both the final year of the classic Morgan series and the first year of the Peace dollar.
A century later, Congress authorized new Morgan and Peace dollars to commemorate that transition. The Mint’s 2021 issues were not merely nostalgic reproductions; they were explicitly tied to the hundredth anniversary of one historic silver dollar succeeding another.
The modern program began under legislation signed in January 2021.
The Mint produced 2021 Morgan dollars with several privy marks or mintmarks evoking the historic mints associated with the classic series, along with a 2021 Peace dollar.
Collector demand was intense. The coins connected two enormous collecting communities—Morgan specialists and Peace dollar enthusiasts—with the broader market for modern U.S. Mint products.
Congressional authority allowed the Mint to continue producing Morgan and Peace dollars in later years, and the series evolved from a centennial event into an ongoing collector program.
No 2022 Morgan or Peace dollars were issued because the Mint faced silver-planchet supply constraints. The program returned in 2023.
The 2023 lineup gave collectors more finishes than the original 2021 revival.
Uncirculated Morgan and Peace dollars were released first. Proof versions followed. Then came the November reverse-proof set.
This progression transformed the modern Morgan and Peace program from a one-time anniversary tribute into a more developed numismatic series.
The reverse proofs were especially notable because the finish dramatically altered the appearance of designs most collectors knew from traditional circulation strikes, uncirculated modern coins, or conventional proofs.
What Is a Reverse Proof?
A conventional modern proof coin generally has mirrored fields and frosted raised design elements.
A reverse proof switches those visual roles.
The fields are frosted, while the principal devices and lettering have a mirrorlike finish. Light therefore behaves very differently across the coin’s surfaces.
On a Morgan dollar, the reflective Liberty portrait, eagle, lettering, stars, and wreath stand against a matte background. On the Peace dollar, the mirrored Liberty, rays, eagle, inscriptions, and olive branch contrast with similarly frosted fields.
The technique is entirely modern relative to the original Morgan and Peace series. Neither George T. Morgan nor Anthony de Francisci designed their dollars with twenty-first-century reverse-proof manufacturing in mind.
That contrast is part of the appeal.
The U.S. Mint announced that the 2023 Morgan and Peace Dollar Reverse Proof Two-Coin Set would become available at noon Eastern Time on November 9.
The set was priced at $185. The Mint established a product limit of 250,000 sets and an initial household order limit of five.
Both coins were struck at the San Francisco Mint and carried the “S” mintmark.
Each contained 0.859 troy ounce of silver, was struck in 99.9 percent silver, and had a nominal face value of one dollar. Together, the set contained 1.718 troy ounces of silver.
The coins were packaged together in official Mint presentation materials with a certificate of authenticity.
The San Francisco Mint has a deep historical connection to the Morgan dollar.
Classic Morgan dollars were struck in San Francisco from 1878 through 1904 and again in 1921. Many S-mint Morgans are famous among collectors, ranging from readily available issues to major condition rarities.
The Peace dollar was also struck in San Francisco during its original run.
Producing the 2023 reverse-proof pair at San Francisco therefore linked the modern collector product to a mint that had made both historic series.
At the same time, modern San Francisco is closely associated with proof and specialty collector coinage, making it a logical home for the new finish.
Modern Coins, Historic Designs
The 2023 coins were not struck from surviving nineteenth- or early twentieth-century dies. The Mint used modern technology to recreate the historical designs.
For the revived Morgan dollar, Mint artists and technicians worked from historical assets to restore details of George T. Morgan’s design. The Peace dollar likewise recreated Anthony de Francisci’s classic imagery.
Modern production provides consistency and surface quality that would have been difficult to achieve in the original eras. Yet the basic visual identity remains immediately recognizable.
This balance between historical fidelity and modern manufacturing is central to the program’s success.
The modern coins also differ metallurgically from their classic ancestors.
Original Morgan and Peace dollars were struck in the traditional U.S. silver-dollar alloy of 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper. They weighed 26.73 grams and contained approximately 0.77344 troy ounce of pure silver.
The modern versions are 99.9 percent silver. The 2023 reverse proofs weigh 26.686 grams and contain 0.859 troy ounce of silver each.
Thus the new coins preserve the general size and character of the classic silver dollar while using a much purer silver composition.
The difference is another reminder that these are modern legal-tender collector coins inspired by historic issues, not exact reproductions in every technical detail.
The extraordinary longevity of the Morgan design would likely have surprised its creator.
George T. Morgan arrived in the United States from England after working under the renowned British engraver Leonard Charles Wyon. At Philadelphia, Morgan sought an American model for Liberty rather than relying entirely on classical European conventions.
Teacher Anna Willess Williams sat for him, and her profile influenced the Liberty portrait that appeared on the dollar.
The design became inseparable from the silver-mining and monetary history of the American West. Millions of Morgans spent decades in government vaults before entering the collector market.
By 2023, a portrait created in the 1870s was appearing again on newly struck federal dollars—this time with mirrorlike devices produced by technology unimaginable in Morgan’s era.
Anthony de Francisci and a New Generation
The Peace dollar represented a different artistic generation.
Anthony de Francisci was a young sculptor when he won the competition to design the new dollar in 1921. He had very little time to complete the work before production began at the end of the year.
The resulting Liberty is more modern and energetic than the Morgan portrait. Windblown hair and the radiant crown give the obverse an Art Deco-era vitality.
The reverse is unusually calm for an American eagle design. Rather than spreading its wings aggressively, the eagle rests and looks toward the light of a new day.
In the 2023 reverse proof, those rays and the eagle’s silhouette become especially dramatic as reflective devices against frosted fields.
Collectors had been able to purchase modern Morgan and Peace dollars individually, but the reverse-proof release deliberately presented them as a pair.
That packaging reinforces the historical narrative.
Morgan represents the end of one silver-dollar era. Peace represents the beginning of another. One design evokes the Gilded Age, western silver, Treasury hoards, and the great dollar debates of the nineteenth century. The other evokes the aftermath of World War I and a national desire for peace.
Placed side by side, the coins become more than two popular designs. They tell a chronological story.
Collector Demand and Product Limits
The Mint’s 250,000-set product limit was large enough to make the issue accessible to many collectors but finite enough to establish a defined maximum.
Modern Mint products can attract intense demand at launch, particularly when they involve famous designs, special finishes, precious metal, or first-of-a-kind formats.
The November 9 set combined all four characteristics.
It featured Morgan and Peace dollars, used a reverse-proof finish, contained .999 silver, and represented the first reverse-proof two-coin pairing in the modern program.
That made the release date itself an event for collectors following the Mint’s online sales schedule.
It is tempting to describe modern Morgan and Peace dollars simply as reproductions, but that understates what the Mint has done.
A reproduction attempts to recreate an older object. The modern series instead uses historic designs as the foundation for new numismatic products.
Different finishes, .999 silver, modern mintmarks, new packaging, modern production standards, and congressional authorization give the coins their own identity.
The 2023 reverse proofs make this particularly obvious. No original 1878 Morgan or 1921 Peace dollar existed in reverse proof. The finish itself declares that these are twenty-first-century interpretations.
November 9, 2023 marked a new milestone in the remarkable afterlives of two classic American silver dollars.
The Morgan dollar had originally emerged from nineteenth-century silver politics. The Peace dollar had been born from the aftermath of a world war. Both had disappeared from production generations earlier.
Then they returned.
The 2021 centennial issues demonstrated the enormous continuing appeal of the designs. The 2023 program expanded the concept, and the November reverse-proof set carried it somewhere the originals had never gone.
For the first time, collectors could open a single U.S. Mint package containing a reverse-proof Morgan and a reverse-proof Peace dollar, both struck in .999 silver at San Francisco.
The designs were old. The finish was new. The historical connection between them was more than a century in the making.
On November 9, 2023, two icons of American silver coinage began another chapter together.
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