Pittman Act

[Robert]

I always thought the silver was used to pay for WWI. Guess not.

http://www.worksandwords.com/moneym/morgmelt.htm

[GarryN]

Robert:

Nice article, with the number of Morgans on the market, its hard to comprehend how many were melted. I think Mr. Davis is taking some liberties saying that the "business strikes of 1895-P" were probably melted. Dave Bowers republished an article on the 1895 dollar in the January/ February 2002 issue of Rare Coin Review and he concluded that the business strikes probably were never made. Highlights:

This is based on Bowers' study of unfilled orders made by banks to the Mint for 1895 dollars. 17 written orders/ requests found were unfilled except for one silver dollar sent on April 4, 1895 to a grocery firm. The Proofs were minted on March 26.

Additionally, Bowers said an order from the Merchants National Bank in Baltimore in December, 1895 included a request for $203 in silver. 203 silver dollars were sent to the bank and are presumed to be Proofs. This is because a telegram from the Philadelphia Mint on Nov 20, 1895 to the Mint Director reported "No 1895 silver dollars except about $300 Proof."

Also the mintage of 1894 is 110,000 and it is possible the 10,000 or 12,000 1895 dollars are actually part of the 1894 mintage. The year end report for 1895, dated January, 1896 noted 12,000 business strikes recorded in June 1895 and include an asterisk and a note: "12,000 coined in 1894." According to Mr. Bowers, "this would seem to seal the matter"

We may never know. If one is found, or they all are found, it will turn coin collecting on its ear!

All those Proof 1895 dollars in one place kind of makes me dizzy!