1886 Morgan Dollar

The 1886 Morgan Dollar was struck at the Philadelphia Mint in 1886 and is part of the Morgan Dollar series.

Specifications

 * Designer: George T. Morgan
 * Obverse Design: Lady Liberty
 * Reverse Design: Eagle holding arrows and olive branch
 * Edge: Reeded
 * Weight: 26.73 grams
 * Diameter: 38.1 millimeters
 * Composition: Silver (90%), Copper (10%)
 * Mintage: Circulation Strikes: est. 19,963,000
 * Proof Mintage: est. 886

Background
Even with the Carson City Mint no longer producing Morgan Dollars in 1886, the mints would continue to churn out millions of unneeded coins. The Philadelphia Mint would produce 19,963,000 Morgan Dollars that year while the New Orleans Mint would produce 10,710,000 and the San Francisco Mint a paltry 750,000.

Collecting
The 1886 is a "common date." Dies were often used extensively during the mintage of the 1886 Philadelphia Mint Morgan dollar. Care, therefore, is recommended when choosing a piece. Strikes vary but are often sharp. Look for detail around the hair of Miss Liberty and the eagle's tail feathers. Individual coins are often found to be grainy due to the overuse of dies.

Historical Background in 1886
On January 18, 1886, modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England. Field hockey, or hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks. It is most commonly known simply as "hockey"; however, the name field hockey is used in countries in which the word hockey is generally reserved for another form of hockey, such as ice hockey or street hockey.

On January 29, 1886, Karl Benz patents the first successful gasoline-driven automobile, the Benz Patent Motorwagen (built in 1885). Karl Friedrich Benz (November 25, 1844 – April 4, 1929) was a German engine designer and car engineer, generally regarded as the inventor of the gasoline-powered automobile, and together with Bertha Benz pioneering founder of the automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz.

On May 8, 1886, pharmacist Dr. John Stith Pemberton invents a carbonated beverage that would be named Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke (a registered trademark of The Coca-Cola Company in the United States since March 27, 1944).