1884 Morgan Dollar

The 1884 Morgan Dollar was struck at the Philadelphia Mint in 1884 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. 14,070,000
 * Proof Mintage: est. 875

Background
In 1884 President Chester Alan Arthur remarked about silver dollars: "Well, we got a mess of these things now.  We made 185 million and only 40 million are out." 1884 was not a year people were looking at Morgan Dollars as collectables. How times have changed. The 1884 glut of silver dollars sounds strange to the silver dollar collector of today.

Collecting
The 1884 Morgan Dollar is usually found well-struck. Due to its high mintage of over 14 million, the 1884 can be found with a wide range of luster ---from good to slightly below average.

This coin is readily available in Mint State and is accessible to MS65. The 1884 remains plentiful. Prooflike coins exist but are in the minority. These coins are sought-after by collectors so keep an eye.

Historical Background in 1884
On January 5th, 1884, Gilbert & Sullivan's Princess Ida has its première at the Savoy Theatre, London. Princess Ida is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was their eighth operatic collaboration of fourteen. Princess Ida opened at the Savoy Theatre on January 5, 1884, for a run of 246 performances.

On February 1st, 1884, the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary is published. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED), published by the Oxford University Press, is the self-styled premier dictionary of the English language.

On May 1st, 1884, the eight-hour workday is first proclaimed by the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions in the United States. May 1, called May Day or Labour Day, is now a holiday recognized in almost every industrialized country.