1964 Morgan Dollar galvanos discovered!
Littleton’s president David Sundman was there…
Top Left: Various Master hubs and dies in a drawer at the U.S. Mint Archives. Bottom Left: Dennis Tucker of Whitman Publishing, John Dannreuther and Q. David Bowers, numismatic researchers and authors, examine the mint’s archival files. Right Side: John Dannreuther and Q. David Bowers display the newly discovered 1964 Morgan dollar hub.
Top: A master hub for a 1964 Morgan dollar. Bottom: A galvano for the obverse of a 1964 Morgan dollar. Photos courtesy of John Dannreuther.
Little did David Sundman know when he toured the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia with a group of friends and numismatic researchers over a year ago he’d be there when galvanos, hubs and master dies for a 1964 Morgan dollar were discovered! Joining him on this behind-the-scenes tour were Q. David Bowers, Dennis Tucker and John Dannreuther. As he and David Bowers looked at information about Eisenhower and Anthony dollars, Tucker photographed galvanos and plaster models of Philippine coins struck at the U.S. Mint, and Dannreuther poked through a cabinet of trays looking for unpublished material. It was there Dannreuther spotted the obverse and reverse galvanos for the previously unknown Morgan!
“After I saw what John had found and looked at the date, I was speechless. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine there had been plans to use the Morgan design in 1964! To be at the Philadelphia Mint when researchers John Dannreuthers and David Bowers made the “discovery” was exciting. Of course, the mint knew they were there – but no numismatist knew of their existence until now,” said Sundman.
Most collectors know the Denver Mint struck 1964 Peace dollars that were later destroyed when Public Law 89-81, authorizing clad coinage and halting production of “standard silver dollars,” was passed in 1965. Until now, few numismatists (if any) knew about this proposed Morgan silver dollar – read about it here, in this Coin World article.
That’s exactly how it happens in a lifetime, by an accident!
Were any of the 1964 Morgan Dollars actually minted and released to the public and if so where can I obtain some?
Hi Gaetano, From what we can tell, they never actually minted a 1964 Morgan Dollar. I bet if they did, the coin would be pretty rare and demand a high price! – Colleen
These coins are fake, The ones made were destroyed. I would pay dearly for someone to sell me one of these and sign a statement saying they were official coins. Do you want to do that?
Hi Ron, to the best of our knowledge, there were none minted. Have a good day! -Rick
Actually, NCM, National Collectors Mint has been selling a tribute 1964 Morgan silver dollar for almost 2 yrs. They claim yo have been there at the mint as well. They’re actually fairly worthless – being (clad) in 71mgs of .999 pure silver rather than what would be a good coin having 1 Troy of of .999% pure silver. It’s a trick, or a game! If you’re not paying attention to the details you could be tripped up by the part of they’re claim stating (.999 pure silver). Gotta catch that (71 mgs clad) part. Cost, they claim is $39.99 – but be they’ll let you have them @ $19.95 if you “act now”! I actually received an offer from them @ $9.95ea! So it’s a whole lot of boilerplate in reality.
An educated collector can find an authentic Morgan dollar that’s 90% silver, in BU condition, from ‘O’ , ‘P’, or even ‘S’ mint for anywhere around $38 to $58!! Not $135 with a $25 discount selling then for $110!! NCM and (some) of the offers at Littleton Coin are, simply put, unfair and overpriced.
I just can’t understand why this goes on.
Thank you Rick Blogs need more people like you being real and letting people know to pay attention. Part of coin collection is paying attention to detail!!!
I have Morgan Dollars
1892–1921
1878–1891
Hi Mike, you missed explaining why Littleton coin sells at the price they do and their business model. Based on their business model, is the coin really over priced? What is unfair? The business model goes far beyond than just the coin. It’s about the experience and all the bells and whistles that go along with the Littleton experience. Like a convenience store, you pay for the convenience. Sometimes the extra you pay enables peace of mind. Especially, knowing the coin you bought is indeed the coin you actually bought. Littleton is like the Walt Disney World of coin selling. The Disney experience has never been cheap. Like Disney, it goes on because they are filling a niche market. With that said, there are times Littleton is less expensive. I bought a 2021-W Canada Silver $5 Maple Leaf, Tailored Specimen Finish coin this year for less than others were selling it for. Most other sellers were out of stock. Guess who wasn’t out of stock?