subject: The Silver Dollar Coin - Some Fun Facts And A Little Of The Past [print this page] The silver dollar coin is one currency that definitely has a higher content value in silver higher than its actual face value. The amount of silver that it contains makes the silver coins value in itself higher making it a desirable coin to collect and trade in any country.
There are many different types of silver dollars made in the US with different themes commemorating different people, characters and occasions. The silver dollar has become somewhat of a collector's item for many coin collectors.
The very first silver coin was created as early as 1794, and since then they have been minted in different states of the country. For instance, coins that are minted in San Francisco, New Orleans, Carson City, West Point, Philadelphia, Denver, and Charlotte have the mint marks "s", "O", CC" "W", "P", "D", and "C" etched on them respectively.
Rather than be used for trade, the silver dollar has such a high actual value as compared to its face value that the US decided to change the currency into a dollar bill instead. It was in 1971 that some people wanted to bring back the dollar coin as trading currency, but this idea was quickly dissolved with the "Save the Greenback" movement that lobbied to keep the dollar in bill form.
The administration of President Thomas Jefferson saw a stop to the creation of silver dollars as currency since the export of US currency was starting to be done worldwide. This meant that is the US sent out currency with a low face value but with high value of silver coins in terms of content, they would experience other countries re-minting the coins into something else because of the valuable silver in them.
Of all the silver dollars made in the US, the 1804 silver dollar is probably the most sought after and rare coins on the earth. These coins were dated 1803 but were actually struck in 1804. According to records, this coin was created because of a simple error in bookkeeping. In 1834, the US continued to produce more of these 1804 silver dollars to give as gifts to Asian rulers whom they traded with and had established strong trade relations with.
There have been many types of silver dollar coins minted in the years after the 1804 coin was created. Examples of these are the Seated Liberty dollar, the Morgan dollar, the trade dollar, the Peace dollar, the Eisenhower dollar, the Susan B. Anthony dollar, and even the Sacagawea dollar. Today, having a silver dollar coin would mean that you would have a little piece of US history right in your own pocket, which is definitely something worth keeping!
