1886 Morgan $1 (1886-S Morgan Silver Dollar) NGC MS65. Bright mint luster shimmers on this gem, silvery grey, well struck 1886 Morgan Dollar. Its almost proof-like surfaces are clean, original, and free of distractions. The fields are semi-reflective, and the devices are satiny creating a lovely fresh-from-the-mint look. The strike is bold as seen in the full details on Liberty’s hair and the eagle’s breast feathers.

George T. Morgan designed the dollar, which began production in 1878. Its obverse shows a close head of Liberty in profile facing left. She wears a headband inscribed LIBERTY. In her hair are cotton, corn, wheat, and tobacco. She wears a modified Phrygian cap and is surrounded with the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM, thirteen stars (seven left and six right), and the date. The reverse shows an eagle with wings raised looking left. In its talons are arrows and olive branch, symbols of preparedness and peace. A wreath is below and the motto IN GOD WE TRUST is above. Except for the eagle’s wing tips, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and ONE DOLLAR circumscribe the design. The mintmark is below the wreath and above the denomination.

The Morgan Silver Dollar was issued every year from 1878 to 1904 and then again in 1921. Hundreds of millions of them were saved in bags of 1,000 each in bank vaults because the federal government created artificial demand for them to satisfy the Western silver interests. Some were melted in the 1918, but large quantities remained in bank vaults and were later bought by investors and collectors. Because many millions of Morgan Silver Dollars exist today in the hands of the public, it has become the most widely collected coin of its era.