There are seven different denominations of silver coins from which to choose: three cent, half-dime, dime, twenty-cent, quarter dollar, half dollar and dollar. This diversity in denominations creates many areas of interest for collectors, led far and above by the silver dollar. Probably no coin is more widely collected today than the Morgan silver dollar; large, silver rich, beautiful coins with mintage figures large enough to allow the millions of collectors to own complete or near complete sets. Morgan dollars were minted from 1878 until 1904, and again in 1921, in the Philadelphia, New Orleans, San Francisco, and Carson City mints.

Until 1965, all United States dimes, quarters and halves were minted with an alloy of 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper. Three of the seven silver coin denominations are now obsolete; the three cent, half dime and twenty cent. The three-cent coin was the smallest silver coin ever minted by the U.S. and was originally minted to make the purchase of three-cent postage stamps easier.

The half-dime was replaced by a five-cent piece, the shield nickel. The twenty-cent piece was a mistake from the beginning, shunned by the public immediately because it looked so much like a quarter. The coin was minted for only four years and during the last two years only proofs for collectors were minted. The obverse of the two coins is identical and the size was close to the same. The U.S. Mint would repeat this mistake years later with the Susan B. Anthony one-dollar coin.

In addition to our regular coinage minted for commerce, the realm of silver coins includes the always-popular Commemorative series. Silver Commemoratives are usually half dollars with the exception of the Lafayette dollar and the Queen Isabella quarter. The Silver Commemorative series should be considered an American history text written in coins. Each coin represents a person, place or event important to our history. These subjects range from Daniel Boone to the Battle of Antietam to the Monroe Doctrine. This is one of the post popular coin series in U.S. numismatics.

Collecting Sets

It’s fun and exciting to collect sets of coins. Whether it’s a set of silver dollar coins or some other type of coin, traditionally, coins collected in sets are easier to sell later. Future buyers will often pay a premium for sets of rare coins. There are many ways to build sets, from commemoratives to a Silver Dollar Mint Set featuring a coin from each of the five branches of the U.S. Mint.