Silver Dollars & Trade Dollars of the United States - A Complete Encyclopedia
Q. David Bowers
Proofs: 813 Proofs were struck, and most were distributed as part of the silver Proof sets of the year. As high-grade Mint State 1901 dollars are seldom offered for sale at any price, this has placed a demand upon the remaining Proofs, although the demand is not as strong as logic might suggest. Many collectors who desire to complete Mint State sets would rather have a low-grade Uncirculated coin than a high-grade
Proof: Most Proofs have a tiny die mark in front of Miss Liberty's eye. Examples were struck with cameo frosted devices, the last year with the feature. Later dollars, the 1902-3-4 Proofs, had the recessed designs in the die lightly polished, giving the resultant coins lower contrast than seen on earlier issues.
Caveat emptor: Fake 1901 "Philadelphia" coins are sometimes made by removing the 0 or S mintmark from a branch mint coin.
Varieties
OLD REVERSE HUB: NARROW WING/NECK SPACE, SMALL STARS VAM C-3
Business strikes:
1. VAM-1. Usually seen in AU or slider grade. Walter H. Breen has seen no old hub coins in full Mint State, prooflike, DMPL, or Proof. Probably not all the 43 obverses and 44 reverses were used; these figures include reverses from the new hub (below).
NEW OVER OLD HUB: DOUBLE OLIVE AT CLAW
VAM C-4 OVER C-3 REVERSE
Business strikes:
1. C-4 reverse hub over C-3: Breen-5681, VAM-5, 6, 7, 9. Most 1901 dollars have not been inspected for this feature. Slightly scarce.
NEW REVERSE HUB: WIDE NECK/WING SPACE, LARGE STARS VAMC-4
Business strikes:
1. Breen-5679, VAM-2. Sliders are common and sometimes were graded MS-60 to 63 before the advent of PCGS and NGC. Prooflikes exist from this reverse (of the two reported by Wayne Miller).
2. Doubled die reverse, "Shifted Eagle": Breen-5680, VAM-3, F&S $1-010. Doubling plainest at eagle; 14 tail feathers. Rare. One Mint State coin (ANACS MS-61) is known in a population estimated to be just a few dozen pieces in all grades. The unpublicized VAM-7 is another reverse doubled die.
Proofs:
1. Proof issue: Proofs struck from one pair of dies): VAM-4, closed 9, hollows below Morgan's initial M and in hair; reverse doubled die, plainest at lower legend, stars, and lower wreath; hollows in wing at right near body (overpolished dies). See en-larged illustration at Norweb:3909.
1901 Morgan: Market Values
1901 Morgan: Summary of Characteristics
Business Strikes:
Enabling legislation: Act of February 28, 1878, plus the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of July 14, 1890
Designer: George T. Morgan
Weight and composition: 412.5 grains; .900 silver, .100 copper
Melt-down (silver value) in year minted: $0.46093
Dies prepared: Obverse: 43; Reverse: 44
Business strike mintage: 6,962,000; Delivery figures by month: January: 360,000; February: 500,000; March: 42,000; April: none; May: 824,000; June: 1,462,000; July: 400,000; August: 1,514,000; September: 1,740,000; October: 86,000; November: none; December: 34,000.
Estimated quantity melted: Possibly about 5,000,000 under the 1918 Pittman Act.
Approximate population MS-65 or better: 2 to 4 (URS-2)
Approximate population MS-64: 10 to 20 (URS-5)
Approximate population MS-63: 100 to 200 (URS- 8)
Approximate population MS-60 to 62: 750 to 1,500 (URS-11)
Approximate population G-4 to AU-58: 60,000 to 100,000 (URS-17)
Availability of prooflike coins: Writing in 1982, Wayne Miller knew of only two DMPL specimens.
Characteristics of striking: Usually poorly struck.
Known hoards of Mint State coins: None.
Proofs:
Dies prepared: Obverse: 1; Reverse: 1.
Proof mintage: 813; Delivery figures by month:
January: none; February: none; March: 350; April: none; May: none; June: 100; July: none; August: none; September: 85; October: none; November: none; December: 278.
Approximate population Proof-65 or better: 68+/- (URS-)8
Approximate population Proof-64: 138+/- (URS-9)
Approximate population Proof-63: 93+/- (URS-8)
Approximate population Proof-60 to 62: 210+/- (URS-9)
Commentary Exceedingly rare in Mint State.