Silver Dollars & Trade Dollars of the United States - A Complete Encyclopedia
Q. David Bowers
Mr. Zerbe told me that he suggested to the chagrined mint officials that they could assuage his disappointment somewhat if they would strike off a few Morgan dollars from the new 1921 dies in Proof condition. They were happy to oblige and manufactured about two dozen which he bought and later handed out to his various coin collecting friends throughout the country. While I have never seen one of these Proofs, it is logical to suppose some of them are extant.
Somehow, the creation of these 1921 San Francisco Mint "Proofs" got translated into the existence of Philadelphia Mint coins called "Zerbe Proofs" without any reason, so far as I know. Of course, it is possible that Zerbe repeated the same scenario at the Philadelphia Mint, but if he had, he probably would have told Mosher about it. However, Walter Breen recalls a conversation he had with Wayte Raymond in 1951, to the effect that Zerbe said he had Proofs made at Philadelphia to go with his 1921- S Proofs.
Mike Carter in his monograph on 1921 Morgan dollars suggests that five 1921-5 Proofs are known to exist, one of which was sold for Leroy Lenhart for $10,000 in 1981, and another by Superior Galleries, the Wayne Miller coin, for $6,600 in 1978.
Varieties
REDESIGNED DIES: SHALLOW RELIEF
Business strikes:
1. All have 16 berries in wreath and Micro s mintmark. Breen-5707; Raised round dot in field: Breen-5708, so many varieties that VAM does not list (see VAM p. 125 and note on p. 395). Many minor positional varieties. All are Van Allen and Mallis Reverse D-2.
Proofs:
1. See information on 1921-S "Zerbe Proof' dollars above. I have never seen one with a full mirror surface. Do they exist?
1921-S Morgan: Market Values
1921-S Morgan: Summary of Characteristics
Business Strikes:
Enabling legislation: Certain earlier acts plus the 1918 Pittman Act
Designer: George T. Morgan
Weight and composition: 412.5 grains; .900 silver, .100 copper
Melt-down (silver value) in year minted: $0.48801
Dies prepared: Obverse: Unknown; Reverse: Unknown. Probably over 100 die pairs.
Business strike mintage: 21,695,000
Estimated quantity melted: Estimated 10,000,000 to 15,000,000 melted under the 1942 Silver Act, additional coins in later melts.
Approximate population MS-65 or better: 2,000 to 4,000 (URS-13)
Approximate population MS-64: 30,000 to 60,000 (URS-16)
Approximate population MS-63: 200,000 to 400,000 (URS-19)
Approximate population MS-60 to 62: 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 (URS-22)
Approximate population G-4 to AU-58: 2,000,000 to 4,000,000 (URS-23)
Availability of prooflike coins: DMPL coins are said to be very rare; probably fewer than a dozen exist, possibly these are the so-called "Zerbe Proofs." PL coins are also rare.
Characteristics of striking: Poor; about as poor as a Morgan dollar can be.
Known hoards of Mint State coins: More or less continuously distributed by the Treasury during the 1950s and early 1960s.
Proofs:
Mintage: Possibly 20, but not confirmed by modern numismatists.
Commentary
The 1921-S dollar has a Micro s mintmark.