Numismatic

1885 Morgan Dollar MS-64 PCGS

---

The year 1885 marked a period of economic transition in America, defined by the Gilded Age and the tail end of a multi-year economic depression. Amidst this backdrop, the Philadelphia Mint produced over seventeen million silver dollars designed by George T. Morgan. Today, encountering a specimen preserved in certified Mint State 64 condition offers a direct window into the craftsmanship of late nineteenth-century American coinage. The obverse of this silver dollar features a left-facing profile of Lady Liberty. She wears a Phrygian cap decorated with wheat and cotton, symbolizing American agriculture. Thirteen stars encircle her portrait, representing the original colonies, alongside the Latin motto meaning "Out of many, one" and the 1885 date. On the reverse, an eagle with spread wings holds an olive branch and arrows, representing peace and readiness. The national motto "In God We Trust" is positioned above the eagle, framed by the country name and the face value of one dollar. Struck from 0.900 fine silver with a diameter of 38.1 millimeters and a thickness of 3.1 millimeters, this coin contains 0.7734 troy ounces of precious metal, standing as a heavy and tactile piece of late Victorian-era history.