The Baton Rouge Morgan Dollar Find: Stunning Uncirculated Silver from the New Orleans Mint
The New Orleans Mint and its special “O” mint mark has one of the strangest stories in U.S. History... For starters, it is the only U.S. Mint to be owned and operated by three different countries! After opening its doors in 1838, it produced silver and gold coins all the way until 1909. The most popular coin produced by the fabled New Orleans Mint is the Morgan Silver Dollar that was produced there from 1879 until 1904.
These southern mint Morgan Dollars are some of the most iconic in the series, and due to its status as the "hand-me-down" mint, uncirculated pieces from New Orleans are some of the hardest to find in the industry.
While at a coin show down south, we discovered a small hoard of New Orleans Mint Morgan Silver Dollars being offered from the Baton Rouge area, in stunning uncirculated condition.
Thanks to this find we are able to offer these stunning New Orleans Mint silver dollars for less than $80 per coin!
Three Countries, One Mint: One Wild Story
The New Orleans Mint has had a very rich history, which first began in 1935 when the federal government was facing a circulating coinage shortage. The Mint operated continuously from 1838 until January 26, 1861, when the state of Louisiana seceded from the United States of America. This "new" government let all federal employees remain, but only if they became employees of the state and not the federal government...The very next month, March, saw Louisiana join the Confederate government and the Mint changed sides once more.
The following year in April of 1862, the Union had retaken New Orleans and the Mint was finally back where it started–in the control of the United States of America’s federal government.
Only the Finest from the ‘Hand-Me-Down’ Mint
New Orleans silver dollars were notorious for their "poor strikes" in comparison to their counterparts from San Francisco and Philadelphia… largely in part to their status as the “hand-me-down" mint. This moniker came from the fact that most of their coin-striking machinery came used from one of the coastal mints. With poor quality strikes being the “norm” for the New Orleans Mint, it has made finding these Morgan Silver Dollars in collector's quality uncirculated condition a difficult task!
Each order will receive one New Orleans Morgan Dollar in collector’s quality uncirculated condition with the dates being our choice–but if you buy five coins we will guarantee you five different dates.
Each coin will arrive encapsulated, in uncirculated condition, and in a black pouch.
