1883-O Silver Dollar Error - 1883-O Morgan $1 NGC MS63. Struck 15% off center. Here is an outstanding 1883-O Morgan Dollar that is struck 15% off center. The coin is essentially all white with just a trace of golden toning in Libertys hair. The strike is strong with full details on the hair above the ear and the eagles breast feathers. The highly lustrous surfaces are clean for the grade with no abrasion marks worthy of individual mention. The unstruck portion of the coin shows a few marks that would have been obliterated had the piece been properly struck.

An off-center coin is made by a striking error. During the striking process, the planchet fails to seat properly in the collar and is not correctly aligned between the dies. Off-center coins are described by the percentage of the design that is missing and the direction according to its clock position. The current piece is described as being 15% off center at 6:00 oclock.

George T. Morgan designed the Morgan silver dollar, which was issued every year from 1878 to 1904 and then again in 1921. Hundreds of millions of Morgan silver dollars were saved in bags of 1,000 each, in bank vaults because the federal government created artificial demand for them to satisfy the Western silver interests. Some were melted in 1918, but large quantities remained in bank vaults and were later bought by investors and collectors. Because many millions of Morgan silver dollars exist today in the hands of the public, it has become the most widely collected coin of its era.

In the late 1870s a group of silver mine owners convinced Senator William Allison (Republican from Iowa) and Representative Richard Bland (Democrat from Missouri) to support a proposal for a new silver dollar. After much negotiation and intense lobbying by the silver industry, Bland and Allison introduced a bill to resume silver coinage, which had been stopped earlier. Despite the veto of President Rutherford B. Hayes, the Bland-Allison Act became law in February, 1878. It required that the Treasury buy a minimum of two million dollars a month of domestic silver to be coined into dollars. It also gave the silver dollar legal tender status. These became the dollars designed by George T. Morgan. The act attempted to keep silver at artificially high levels. Large quantities of Morgan Dollars were minted, but they did not circulate well and were kept in Treasury storage vaults, which accounts for their availability today in mint state grades. In 1904 production was halted because the supply of bullion was depleted. In 1918 the Pittman Act provided for the return of the Morgan dollar. It made its final appearance in 1921.

When he applied to the Mint for the position of Assistant Engraver, Morgan wrote explaining his previous experiences: I am familiar with the engraving of coin dies, having for several years, assisted Messrs. J.S. & A.B. Wyon. I think I may say that I have a good knowledge of Design & Modeling. I served an apprenticeship to the Die Sinking at Birmingham. From Birmingham School of Art I successfully competed for a Scholarship at South Kensington during my Studentship I obtained Medals & Prizes for Models of Heads from Life, Figures from Life & Antique Heads from Photographs and Flowers from nature. I believe it is not usual for an Engraver to have a practical knowledge of Bronzing. Fortunately I have knowledge of this art and could in a short time so instruct an apt scholar that he would be able to successfully bronze a medal.

Morgans design for the dollar shows a close head of Liberty in profile facing left. She wears a headband inscribed LIBERTY. In her hair are cotton, corn, wheat, and tobacco. She wears a modified Phrygian cap and is surrounded with the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM, thirteen stars (seven left and six right), and the date. The reverse shows an eagle with wings raised looking left. In its talons are arrows and olive branch, symbols of preparedness and peace. A wreath is below and the motto IN GOD WE TRUST is above. Except for the eagles wing tips, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and ONE DOLLAR circumscribe the design. The mintmark is below the wreath and above the denomination.

The only complaint with George T. Morgans design for the new dollar was that Liberty was too heavy. For his model, Morgan used Anna Williams, a school teacher from Philadelphia. Charles Barber also submitted a design. His design showed Liberty as also being too heavy, but she was also dumpy looking and had a fat neck. Morgans reverse showed an eagle that looked unnatural. Barbers seemed more real. In any case, it was Morgans designs that were selected for the dollar. It is an irony that the first Morgan dollar was presented to Rutherford B. Hayes, the president who had vetoed the authorizing act.

Off center Morgan Dollars are in high demand because few were made. Most off centers in this series are minor, 5% to 10% off center. Many are dated 1921 and are mostly from Philadelphia or San Francisco. In their 100 Greatest U.S. Error Coins, Brown, Camire, and Weinberg say that, New Orleans Morgan dollars do exist (most just slightly off center), and low grade specimens usually appear for sale at least once or twice a year.It is important to note that many coins listed as off center are merely uncentered broadstrikes and are worth far less than truly off-center coins. Here is an opportunity to obtain a high grade, New Orleans, true off center Morgan, a real rarity.