Coin Highlights:
• Issuer: United States
• Date/Denomination: 1921-S • $1 Dollar
• Certification: NGC AU58
• Mint Error: Obverse Planchet Scratch
• Composition: 90% Silver, 10% Copper
• Weight: 26.73 grams
• Actual Silver Weight: 0.7734 Troy oz
• Diameter/Edge: 38.1 mm / Reeded
• Mint: San Francisco (“S” Mintmark)
• Designer: George T. Morgan
Error Highlights — What is an Obverse Planchet Scratch?
• A planchet scratch occurs before striking, when the blank silver planchet is marked during handling, rolling, cutting, or transport at the mint.
• Once struck, the design flows over the imperfection, confirming it as a genuine mint-made error rather than post-mint damage.
• Collectors value these errors because they offer a glimpse into early 20th-century mint production methods.
• Errors on high-grade classic silver dollars are far scarcer than on heavily circulated examples.
What Makes an AU58 Morgan Dollar?
• Nearly Uncirculated: Only the slightest friction on Liberty’s cheek, hair above the ear, and eagle’s breast.
• Strong Original Luster: Significant cartwheel mint brilliance remains across both sides.
• Sharp Detail: Hair curls, cotton leaves, eagle feathers, and breast details remain bold.
• Borderline Mint State: AU58 is often considered the highest circulated grade on the Sheldon Coin Grading Scale, just shy of full Mint State.
Design Details:
• Obverse: Left-facing Liberty wearing a Phrygian cap adorned with wheat and cotton, with the obverse planchet scratch adding a unique mint-made diagnostic.
• Reverse: Heraldic eagle with outstretched wings clutching arrows and olive branch beneath “IN GOD WE TRUST.”
Historical Significance:
The 1921-S represents the final year of the Morgan Dollar series, originally designed under the influence of the Bland-Allison Act. Production resumed briefly in 1921 before the series gave way later that same year to the Peace Dollar, marking the end of an iconic chapter in American silver coinage.
Collectibility:
Final-year Morgan Dollars already carry strong collector demand, and examples with certified mint errors are considerably tougher to locate. Combining NGC AU58 preservation, a San Francisco mintmark, and a documented planchet error, this piece offers crossover appeal to Morgan specialists, error collectors, and advanced U.S. silver enthusiasts.
