Home >> Collecting >> Coin Collecting

How to Identify a US Silver Dollar

The U.S. silver dollar was created by the Congressional Mint Act of 1792, which established a federally recognized coinage. Made from 90-percent solid silver, it was in production by 1795 and continued to be issued over the next 140 years with gaps from 1804 to 1836, from 1873 to 1878, from 1905 to 1920 and from 1922 to 1933. It was last issued as solid silver currency in 1935. When the dollar was re-introduced in 1971, it was in cupronickel. You should be able to identify a U.S. silver dollar by a combination of its size, its weight and the markings it carries.

Things You'll Need

Calipers
Weighing scales

Instructions

- 1
  Measure the diameter of the coin with a pair of calipers. It should be 38.1 mm.
- 2
  Weigh the coin on a pair of sensitive scales. It should come out at 26.73 grams. Because it would be unlikely for a counterfeiter to succeed in faking both the size and weight at the same time, if a coin passes both Steps 1 and 2, this is a strong indicator of genuineness.
- 3
  Inspect the coin for certain design features. Expect to see on the obverse an idealized female figure, either full length in classical drapery or as a head-and-shoulders portrait. This is Lady Liberty. On the reverse there should be an eagle and a laurel wreath. These design features were laid down in the 1792 Act and, although the dollar went through different versions such as the Seated Liberty (1836-1873), the Morgan dollar (1878-1921) and the Peace dollar (1922-1935), the key features depicted remained constant. Dollars with other design features will date from the later, cupronickel period. Coins that have similar design features but which aren't dollars won't pass Steps 1 and 2.

Coin Collecting