Printable Catalog with Mintage Statistics for Items Designed and Minted by Daniel Carr / Moonlight Mint.

 “1909-o” Morgan Dollars – Production Blog

All are over-struck on genuine US Mint Morgan Silver Dollars (circa 1878-1921), unless otherwise noted.

A few of each type were broad-struck or multi-struck with significant coin shift between over-strikes.

No genuine Morgan Silver Dollars were minted during 1905-1920. But imagine if the New Orleans Mint had decided to make silver dollars one last time upon the closing of that mint in 1909. This is what they would have looked like. All of these over-strikes have the micro-o reverse, with the same mint mark style, size, and orientation as that found on the scarce 1899-o micro-o Morgan Dollars, as well as the 1896-o, 1900-o, 1901-o, and 1902-o micro-o vintage counterfeits from the same time period. These vintage counterfeits were thought to be rare genuine US Mint products for a long time. It wasn’t until 2005 that someone finally realized that some intrepid counterfeiters had taken a scarce (genuine) 1899-o micro-o Morgan Silver Dollar and used it as a model to produce fake coins dated 1896, 1900, 1901, and 1902. They likely produced the fakes prior to 1940. They were well-made and contained the full amount of silver, but the strikes were soft and the high-point details were lacking. Once circulated, they were quite convincing. At the time, the scrap silver content would have been about 35 cents. With a one dollar face value, the counterfeiters could still profit by making and spending them. Even though they are counterfeits, the 1896-o, 1900-o, 1901-o, and 1902-o micro-o coins command strong prices from collectors today.

These 1909-o over-strikes are not counterfeits, but rather, altered genuine coins. They have sharper details than the 1896-o, 1900-o, 1901-o, and 1902-o vintage counterfeits.

NOTE: These are NOT endorsed by the US Treasury. Defacing of US coins is legal so long as the defacement isn't for fraudulent purposes.

Production listed in chronological order - newest production at top, oldest production at bottom.

Current Status:

All production has ended. The dies have been totally defaced and scrapped.

Tooling	Quantity Over-Struck	Issue Price	Notes
Die Pair 2 Proof-Like Finish	101 (final) high-grade: 57  bag-handled: 44	$175 (sold out) (high-grade) $80 (sold out) (bag-handled)	First produced January, 2012. Micro-o reverse. Normal rims with wider gaps between obverse denticles. Open 9s in date. All show evidence of the underlying host coin design. This is manifested as doubled facial profile lines, and doubled wings. The amount of “cameo” contrast varies, with the first and last strikes having the most.
Die Pair 2 proof-like finish
Die Pair 2 Uncirculated Finish	253 (final) high-grade: 174  bag-handled: 79	$125 (sold out) (high-grade) $80 (sold out) (bag-handled)	First produced October, 2011. Micro-o reverse. Normal rims with wider gaps between obverse denticles. Open 9s in date. All show evidence of the underlying host coin design. This is manifested as doubled facial profile lines, and doubled wings. Surface texture ranges from somewhat shiny to nearly matte, depending on die state.
Die Pair 2 high-luster finish
Die Pair 2 date details open 9s, normal gaps between denticles
Die Pair 2 mint mark details
Die Pair 1 Proof-like Finish	99 (final) high-grade: 89  bag-handled: 10	$175  (sold out) (high-grade) $85 (sold out) (bag-handled)	Produced October, 2011
Die Pair 1 proof-like finish
Die Pair 1 Uncirculated Finish	129 (final) high-grade: 99  bag-handled: 30	$125 (sold out) (high-grade) $80 (sold out) (bag-handled)	Produced October, 2011. Micro-o reverse. Broad flat rims. All have a small shallow die defect below the “tr” of “trust”. Closed 9s in date. All show evidence of the underlying host coin design. This is manifested as doubled facial profile lines, doubled wings, and erratic denticles. One (not released) was over-struck in error with the reverse die rotated 180 degrees from normal.
Die Pair 1 high-luster finish
Die Pair 1 bag-handled finish
Die Pair 1 date details closed 9s, narrow gaps between denticles
Die Pair 1 die defect below “tr”
Die Pair 1 mint mark details