One Million Silver Dollars

Che_Grapes

In case you were wondering how many more you might need….

https://www.numismaticnews.net/us-coins/a-million-silver-dollars-displayed-at-seattle-worlds-fair

OAKSTAR

And I'm thinking of all those rim hits!! 😖 😫

Copperindian

Interesting link - good read!

TwoSides2aCoin

I wonder how many have been sent off for grading since then. How many in NGC, PCGS, etc., ?
Profound. How many have been to CAC ? Here is a guessing thread.

coastaljerseyguy

I read the article. I'm confused. No Morgans were minted after 1904 up till 1921. Wouldn't the mint have sealed the annual production of Morgans immediately, instead of waiting 6+ years. Or why rebag and seal unless there was an issue with the original bags. I would have thought the majority of the 64 Treasury release were in the original bags, unless they split open or were damaged. Any input appreciated.

Once at the fair, 800,000 of the dollars in bags, all Mint-sealed between 1910 and 1915, were stacked in the center of a Behlen corn crib enclosed in glass. “Then over and around the bags were poured a clinking cascade of 200,000 Peace dollars: 1,000,000 silver dollars, just for looks, just sitting there gathering 167 dollars a day in interest.”
In the November 1962 Coins, they offered a single silver dollar from the exhibit at $1.95, with a limit of two per person. These were likely the Peace dollars. The 1,000 silver dollars in original mint-sealed bags, likely all Morgans, with date tags ranging from 1909 to 1914, were available for purchase at $1,500. There was a five-bag limit.

rte592

They would need more than one motorcycle cop to transport them today.

TimNH

No wonder the cheeks on those things are always all scraped up.

2windy2fish

Fascinating read!
Thanks for posting.
We will never know but can you imagine how many of those ended up in GSA holders?

CaptHenway

@coastaljerseyguy said:
I read the article. I'm confused. No Morgans were minted after 1904 up till 1921. Wouldn't the mint have sealed the annual production of Morgans immediately, instead of waiting 6+ years. Or why rebag and seal unless there was an issue with the original bags. I would have thought the majority of the 64 Treasury release were in the original bags, unless they split open or were damaged. Any input appreciated.

Once at the fair, 800,000 of the dollars in bags, all Mint-sealed between 1910 and 1915, were stacked in the center of a Behlen corn crib enclosed in glass. “Then over and around the bags were poured a clinking cascade of 200,000 Peace dollars: 1,000,000 silver dollars, just for looks, just sitting there gathering 167 dollars a day in interest.”
In the November 1962 Coins, they offered a single silver dollar from the exhibit at $1.95, with a limit of two per person. These were likely the Peace dollars. The 1,000 silver dollars in original mint-sealed bags, likely all Morgans, with date tags ranging from 1909 to 1914, were available for purchase at $1,500. There was a five-bag limit.

Just a WAG, but it is possible that after the New Orleans Mint was closed to coinage in 1909, but remained open as an Assay Office for some time thereafter, the dollars in its long term storage vaults were re-counted and re-bagged as part of the closing down settlement. They might then have been shipped to the Philadelphia Mint to go back into long term storage as backing for Silver Certificates, and stored together in one vault. That then might have happened to be the vault they were drawing from when 800 bags were needed for the display.

The 200,000 Peace dollars were poured over them because they were more likely to be shiny.

coastaljerseyguy

@CaptHenway

That makes sense. Great to have members here who know the history of the Mint & coinage. Wonder if a lot of these were the 04-O Morgans that were in low supply and expensive at one time that suddenly became readily available. There were 3.7MM of them minted and a lot of UNC's suddenly turned up back then.

291fifth

@TwoSides2aCoin said:
I wonder how many have been sent off for grading since then. How many in NGC, PCGS, etc., ?
Profound. How many have been to CAC ? Here is a guessing thread.

When accounting for crackouts and stickers ... 4,328,297!

Glen2022

I will take 5 bags at $1500 each. Where do I send the check?

WinLoseWin

Has anyone seen original packaging for individual dollars sold there or know if any was used?

golden

I remember a friend telling me about that.

Dave99B

I saw that in person in 1962. I was only 6 years old, but I vividly remember being blown away.

Dave

Lakesammman

A local couple bought 1000 of them after the fair. The husband sold the better ones, about 90, to support his mistress. I helped the widow sell the remainder. Many were culls sent for melt.

They had wrapped the coins in tissue paper and the dollars had an interesting pinkish hue. By the time I got involved, there were no numismatically interesting coins.

Thanks for posting the picture of the display!

Cuprinkor

I've read and heard about the million silver display at the '62 World's Fair in Seattle but never saw a picture. The color photo is excellent - like I'm right there.

thebeav

Has anyone see a label on a slab certifying one of these ?

SaorAlba

@Lakesammman said:
A local couple bought 1000 of them after the fair. The husband sold the better ones, about 90, to support his mistress. I helped the widow sell the remainder. Many were culls sent for melt.

Now there is a story! How did his wife become a widow?

lermish

@SaorAlba said:

@Lakesammman said:
A local couple bought 1000 of them after the fair. The husband sold the better ones, about 90, to support his mistress. I helped the widow sell the remainder. Many were culls sent for melt.

Now there is a story! How did his wife become a widow?

Her husband died.

CaptHenway

A contemporary brochure:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/166574556606?chn=ps&_trkparms=ispr=1&amdata=enc:16vOqZus1TNaFQIxIyKRFyA0&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-213727-13078-0&mkcid=2&itemid=166574556606&targetid=4580153138864426&device=c&mktype=&googleloc=&poi=&campaignid=603247546&mkgroupid=1224856947396832&rlsatarget=pla-4580153138864426&abcId=9316119&merchantid=51291&msclkid=19432a077ba8118b95dc4fcbb74c5a28

CaptHenway

There is a picture of the official snap-loc holder in here, and a link to an earlier article about the coins:

https://www.coinbooks.org/club_nbs_esylum_v17n40.html

PapiNE

A mental image of me hanging over those dollars from a rope in the ceiling instantly came to mind. And then I wondered if the ceiling had sensors. What's wrong with me?