George Morgan, the Philadelphia Art Community, and the Redesign of the Silver Dollar

JCH22

Thought the attached article (9 page pdf- 3 pages are plates), might be of interest to Morgan collectors:

George Morgan, the Philadelphia Art Community, and the Redesign of the Silver Dollar, c. 1876-82.

The article brings a fresh prospective from outside the numismatist community, yet still contains much information of keen interest to collectors. It provides excellent background on the redesign process, and ensuing public reaction.

Citation: Peter Clericuzio, Athanor, vol. XXVII, p. 59, Fla. St. Univ, Dept. Art History (2009).

shortnock

Nice article, good reading.

messydesk

While it's interesting, there are some issues with the article that cast a shadow on other material presented as facts.

1. There was no public outrage about the Type 1 SLQ obverse, especially not in 1916, as the coins weren't released until 1917.
2. The author makes baseless insinuations about Anna Williams, guided by 19th century newspaper opinion writing.

JCH22

@messydesk said:
While it's interesting, there are some issues with the article that cast a shadow on other material presented as facts.

1. There was no public outrage about the Type 1 SLQ obverse, especially not in 1916, as the coins weren't released until 1917.
2. The author makes baseless insinuations about Anna Williams, guided by 19th century newspaper opinion writing.

Your second point first----Little unclear which “baseless insinuations ” were made regarding Williams. Perhaps:

In 1882 the merciless American Journal of Numismatics charged that the "modest and virtuous" Anna Williams was tempted by "a theatrical manager who proposes to make a 'star' of her," predicting that soon she would be rolling in cash by going into "show business." Exactly what kind of show business Williams was supposedly going to enter, however, remains unclear” ?

Public reaction to Liberty’s bare breast on the SLQ would be an interesting topic. Perhaps for another thread as the article I attached really is about the dollar design. Mention of the SLQ in the pdf was confined to about a single sentence in the closing paragraphs. Free to discount the entire article, but I think that assertion does have at least some merit, and is at best non material to Morgan’s dollar design as viewed by the Art community.

Artistic community, particularly after the turn of the 19th century, did not hold the dollar design in high regard---often referring to it as the “Buzzard Dollar.” Barber's designs were also criticized.

Note in advance---author of the above did get the denomination on the Octagonal Pan Pac incorrect.