Why Were No Dollar Coins Minted From 1935-1971?

[MunkyMan95]

Ignoring the 1964 Peace Dollar, why were no dollar coins minted between 1935 and 1971?

[zrlevin]

No demand. The treasury didn't used to make things they didn't need.

[MunkyMan95]

The treasury didn't used to make things they didn't need.

 

 

 

And now they're in da coin business!

[rbrown4]

Perhaps just like between 1904 and 1921, demand was low and the bullion supply was not adequate???

 

Rey

[okbustchaser]

The same reason that they shouldn't be making them now...no one wanted the darn things.

[CarolinaCollector]

The treasury vaults were filled with them until the price of silver increased.

 

In the late fifties/early sixties, the Morgan Dollar was held in the same regard (in the Eastern U.S.) as the Susan B. Anthony dollar is today.

[WinstonWare]

Yeah but the Susan B. Anthony is so heinous that the eye appeal improves with wear…lots of wear. I haven’t yet found a worn enough SBA for my dansco 7070. That coin just makes my *spoon* soft.

[okbustchaser]

The treasury vaults were filled with them until the price of silver increased.

 

In the late fifties/early sixties, the Morgan Dollar was held in the same regard (in the Eastern U.S.) as the Susan B. Anthony dollar is today.

 

And should still be held in even lower regard then the SBA since it is even uglier.

[RUSS BEGA]

Sir! are you suggesting that a classic american coinage design is "ugly"? do you coral sir?

[Zoins]

Ignoring the 1964 Peace Dollar, why were no dollar coins minted between 1935 and 1971?

No collector demand. The treasury didn't used to make things they didn't need.

[Zoins]

Sir! are you suggesting that a classic american coinage design is "ugly"?

Yes they are but it's not fashionable to call them such

[RUSS BEGA]

nice response

[WoodenJefferson]

There has been a succession of events that created economic situations where a 1 oz. Silver Dollar was not really required for our commerce to perpetuate. Even the Peace Dollar production ceased temporarily after 1928; original plans apparently called for only a one year suspension, but this was extended by the Great Depression. Mintage resumed in 1934 but only lasted another year.

 

Then there was a Recession in 1937 when the American economy unexpectedly fell, lasting through most of 1938.

 

In 1939 Germany entered into a World Domination plan, drawing in the United States as Britain’s Ally. World War II lasted until 1945 when the US defeated Japan. The Berlin Airlift and the rebuilding of Japan brought us to the Korean Conflict which started in 1950 ending in a stale-mate in 1953.

 

The US and world economy grew after the Korean War, the "Golden Years" were good times until another country tried domination tactics in South East Asia. In 1965 the US entered the Vietnam War and for the next 10 years, peaking in 1973, it dominated the public view of our government and policies.

 

Since the early 70's the United States has been more or less stable until the evolvements of the US in South West Asia, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, etc. This stability allowed a rebound of economic growth and prosperity which probably gave the illusion to the mint that we needed larger coin denominations.

 

We have yet to accept these small, light weight dollar coins...we as a society just refuse to carry large sums of coins in our purses or pockets.

 

I happen to be one of the masses.

[just-john]

Because in 1935 people were smarter took till 1971 for the country to be dumbed down enought . That they would except a coin with 24 cents worth of metal and pay a dollar for it

now we will take a coin with 6 cents worth of metal and pay a Dollar for it. HUMMMMM

[BillJones]

The U.S. Treasury had millions of silver dollars stored in vaults at U.S. taxpayer expense, and no one wanted them.

 

When I was kid I could go to the bank and get all the silver dollars I wanted for $1 a piece. All you had to do was trade you paper for silver. Then the price of silver began to rise and speculators drove up the price. By the end of the 1960s virtually all of the silver coins, as well as the silver dollars, had been with drawn from circulation.

[DWLange]

Since there was no demand for silver dollars in circulation, they were coined only by special legislation: The Bland-Allison Act in 1878, The Sherman Silver Purchase Act in 1890, The Pittman Act in 1918 and the Thomas Amendment to the Agricultural Adjustment Act in 1933.

 

Each time the mints coined only as many silver dollars as the the authorized supply of bullion provided, and then production ceased. There was simply no more such legislation until 1964, and this final act was rescinded by order of President Johnson the following year.

 

A bill passed at the end of 1970 provided for the copper-nickel-clad Ike Dollars. These were coined primarily for the benefit of gambling casinos, where the dollar tokens used since 1965 were seen as less appealing than real coins. I saw a lot of Ikes in circulation during the 1970s, but only because I lived a few hours drive from the casinos in Reno/Tahoe. Outside of California and Nevada, these coins were nearly unknown.

[Conder101]

Each time the mints coined only as many silver dollars as the the authorized supply of bullion provided, and then production ceased. There was simply no more such legislation until 1964, and this final act was rescinded by order of President Johnson the following year.

This is the critical paragraph. NONE of the silver dollars struck from 1878 to 1935 were needed or desired. The only reason they exist is because of legislation designed artificially support silver prices and subsidize the owners of the silver mines in the western States.

 

The first was the Bland-Allison Act of 1878 which required the government to purchase 2 million oz of silver every month and strike silver dollars with it. These dollars were then used to back silver certificates in an attempt to inflate the economy. In 1893 this was replaced with the Sherman silver purchase act which increased the government purchase to two million DOLLARS worth of silver a month or close to 4.5 million oz a month. This act resulted in a near meltdown of the government gold reserves almost forcing the government to have to default on its obligations. Naturally it was quickly repealed. But in the short time it was in place a huge amount of silver was purchased and it took until 1904 before they finally consumed all of it. When it ran out the stopped making silver dollars.

 

The Pitman Act of 1918 caused the destruction of 250 million silver dollars. But part of the act required them to buy new silver and replace them all (another sop to the silver interests.) That took until 1928. The final mandated silver purchase went through in 1934, and it was the reason we got the 1934 and 35 dollars. As soon as the silver purchase ran out, the presses stopped. Although there were other major silver purchases by the government around that time, none of them were mandated to be struck into dollars.