1921 $1 Zerbe Special Strike SP

Key to Collecting: The 1921 Morgan dollar is far and away—by a country mile—more plentiful than any other coin in the entire series. Many millions exist in Mint State. However, finding one with eye appeal can be a challenge. Made from different hubs with shallow relief, 1921 dollars of all mints are different in appearance from those of the years 1878 through 1904.

Surface Quality: The nature of the dies is that even the best 1921 Morgan dollars are apt to be somewhat shallow. That said, on most there is additional weakness, due to striking, on the reverse among the lower wreath leaves. Examples with this feature sharp are in the minority. The die faces are “plane,” not basined, on all 1921 Morgan dollars from the several mints. Luster is typically satiny rather than deeply frosty, but quite a few are grainy or dull.

Prooflike Coins: Prooflike pieces are seen on occasion, and have a mirrorlike quality to the fields, which are not completely “plane” but show distortions in the mirror surface near the lettering and other features. Such pieces can have a very nice strike (for a 1921 dollar). Pieces called Zerbe Proofs are simply circulation strikes with a semiprooflike character, not as nice as on the earlier-noted prooflike pieces, struck from dies that were slightly polished, but that retained countless minute striae and preparation lines. In the view of the writer, Zerbe Proofs have no basis in numismatic fact or history, although opinions differ on the subject. It seems highly unlikely that these were produced as Proofs for collectors. If indeed they were furnished to Farran Zerbe, a leading numismatic entrepreneur of the era, it is likely that they were simply regular production pieces. Zerbe had a fine collection and certainly knew what a brilliant Proof should look like, and he never would have accepted such pieces as mirror Proofs.

Mintage and Distribution: Distribution of the 1921 Morgan dollars seems to have been more or less continuous from the 1920’s onward. Soon, these became very common in areas in which dollars circulated, and in bags of mixed dollars in banks in other locations. By early 1964, most dollars seen on Nevada gaming tables were of this date, mostly Philadelphia issues, but many of Denver and San Francisco as well. Bags of 1921 dollars were a drag on the market, and dealers in bags often posted buying prices for bulk “except 1921.”

Mintage: Unknown, estimated to be fewer than 30; Breen (Proof Coin Encyclopedia, p. 220) positively states 12. Sometimes called Chapman Proofs today, as Philadelphia dealer Henry Chapman advertised Proofs as early as spring 1922, a few months after they were coined. The number of Chapman Proofs certified, as given below, is surprisingly large. I have only ever seen a handful in 65 years that I would call mirrored Chapman Proofs.

Key to Collecting: Most are nearly of the same highly polished deep mirror surfaces characteristic of nineteenth century Proof Morgan dollars, but sometimes with slight tinges of graininess near the rims. Contrast is average.

The dies of the early issues have 17 berries on the right reverse wreath. Later, 16 berries appear on the right wreath, this also being the style used for Denver and San Francisco Mint 1921 Morgan dollars. For the 1921 Philadelphia version, both berry types are plentiful. Unlike earlier Morgan dollar dies, those used to coin 1921 dollars of all mints were not basined. Some varieties of the 1921 Morgan dollars, all mints, have small raised dots. On the Philadelphia Mint versions, VAM-8 and 9 each show a raised dot in the field. It has been suggested that these are marks from a Rockwell punch used to test the hardness of the dies. Others have suggested they may have been gas bubbles in the blank die face before it was impressed with the hub. The standard edge-reed count is 189 for the 1921 Morgan dollar, but some with the 17-berry count (e.g., VAM-2 and 4) have only 157 reeds. VAM-3 is known with the reverse die misaligned 45°.