The first Morgan Dollar was struck on March 11, 1878, at 3:17 pm on Philadelphia’s Press #4. That coin, now located at the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library and Museums estate, consisted of 90% silver and 10% copper in metallic content.Congress had authorized the Morgan Dollar less than two weeks earlier – and five years after legislation made the then-current American dollar coin defunct.The passing of this coin was not mourned – and, when a new silver dollar arrived in the form of the Morgan Dollar, it was not widely welcomed by the American public. However, this belies the coin’s high prestige today.The Morgan Dollar coin was heavy, almost palm-sized and not what would be widely considered a “people’s coin.” Designed by United States Mint Assistant Engraver George T. Morgan, the coin features a profile portrait of Liberty on its obverse and, on the reverse, the depiction of an eagle with outstretched wings and clasping an olive branch and arrows.Until 1921, most Morgan Dol…