Treasury Release, General Services Administration Sales and Legacy
Between November 1962 and March 1964, millions of Morgan and Peace dollars were sold to the general public. Interest began in 1962, when a date of Morgan dollar that was previously considered very rare was discovered in a bag of silver dollars taken from a vault of the Philadelphia Mint. The demand to exchange silver certificates for silver dollars was so great that lines formed outside of the Treasury Building in Washington, D.C., with some of those in line pushing wheelbarrows. Upon discovering bags of Carson City-minted dollars, Treasury officials decided to hold them back as mintage totals from that mint were generally lower than others.
On May 12, 1969, the Joint Commission on Coinage held a meeting in order to determine how best to dispose of the Carson City-minted dollars earlier held back by Treasury officials. They recommended a mail bid sale. Legislation was passed on December 31, 1970 stating that the approximately three million silver dollars were to be transferred to Administrator of General Services in order for the coins to be marketed. The legislation also stated that all proceeds from the sale were to be "covered into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts." Congress supplied the General Services Administration with ten million dollars to market the dollar coins. Advertising consisted of posters and brochures distributed to post offices, banks and various financial institutions, as well as television documentaries. The coins were sorted and put into small plastic display cases. The Administration conducted a total of seven mail bid sales between 1972 and 1980. In total, the sales generated $107 million.
On June 15, 2006, legislation was approved that provided for the minting of a silver dollar and a five dollar gold coin in "commemoration of the Old Mint at San Francisco," with surcharges to be given to the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society in an effort to rehabilitate the Old Mint. In total, 100,000 gold and 500,000 silver commemorative coins were authorized. Authorization came at the behest of several hobby publications, who enlisted readers to contact their local congressmen in order to persuade them to pass necessary legislation. The designs approved for the silver dollar bear a left-frontal view of the Old Mint building and a copy of Morgan's eagle design on the obverse and reverse, respectively. Mint artist Joseph Menna made a new model for the reverse, employing a 1904 San Francisco-minted dollar as his model.
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