How can it be legal for the Government to sell a Dollar coin for $85 ? ...

[dogtag]

Silly question really as the government does whatever it wants.
They've recently issued and are selling newly minted Morgan Silver Dollars,
which bear a 2021 date and have a $1 denomination.
Probably to be followed by a new $20 Gold piece selling for a couple of grand.
Must be nice to have a monopoly.

[Art]

The coins are commemoratives made to be sold on the collector's market.

After a long haitus the government started minting Morgan silver dollars in 1921. That same year they minted a commemorative dollar memorializing the end of WW I called the "Peace Dollar." The Peace Dollar was supposed to be a one year run but was so popular that that they dropped the Morgan coin and Minted the Peace Dollar until 1935.

Now the value. A coin has three values. The denomination of the coin, value of the metal called "melt value" and the collectors value. You could pass that 2021 Morgan dollar for its face value and buy a candy bar but that would be rather foolish since there's about $20.00 worth of silver in it. Then there's collectors or numismatic value which is what a collector would pay. Good luck in getting one of those 2021 Morgans or Peace dollars for $85.00. The limited run was bought up by the big dealers who are now selling them for up to $200.00.

Nobody is making anyone buy this stuff, its a collectable just like an all matching US&S M1911A1 pistol, which as far as function goes sure isn't worth close to what you'd have to pay for it.

Want something that's really worth a king's ransom, find a 1964 Peace Dollar. In 1964 the Denver Mint made a few hundred thousand Peace Dollars but then the country stopped backing money with silver so they were (allegedly) all melted down. There are a lot of people, myself included, who believe some made it out and there is a precedent for that with St Gauden's Double Eagles, but while the 1964 Peace Dollars would be fabulously valuable to the right collector they'd have to be traded on the "down low" because the "gubmint" would try to confiscate them if they found out about them.

[Art]

PS. The melt value today, at this moment, of the melt value of the gold in a U.S. "Double Eagle" $20,00 coin is $1,780.00.

[dogtag]

I'll have look at my collection of Peace Dollars - you never know.
Wish I had a 1944 one cent.

[Johnny P]

The first year of the 1921 Peace Dollars were struck in high relief, and bring more than following years which were not as detailed.