Two of the most beloved silver dollars in American history are about to look a little different and only for one year. On Tuesday, August 25, at 12:00 p.m. EDT, the United States Mint will release the 2026 Morgan and Peace Silver Dollars New Uncirculated Coins, a special one-year-only tribute tied to the 250th anniversary of American independence the Semiquincentennial.
For collectors who have followed the modern revival of these two classic designs since 2021, this release marks a meaningful departure from anything the Mint has issued before. It’s not just another annual Morgan or Peace Dollar. It’s a deliberate mashup of 19th-century and 20th-century American coinage history, repackaged for a milestone that comes around only once in a lifetime.
Here’s everything collectors need to know before the sale begins.
The Basics: Price, Mintage, and Release Details
The Mint will price each coin Morgan or Peace at $169, and each design carries a strict maximum mintage and product limit of 250,000 coins. That’s a firm ceiling, not a soft target, so once either coin sells out, it’s gone for good.
Both coins are struck at the West Point Mint, though in an interesting twist, neither one will actually carry the “W” mintmark collectors usually associate with West Point issues. Instead, the coins are identified by their special anniversary markings alone.
At a Glance: 2026 Morgan and Peace Silver Dollar Specifications
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Denomination | $1 |
| Composition | 99.9% silver |
| Silver Weight | 0.859 troy ounce |
| Diameter | 38.10 mm (1.500 inches) |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Finish | Enhanced Uncirculated |
| Mint Facility | West Point |
| Mintmark | None |
| Privy Mark | Liberty Bell with “250” |
| Mintage/Product Limit | 250,000 per design |
| Issue Price | $169 each |
| Household Order Limit | 10 per design (first 26 hours) |
| Release Date | August 25, 2026, 12:00 p.m. EDT |
A Limited 26-Hour Window With a Household Cap
Anticipating strong demand, the Mint is placing a household order limit of 10 coins per design meaning a household could order up to 10 Morgan Dollars and 10 Peace Dollars during the initial sales period. That restriction stays in place until 2:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, August 26, creating a 26-hour restricted-order window right out of the gate.
After that window closes, the Mint has the discretion to raise or lift the limits entirely, depending on how quickly the mintage caps are approached. Collectors who want to guarantee an order at the lower per-coin allocation or who simply don’t want to risk a sellout will want to be ready right at noon on release day.
The Mint is also offering its free “Remind Me” notification service, which collectors can sign up for in advance to receive an alert when the product page goes live.
What Makes These Coins Different
Both the Morgan and Peace Dollar have already been revived once in the modern era. In 2021, the Mint brought both designs back into circulation-quality and collector production to mark 100 years since the Morgan Dollar’s final production run and the Peace Dollar’s original debut. Since then, annual releases have continued in various finishes.
The 2026 editions, however, break from that pattern in several distinct ways:
- Dual date “1776 ~ 2026” replacing the traditional single-year date on both coins
- A brand-new Liberty Bell privy mark bearing the numeral “250”, symbolizing the nation’s 250th birthday
- An Enhanced Uncirculated finish, distinct from the standard uncirculated or proof finishes seen in prior Morgan/Peace releases
- Striking at West Point, but without the usual “W” mintmark
- A hard one-year-only production window the Mint has stated these design changes are exclusive to 2026
For collectors, that combination of features means these coins will never be repeated. Once 2026 ends, the Semiquincentennial dual date and Liberty Bell privy disappear from both series for good.
The Morgan Dollar: A 19th-Century Icon Reimagined
Few U.S. coins carry the name recognition of the Morgan Dollar. Designed by Mint Chief Engraver George T. Morgan, the coin was originally struck from 1878 through 1904, then briefly revived for a single additional year in 1921. Over the decades, it became inseparable from the imagery of the American West mining booms, frontier expansion, and the rise of American industry in the late 1800s.
The 2026 Enhanced Uncirculated Morgan Dollar preserves Morgan’s celebrated obverse portrait: Liberty in left profile, wearing a cap adorned with wheat, cotton, and other floral details, crowned with a band reading LIBERTY. Thirteen stars, representing the original colonies, encircle the portrait alongside the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM. In place of a single-year date, however, collectors will find the dual inscription 1776 ~ 2026.
The reverse retains Morgan’s familiar eagle wings spread, clutching arrows in one talon and an olive branch in the other, encircled by a wreath. The inscriptions UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, IN GOD WE TRUST, and ONE DOLLAR remain unchanged.
The new element tying it all together is the Liberty Bell “250” privy mark, a small but significant design addition that links Morgan’s 19th-century artistry directly to America’s milestone anniversary in 2026.
The Peace Dollar: Born From the Aftermath of War
Where the Morgan Dollar tells a story of westward growth, the Peace Dollar tells a story of a nation recovering from global conflict. After World War I, the Pittman Act forced the Mint to melt millions of existing silver dollars and later replace them — which is why Morgan Dollar production resumed briefly in 1921.
Later that same year, Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon approved an entirely new silver dollar design meant to commemorate peace between the United States and Germany following the war. Italian American sculptor Anthony de Francisci was selected to create it, and his design debuted in 1921. Production continued through 1928, paused, and then returned for a final run in 1934 and 1935.
The Peace Dollar has always represented something different from its Morgan predecessor: not frontier expansion, but a young 20th-century America stepping onto the world stage as a major power.
For the 2026 release, de Francisci’s radiant Liberty her hair crowned with rays of light remains front and center on the obverse, now paired with the dual date 1776 ~ 2026. The inscriptions read LIBERTY and IN GOD WE TRVST and no, that’s not a modern typo. The Roman-style “V” substituting for “U” is a deliberate carryover from the coin’s original 1921 design, a small historical quirk that longtime collectors will recognize immediately.
The reverse depicts a resting eagle perched above the word PEACE, olive branch in its grasp, with UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, E PLURIBUS UNUM, and ONE DOLLAR completing the design.
Why This Release Matters for Collectors
The Morgan and Peace Dollars occupy a unique place in American numismatics two designs born nearly 50 years apart, shaped by two very different chapters of U.S. history, yet forever linked by their 1921 overlap and their shared 2021 modern revival.
The 2026 Enhanced Uncirculated releases push that relationship even further. By combining:
- A hard 250,000-coin mintage cap per design,
- A one-year-only Semiquincentennial dual date,
- A never-before-used Liberty Bell “250” privy mark, and
- Production at West Point without the customary “W” mintmark,
…the Mint has created a genuinely limited, thematically rich pairing that ties both coins directly to the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence an anniversary that won’t come around again for another quarter-millennium.
For type collectors, anniversary-set builders, and anyone who has followed the modern Morgan and Peace Dollar program since its 2021 return, August 25 marks a release worth circling on the calendar. Given the firm mintage limits and the 26-hour ordering restriction, coins purchased directly at the $169 issue price may prove considerably harder to come by once the household limits lift or once either 250,000-coin cap is reached.
Quick Reference: How to Buy
- Sale opens: Tuesday, August 25, 2026, at 12:00 p.m. EDT
- Price: $169 per coin (Morgan or Peace, sold separately)
- Household limit: 10 of each design through 2:00 p.m. ET, Wednesday, August 26
- Mintage cap: 250,000 coins per design
- Sign up: Use the Mint’s “Remind Me” notification service ahead of the release for an alert when ordering opens
The United States Mint, established by Congress in 1792 and operating under the Department of the Treasury since 1873, produces the nation’s circulating coinage along with proof, uncirculated, and commemorative issues, Congressional Gold Medals, and precious-metal bullion coins. Its numismatic programs are funded entirely through product sales rather than taxpayer dollars.
