1921-D

The 1921-D Denver Morgan Dollar represents the only year that the Denver Mint struck Morgan Dollars across the entire 1878-1921 production span, with a mintage of 20,345,000 pieces authorized under the Pittman Act of April 1918. Denver opened in 1906 and had not been operational during the original 1878-1904 Morgan production years, so the 1921-D stands as a single-issue mintmark within the series alongside the matched 1921-P and 1921-S reissue-year production. Like all 1921 production, the Denver issue used the new shallow-relief working hubs prepared by George T. Morgan after the original 1878 hubs had been destroyed during the 1904-1921 production hiatus. The D mintmark appears below the wreath on the reverse.

Strike quality on 1921-D examples is generally stronger than the 1921-P shallow-relief baseline, with Denver typically producing fuller hair detail above Liberty's ear and crisper eagle breast feathering than the matched Philadelphia issue. PCGS, the Professional Coin Grading Service, and NGC certified-population data show the 1921-D abundant through MS65 with reasonable supply at MS66 and steeper price acceleration at MS67 levels. The 1921-D has carried collector recognition as the only Denver-mint Morgan and the only D-mint silver dollar issued before the 1934-1935 Peace Dollar Denver reissues. Prooflike examples exist but are uncommon, and deep mirror prooflike designations are rare. Eye appeal at MS65 typically exceeds the 1921-P baseline.

The 1921-D is a regular-date entry within the Morgan series and stays accessible at Mint State 63 through MS65 for new collectors building a complete 1878-1921 set or a focused mintmark subset. Strict registry-set collectors target MS66 and MS67, where the Denver issue commands premium pricing relative to its 1921-P counterpart. The 1921-D pairs naturally with the 1921-P and 1921-S as the matched reissue-year trio, and the only-year Denver status gives the 1921-D structural appeal for mintmark-focused collectors and complete-Morgan-mintmark-set assemblers. For the Pittman Act of 1918 background, the Denver Mint's single Morgan year, and the broader Morgan reissue context, see the Morgan Dollar series history.