1921-S

The 1921-S San Francisco Morgan Dollar carries a mintage of 21,695,000 pieces struck under the Pittman Act of April 1918 reissue authority, with the San Francisco production using 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. San Francisco had produced Morgan Dollars across the original 1878-1904 production span and resumed for the 1921 reissue year alongside the Philadelphia and Denver mints. The S mintmark appears below the wreath on the reverse. The 1921-S production share accounts for roughly one-third of the 1921 reissue total across the matched three-mint trio that closes the Morgan series.

Strike quality on 1921-S examples is notoriously soft, with many pieces showing flat hair detail above Liberty's ear and incomplete eagle breast feathering that reflects San Francisco die-pressure characteristics on the shallow-relief hub design. The Weak S variety, where the mintmark itself appears flat or partially struck, is a documented 1921-S characteristic and is collected as a recognized variety subset. PCGS, the Professional Coin Grading Service, and NGC certified-population data show the 1921-S abundant through Mint State 64 but scarce above MS65, with MS66 and MS67 examples commanding sharp price premiums reflecting strike-related grade compression rather than rarity of survival. Prooflike examples are uncommon, and deep mirror prooflike designations are rare.

The 1921-S is a regular-date entry within the Morgan series and stays accessible at MS63 through MS64 for new collectors building a complete 1878-1921 set. Strict registry-set collectors target the MS65 and MS66 grade levels, where strike-related grade compression produces steep price acceleration relative to the abundant lower mint-state grades. The 1921-S pairs naturally with the 1921-P and 1921-D as the matched reissue-year trio that closes the Morgan series, and the 1921-S Zerbe Special Strike is catalogued separately as a documented specialty production of the reissue year alongside the 1921 Chapman Proof. For the Pittman Act of 1918 background and the 1921 shallow-relief hub transition, see the Morgan Dollar series history.