The Morgan Dollar PART II
REALIZING THAT Congress would soon mandate a new standard silver dollar, Linderman decided that he would have the design ready when Congress acted. On October 18, 1877, Linderman ordered George Morgan to execute a set of dollar dies using the designs from his latest half dollar pattern. In addition, Chief Engraver William Barber was also instructed to begin work on a pair of dollar dies in which he would use one of his existing Liberty heads. Officially the work by William Barber was in competition with that of Morgan for the final design but matters did not quite work out that way.
Linderman asked that six pieces be struck from each pair of dies and that they be sent to him as soon as possible. The pressure was on Linderman from the Treasury to be ready when the bill introduced by Representative Bland became law. President Hayes was firmly opposed to the entire concept, but the Treasury knew from private sources that a majority in Congress would vote to override a veto.
Although Chief Engraver Barber was supposed to use one of his old Liberty heads, it is unclear if he did so. For his 1878 pattern dollar, actually first struck about December 4, there is no head from a previous Barber pattern that is even close. It may be, of course, that the chief engraver
