Politics and rare coins might not seem to go together, but they are linked throughout the history of the United States. From the first coins in the 1650s, to the change you carry in your pocket, political influence has played a significant part in U.S. coinage.

The first coin struck in what is now known as the United Sates was minted in 1652, more than a century before the United States existed. The Massachusetts Bay Colony struck silver coins from 1652 through about 1682, yet all but one of the denominations always carried the date 1652 regardless of the actual year of issue. Why you ask? Politics.

Since coins were minted openly, there was intent to fool the British Crown into believing that all coinage in circulation was actually minted in 1652, when there was no monarchy. Instead, it was probably a courtesy. The colonists stated, "we're going to continue to mint our own coins while not appearing to flagrantly ignore your edicts."

While there are many instances of coins mixing with politics, none can compare with that of the Morgan dollar. The Mint Act of 1873 abolished this denomination, along with other issues such as the three cent silver and the half dime. But by 1878, the silver dollar was back as the result of extreme political pressure from silver interests, such as the owners of the gigantic Comstock Lode, a monumental silver mine in Nevada.

Overriding a presidential veto, The Bland-Allison Act of February 28, 1878 allowed the government to purchase up to four million dollars in domestic silver for the production of silver dollars. It took less than two weeks for the new design to be approved, the dies made, and the first proofs struck.

The Sherman Silver Purchase Act determined the amount of silver to be purchased each month, which came to an exact figure of 187 tons. The act was repealed in 1893, and by then the mine owners were rich and the Treasury vaults were overflowing with unneeded silver dollars. It wasn't until 1898 that legislation provided a solution for the disposal of the remaining silver through continued mintage. In 1904, the silver finally ran out, and Morgan dollar production ended for 17 years.

The story of the Morgan dollar appeared finished – but actually not quite. In 1918, the Pittman Act, which required the melting of up to 350,000,000 silver dollars, was instituted. A little more than a quarter-billion were actually melted, but political pressures caused yet another weird scenario. The silver lobby persuaded Congress to include a clause which enabled domestic silver to be purchased and used to replace the silver dollars lost in the melting. What was this silver used for? To mint silver dollars!

Coins and politics, politics and coins, after nearly 350 years, they are still inextricably intertwined, an integral part of our past and an inevitable part of our future.