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The 1804 Silver Dollar is one of the rarest and most
popular of all American coins, despite the fact that
none were made until 1834 and several were even made many
years after that! Mint reports from 1804 show a
delivery figure of 19,570 Silver Dollars, but
numismatists believe these were all leftover coins
dated 1803. Certain qualities of the known 1804
Silver Dollars (and other facts concerning their
history) indicate that the first 1804 Silver Dollars
were struck in or about 1834, when orders came from
the State Department for special sets of coins to be
struck for diplomatic purposes. Later restrikes
were made sometime after 1857 (a unique example shows
the undertype of an 1857 Swiss Shooting Thaler)!
Thus, we find three classes of 1804
Silver Dollars. Class I examples were made circa
1834 - these all have lettered edges and no rust pit
in the field just left of the top leaf of the olive
branch on the reverse. Class II examples were
made after 1857 - the only known specimen has a plain
edge. Class III examples were made after 1857 -
they all have lettered edges and a rust pit in the
afore-mentioned place on the reverse. Currently,
eight examples are known of the Class I type, one is
known of the Class II, and six are known of the Class
III type. The finest example known is a Class I
"Original" owned by the C. F. Childs estate;
this remarkable coin was recently graded Proof-68 by
the Professional Coin Grading Service.
The coin illustrated above is an
example of the Class III type. Known as the
"Amon Carter" specimen (named after the
famous Texas numismatist who once owned it), this example has a pedigree
dating all the way back to 1876. In 1998, this coin was purchased by Legend Numismatics and
placed in a collection that now includes rarities such as the
1794 Dollar from the Harry Bass collection, a 1795
Plain Eagle Dollar in PCGS MS65, a 1796 Dollar from
the Whitney collection, a 1797 Dollar with
obverse stars arranged 10x6 graded NGC MS65 from the
Eliasberg Collection, an 1801 Dollar certified NGC
MS63 from the Eliasberg collection, and an 1802 Dollar
in PCGS MS64 from the Floyd Starr collection.
The following is a complete roster of all known
examples of the 1804 Silver Dollar, divided into
Classes. Click on any link to view the actual
coin.
The
Story Of The 1804 Silver Dollar
By Richard Giedroyc, edited by Ron Guth
The
great, classic rarity among American coins is the
1804 Draped Bust, Heraldic Eagle silver dollar coin.
The 1804 silver dollar may not be the rarest of US
coins, but it is the most publicized and sought-after
piece. An 1804 Silver Dollar holds the world
record price for a coin at public auction -- $4.14
million. 1804 Silver Dollars have been the subject
of television programs, radio talk shows, the
subject of books and, unfortunately, the subject of
spectacular thefts. It is a widely counterfeited
coin, with some of the counterfeits being regarded
for years as genuine due to a failure of their
owners to have the coins examined by third party
certification services.
Ironically,
this, the most famous of all American coins and
perhaps all the coins in the world, is a fantasy
issue.
None
were ever intended for circulation. All were struck
at a much later date, and some, but not all of the
coins, were minted by the US government. Others
appear to be unauthorized issues struck by
enterprising Mint employees. Although none of the
coins in private hands has ever been seized as
illegal to own, the impropriety surrounding the
manufacture of some of these coins could place the
legality of owning them into question at some later
date. No silver dollar coins were struck
beyond early 1804 by the US Mint, and those struck
in early 1804 are dated 1803 (early Mint records
must be treated carefully, as they report when coins
were shipped, not necessarily when they were struck).
Silver bullion coins were being exported in large
quantities to Europe, discouraging further
production of the coins. Considering the Spanish
milled dollar (Spanish colonial American 8-reales
coin) was legal tender and circulated widely, the
need for a domestically produced silver dollar coin
wasn’t crucial.
On
Nov. 11, 1834, orders were placed with the Mint by
the State Department for two sets of “specimens of
each kind now in use, whether of gold, silver or
copper” for presentation to the King of Siam
(modern Thailand) and the Imam of Muscat. Why
these two obscure rulers where chosen for this honor
rather than more important trading partners is a
topic of speculation. Nobody seems to know
why, but although there were no silver dollar or $10
gold eagle coins being struck in 1834, a decision to
include these coin denominations in the sets was
made. Perhaps it was for consistency, since both
coins logically completed a set. The eagle might not
have been missed had none been made for the sets,
but the silver dollar was a logical progression for
the silver denominations which would be noticeably
missing. Considering the diameter of the
silver dollar, if you included a silver dollar,
logic would demand that a gold coin of about the
same size should also be included.
We
don’t know who in the State Department made the
decision to strike 1804-dated coins for a set made
in 1834, but it may have been a misunderstanding
regarding the last date in which the coins were
struck. The Mint reports indicated 1804 production
of the silver dollar (which is correct), but in fact
the coins struck in early 1804 are now known to be
dated 1803. This information may not have been
available to Mint and State Department personnel at
that time since US coin collecting was still in its
infancy and numismatic books on the subject did not
yet exist.
Special
Agent Edmund Roberts delivered one coin set
containing an 1804 silver dollar to Sayid Sayid bin
Sultan, the imam of Muscat. The set was said to be
housed in a crimson morocco case and was part of a
diplomatic gift exchange which included a lion and
lioness delivered to the Washington Zoo from Muscat.
Although an 1804 silver dollar with pedigree of the
imam of Muscat is in the United States today nobody
seems to be able to explain how it could have gotten
back out of Muscat if this pedigree is correct. The
Watters specimen allegedly is the Muscat coin,
however no one can trace its whereabouts before
about 1879. Inquiries
made to Muscat and Oman during the 1990s by coin
dealer Stephen Album of Santa Rosa, Calif., on my
behalf indicated the Muscat “coin collection” is
not inventoried and sits in bags on shelves behind
the desk of one of the state ministers today. No one
Album spoke with had sufficient interest in checking
to see if an 1804 silver dollar was among the coins
in “safe keeping.”
Even
if the Watters specimen is the coin given to the
imam, how did it get out of the country and is it
legal to own? This question has never been presented
legally. The famed King of Siam specimen is in
a similar situation. The State Department presented
the coin to King Ph’ra Naga Klao of Siam on April
4, 1836. According to numismatic urban legends, the
coin eventually was given to Anna Leonowens, the
famed Anna of “The King and I” movie and the
book by Margaret Landon. In its murky
pedigreed history the coin allegedly continues to
pass through Leonowens’ relatives until Spink
& Son Ltd. obtained it in the early 1960s. By
this time, the coin was housed in an appropriate
case, but again there is no paper trail to indicate
it really did come this route from Thailand (Siam),
or that it was legally out of the country.
Cases can be obtained in which coins can be placed
later. This includes old cases. For years, there was
a prestigious coin firm in London said to have many
old coin cases without coins in the back room.
Allegedly, coin dealers were known to purchase the
cases, place coins in them and then market the coins
and case as having some special pedigree.
Today
Thailand has a national numismatic museum in
Bangkok. Inquiries I made through a representative
of the Thai Mint in 1997 regarding if the museum or
Thai Treasury still had an 1804 silver dollar were
not answered. Is
it possible there are still additional 1804 silver
dollar coins in Muscat and Thailand? Further
investigation is needed.
There
are three “classes” of 1804 silver dollars
recognized today by collectors. The first class are
those coins struck in 1834 under direction of the US
State Department. It can easily be argued these
coins are legally out of the Mint and can be held
without fear of seizure by the Secret Service for
this reason. Eight Class I specimens exist today for
certain, possibly as many as 10, if specimens can be
proven to be in Thailand and Muscat.
The
Class II restrike was a “back door” job
including other restrikes being produced illegally
within the Mint during 1858 by Mint employee
Theodore Eckfeldt. The illegally struck coins were
sold through Dr. Montroville W. Dickeson, who owned
a store in Philadelphia. Once the illegal restrikes
were discovered, Mint Director James Ross Snowden
demanded their return. All Class II restrikes
were returned (as far as is known). These coins have
a plain edge. The only surviving specimen was kept
for the Mint collection and is now in the collection
at the Smithsonian Institution.
The
Class III specimens are further restrikes, not known
to Snowden, produced in 1859 into 1860. Once again,
Eckfeldt was responsible for these coins. Although
similar to the Class I coins, there are differences.
The lettered edge found on Class I specimens was
once again used on the Class III specimens since a
witch hunt was on for those of Class II. The
die from which the Class III specimens were made was
seized by Snowden during 1860, but by this time
several were in collector hands. Other collectors
who owned Class I specimens organized to ensure all
Class III coins would be confiscated (Heaven forbid
the importance and value of their Class I specimens
be diminished by these rogue pieces). Six Class III
specimens are known today.
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