1804 silver dollar

Infobox Coin
Country = United States
Denomination = Dollar
Value = 1.00
Unit = U.S. dollar
Mass = Class I - convert|26.96|g|ozt|3|abbr=on|lk=on
Class II - convert|24.711|g|ozt|3|abbr=on|lk=on cite web|url=http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object.cfm?key=35&objkey=710&gkey=50|title=NMAH United States, 1 Dollar, 1804 (Class Two)|accessdate=2008-05-28|author= Smithsonian National Museum of American History|publisher=Smithsonian National Museum of American History |date= ]
Class III - 27.15-27.41
Mass_troy_oz = 0.872-0.881
Diameter = 39-40
Diameter_inch = 1.53-1.57
Thickness = ?
Edge = Class I - Lettered - HUNDRED CENTS ONE DOLLAR OR UNIT
Class II - Plain
Class III - Lettered - HUNDRED CENTS ONE DOLLAR OR UNIT
Composition = 90.0% Ag
10.0% Cu
Years of Minting = Class I - 1834
Class II, Class III - 1858-1860
Catalog Number =
Obverse = 1804 dollar obverse.png")>
Bust of Liberty facing right
Obverse Designer = Robert Scot
Obverse Design Date = 1804
Reverse = 1804 dollar reverse.png Reverse Design = Heraldic representation of the Great Seal of the United States with UNITED STATES OF AMERICA around the rim
Reverse Designer = Robert Scot
Reverse Design Date =

The 1804 Silver Dollar is a United States dollar coin considered to be one of the rarest and most famous coins in the world, due to its unique history.Fact|date=June 2008 Divided into "Classes," 15 specimens are known. 8 comprise Class I, which were minted in 1834. Two Class I specimens trace their lineage to the King of Siam and the Sultan of Muscat. 1 comprises Class II and 6 comprise Class III and were minted sometime between 1858 to 1860. It is alleged both Class II and Class III specimens were made clandestinely by Mint officials. Due to the nature of their rarity, some have been sold for high dollar figures. Replicas and counterfeits exist, some meant to deceive collectors, while others are made to offer a cheap substitute for the real and more expensive coins.

Class I

History

In 1804, United States Mint records indicate that 19,750 silver dollars were struck. However, in keeping with common Mint practice at the time, these were all minted from old but still-usable dies dated 1803, and are indistinguishable from the coins produced the previous year.cite web|url=http://www.1804dollar.com/MYSTERY.HTM|title=1804 Dollar Mystery Solved!... Why and When Were These Coins Minted? What Happened to the 19,570 Silver Dollars Officially Minted in 1804?|accessdate=2008-05-28|author= Mark Ferguson|publisher=Reliance Numismatic Services |date= March 17, 1997] cite web|url=http://www.pcgs.com/coinguidetext/display_chapter.chtml?chapter=recommend&page=55&additional_pages=108|title=Recommendations for Collecting - PCGS Coin Guide|accessdate=2008-05-28|author= Professional Coin Grading Service|publisher=Collectors Universe, Inc |date= ] 1804-dated silver dollars did not appear until 1834, when the U.S. Department of State was creating sets of coins to present as gifts to certain rulers in Asia in exchange for trade advantages. The U.S. Government ordered the Mint to produce "two specimens of each kind now in use, whether of gold, silver or copper". Since the silver dollar was still in use, but had last been recorded as produced in 1804, Mint employees struck several dollars with an 1804 date. Due to the cost-cutting measures of the US Mint in its early history and the reuse of 1803 dies, this act led to confusion.cite web|url=http://www.1804dollar.com/MYSTERY.HTM|title=1804 Dollar Mystery Solved!... Why and When Were These Coins Minted? What Happened to the 19,570 Silver Dollars Officially Minted in 1804?|accessdate=2008-05-28|author= Mark Ferguson|publisher=Reliance Numismatic Services |date= March 17, 1997] cite web|url=http://www.pcgs.com/coinguidetext/display_chapter.chtml?chapter=recommend&page=55&additional_pages=108|title=Recommendations for Collecting - PCGS Coin Guide|accessdate=2008-05-28|author= Professional Coin Grading Service|publisher=Collectors Universe, Inc |date= ]

The first 1804 silver dollars minted in 1834 were presented as gifts to Rama III, King of Siam and Said bin Sultan, Sultan of Muscat and Oman. The other 5 were dispersed under unknown circumstances after Ambassador Edmund Roberts died en route during the voyage. One was retained in the US Mint Coin Collection. In 1842, numismatists first learned of the 1804 dollar through a book displaying an illustration of the 1804 dollar from the Mint Cabinet.cite web|url=http://www.pcgs.com/coinguidetext/display_chapter.chtml?chapter=recommend&page=56&additional_pages=108|title=Recommendations for Collecting - PCGS Coin Guide|accessdate=2008-05-28|author= Professional Coin Grading Service|publisher=Collectors Universe, Inc |date= ] These silver dollars are known among numismatists as “original” or Class I 1804 dollars. Eight of these coins are known to exist. One currently resides in the Smithsonian Institution, one is in the American Numismatic Association museum, and the other six are in private collections.

Popular legend states that the rare coin given by King Rama IV of Siam to Anna Leonowens, as seen in the story of “Anna and the King of Siam” and the movie "The King and I", was indeed the same 1804 silver dollar produced in 1834 as a gift to Siam. This coin was kept in Anna’s family for several generations, until in the 1950s it was sold by a pair of British ladies claiming to be Anna’s descendants. This coin was displayed as part of the “King of Siam” collection at the Smithsonian Institution in 1983, where it was given the name “the King of Coins.” It was purchased by an anonymous collector in 2001, who purchased the entire set of coins from the King of Siam collection for over $4 million.

Counterfeits and replicas

Counterfeits exist of the 1804 Silver Dollar, with some con artists and perpetrators of fraud trying to pass off coins as the real thing. Some were brought back by service personnel returning from the Vietnam War.cite web|url=http://home.comcast.net/~reidgold/draped_busts/page_7.html|title=Counterfeit Draped Bust Dollars|accessdate=2008-05-28|author= Reid Goldsborough|publisher=|date= ]

Various private mints have produced replicas of the 1804 dollar over the years. The replicas have little worth as collectors’ items, with their silver content fetching them a price of current melt values and some collectible value as silver rounds.cite web|url=http://home.comcast.net/~reidgold/draped_busts/page_7a.html|title=Draped Bust Dollar Replicas|accessdate=2008-05-28|author= Reid Goldsborough|publisher=|date= ]

References

External links

* [http://www.pcgs.com/research_archive/dexter_dollar/index.chtml The Dexter Specimen of the 1804 Silver Dollar]
* [http://www.bustdollars.com/draped_bust_eagle_shield_silver_dollar.htm DRAPED BUST / EAGLE AND SHIELD SILVER DOLLARS (1798-1804)/SCOT'S HERALDIC DESIGN (1798-1803)]
* [http://www.coinfacts.com/silver_dollars/1804_dollars/1804_Draped_Bust_Silver_Dollar.htm 1804 Silver Dollar Coin Facts 1804 Silver Dollar]
* [http://www.1804dollar.com/ The Dollar of 1804]
* [http://www.coinresource.com/guide/exhibit/king_of_siam_proof_set_gallery.htm King of Siam proof Set gallery]