Photos and descriptions used with permission and courtesy of Heritage Auction Galleries

The 1858 Seated dollar is the most famous proof of the series due to its status as the only “proof-only” date issued from 1840 to 1873. It is also one of the least understood coins among all American numismatic treasures from a mintage estimated at about 80-300 coins. Only one finer example of the date has been certified by NGC.

Numismatist Duncan Lee, a well-known specialist in the Seated coinage arena, compiled a brief study of proof Seated dollar rarity, published in the August 2006 “Monthly Supplement” of the Coin Dealer Newsletter. A two page study, Lee provides excellent information.

For 1858, he writes: “The 1858 is the only Proof-only date in the Liberty Seated silver dollar series. All known survivors were struck from one obverse die paired with at least two reverse dies, one being the same reverse die used for some 1856 and 1857 proofs …. Several others were made with the reverse die which was used to produce some 1859 proofs.”

A particular challenge in the study of early proof coins is determining what information is valid and what is not. In his Proof Encyclopedia, Walter Breen described two different reverse dies. Unfortunately, this single example has certain characteristics of both dies!

For the second reverse, Breen recorded that the “claws touch, two lower arrowheads touch shafts; often, depressed mark (from foreign matter on die) in field near beak.” The Kaufman collection coinshown above clearly has the shallow depression near the beak, but has the claws separated and the two lower arrowheads not near the shafts above. It also has a straight die line in the narrow space over ITE of UNITED, and this die line is identical to that appearing on the 1856 proof dollar in this collection.

Die notes for the proof dollars are in need of substantial overhauling, as different authors use different notations with little consistency. In addition to revamping the die notes, considerable study is still needed to make accurate mintage determinations.

Sold on August 8, 2007 at the Heritage Milwaukee (ANA) Sale #444 for $54,625.00
Specifications:

Designer: Christian Gobrecht
Mintage: Estimated 300
Denomintion: $1.00
Diameter:  ± 38.1 millimeters
Metal content: Silver – 90% Copper – 10%
Weight: ± 26.73 grams
Varieties: Reeded

Additional Resources :
Ex Kaufman Collection

Last Updated : 05/15/2008

Photos and descriptions used with permission and courtesy of Heritage Auction Galleries

One of Only Two Pieces Known

The special nature of this coin has been recognized since at least 1941 when it appeared in Mehl’s Dunham Sale. It has passed from one specialist to another since then, always remaining in strong hands and rarely offered to the numismatic market. The obvious reason for striking this piece, as well as the other known branch mint proof, was “resumption of coinage of this denomination at New Orleans (interrupted 1860),” as stated in Breen (1977).

It is always interesting to compare and contrast branch mint proofs with those produced in Philadelphia. It appears that employees in the branch mints were not familiar with the day-to-day striking of proofs. Rather, when called upon to strike such coins, they produced pieces that they thought resembled the proofs that were regularly turned out of the mother mint in Philadelphia. And in most cases, they did an admirable job of emulating Philadelphia proofs.

For example, the fields on this piece have a depth of reflectivity that one would never find on a coin struck for circulation. Based on this mirror-like effect alone, its status is obvious. Of course, the specimen status goes beyond mere reflectivity. The surfaces are unusually clean, indicative of a coin that was carefully handled and not mixed in with pieces intended for circulation.

It is interesting to note the differences between this New Orleans specimen and a proof from Philadelphia. Most obvious are the striking details. Some of the feather details on the eagle and the star radials lack complete high point definition. Some P-mint proofs, especially from the 1880s, also lack full detailing and this is not an absolute necessity for proof status. On this coin it appears it was only struck once. Perhaps New Orleans personnel were not familiar with the tradition of double striking proofs?

It is also interesting to note that a scribe line is clearly evident just outside the denticles on each side. Indeed, die polishing goes up to the line on the obverse but not beyond. On the reverse much of the line is still evident and it has only been polished away between 1 and 3 o’clock. On Philadelphia proofs, part of the scribe line can still be seen on some issues, but die polishing was generally done carefully enough to either show the curve of each denticle or many times the individual denticles are fully outlined all the way to the rim. These are slight differences in the nature of branch mint proofs and Philadelphia proofs, and these differences can easily be explained by the quantities of proofs or specimens produced in each mint–one need not be quite as careful about the fine points if only two pieces are to be produced vs. the hundreds of pieces struck across all denominations in the Philadelphia facility. But the texture of this coin gives clear indication of the intent to produce a special coin most likely for presentation purposes.
The roster is brief for 1891-O specimen quarters as only two are known:

1. The present coin. Ex: William Forrester Dunham (B. Max Mehl FPL, 6/1941); Gene Edwards; 1980 ANA Sale (Steve Ivy, 8/1980), lot 2024; Jascha Heifetz Collection (Superior, 10/1989), lot 3652.
2. Private collection, ca. 1968; Ahwash Collection; current whereabouts unknown.

Photos and descriptions used with permission and courtesy of Heritage Auction Galleries

1804 $1 Original PR62 NGC. It is currently not the most expensive American coin-merely the most famous. Heritage Auction Galleries offered its first public sale of a Class I Original 1804 silver dollar, the Mickley-Hawn-Queller specimen at the CSNS Auction in April 16, 2008. Possessing a long and historic provenance that extends back to noted 19th century collector Joseph J. Mickley, this coin, graded PR62 by NGC, is one of eight Original Class I 1804 silver dollars known today. Of those eight coins, only five are in private collections, with the remainder in institutional holdings.

The Heritage offering marks the first time a Class I Original 1804 dollar has appeared at auction in nearly a decade, since the PR64 Dexter-Dunham example brought $1,840,000 in the year 2000.

The 1804 silver dollar has long been renowned as the “King of American Coins.” Well before such latter-day rarities as the 1913 Liberty nickels, the 1894-S Barber dimes, or the 1907 Ultra High Relief double eagles, the 1804 silver dollars were acknowledged as the most famous U.S. coins, yardsticks by which great American numismatic collections were measured.

Acquisition of an 1804 silver dollar-especially an Original or Class I example-bestows immediate numismatic immortality upon its possessor. The Class I Originals were legitimately struck in proof format at the U.S. Mint, apparently intended for presentation to foreign dignitaries. Some, however, soon found their way into commercial and collector channels. Their long and illustrious pedigrees have names tying them to foreign royalty, exotic destinations, captains of industry, and the luminaries of U.S. numismatics: the King of Siam, the Sultan of Muscat, Joseph J. Mickley, Matthew Stickney, Louis Eliasberg, John Work Garrett, Col. E.H.R. Green, Lorin G. Parmelee.
The first 1804 silver dollar to reach collectors’ hands is also the first-and most famous-numismatic transaction that most American collectors know of: In 1843 collector Matthew Stickney traded the U.S. Mint a unique 1785 Immune Columbia cent overstruck on a 1775 British gold guinea, along with some other pieces, for an 1804 silver dollar. The Guide Book of United States Coins (Red Book) has included the story since its first edition was published in 1947, edifying generations of young U.S. collectors and providing the stuff of dreams.

Class I 1804 silver dollars have regularly set one coin auction record after another over the last century and a half. The present Mickley specimen brought the staggering sum of $750-a record for the entire 1860s-when legendary collector William A. Lilliendahl bought it from the 1867 W.E. Woodward sale. The second-highest auction price of the decade, from the same sale, was “only” $340 for an 1802 half dime, one of the most coveted American coin delicacies.
Class I 1804 dollars appear regularly in the top auction records for the ensuing decades, according to a March 2008 Coin Values compilation by P. Scott Rubin. Three of the top four auction records in the 1870s are for Class I 1804s-the first, second, and fourth spots. After the Class III Restrikes made their appearance around 1876, the Adams Class III Restrike sold by John Haseltine set the third-highest auction price for the decade.

In the 1880s the Chapman Brothers sale of the Dexter specimen marked the first time that a Class I 1804 dollar-and likely any other U.S. coin at auction-crossed the $1,000 threshold.

The trend for 1804 Class I Originals to break auction records continued. In 1890 the Parmelee specimen sold for $570, second for the entire decade only to the $900 that an incredibly rare 1822 half eagle (one of three known) brought. In 1907 the Stickney specimen took top honors for the 1900s, selling for $3,600.
1804 silver dollars marked new auction records all the way through the 1980s as prices rose steadily, first to five digits in the 1960s, then to the upper six-digit range by 1989, when the Dexter Class I Original sold for $990,000.

More recently the prices for these most regal and renowned U.S. coins show no signs of slowing: In 1999 the fabulous Sultan of Muscat-Brand-Childs 1804 Class I silver dollar, the finest known and graded PR68 by PCGS, realized $4,140,000-a record price for a U.S. coin, one that stood for nearly three years and then exceeded only by the 1933 double eagle that sold in 2002 for $7,590,020.

Today of the top 10 auction price records as listed in the 2008 Guide Book, three are Class I Originals, including the piece just mentioned and the Stickney-Eliasberg and Dexter-Dunham specimens.

The present Heritage offering of the Mickley coin is exciting not only because it will almost certainly rank among the top auction price records, but also because it is the first auction of a Class I Original 1804 silver dollar in nearly a decade. Its long provenance from Joseph J. Mickley forward provides not merely a rich numismatic history, but a real sense of the history of numismatics itself.

The 1804 silver dollar has been the object of intense desire among American collectors for more than 150 years. Before the 1894-S dimes were struck, before the 1913 Liberty nickels appeared, and before President Franklin Roosevelt’s gold recall set the stage for the 1933 double eagle to become America’s most controversial coin, numismatists coveted the 1804 dollar. As a silver coin, it was a worthy collectible in the eyes of mid-19th century numismatists-an unparalleled challenge among American issues.

In his 1999 volume The Rare Silver Dollars Dated 1804 and the Exciting Adventures of Edmund Roberts, Q. David Bowers wrote that soon after numismatics as an organized discipline blossomed in America in the late 1850s, collectors gravitated to certain issues: “By the early 1860s, specialists in the United States series were prepared to give the proverbial eyetooth for a splendid 1793 cent, or 1802 half dime, or 1804 silver dollar. By 1867 the 1804 silver dollar had become America’s most famous, most discussed, most talked about rarity.”

The Crowning of “The King”-Most Famous and Publicized U.S. Coin
Precisely when America’s foremost coin garnered the accolade of “King” is lost to time. Two 1885 auction descriptions, however, set the latest limit. One notes that the usage had been around for at least a few years, suggesting an origin somewhere between the close of the Civil War and 1880.

What is certain is that the “King of American Coins” earned its title well before it had serious challengers. In the years since, the legend of the 1804 dollar has only grown. Even the Guide Book, which gives no special mention to the 1894-S dime and only a slender paragraph to the 1913 Liberty nickel, devotes a full page to what the 2008 edition describes as “one of the most publicized rarities in the entire series of United States coins.”

The 1804 dollar is more than highly publicized, though. Rather, it is famous. For every nationwide numismatic advertisement, there have been thousands of casual notices, such as stories old-timers swap at local coin clubs about seeing an 1804 dollar in a museum. The 1804 dollar has attracted more scholarly attention than any other issue. They are the focus of countless articles, presentations, and even entire books, among them the seminal 1962 The Fantastic 1804 Dollar by Eric P. Newman and Kenneth Bressett, and the Bowers reference already cited.

The silver dollars dated 1804 have been displayed at various exhibitions including Las Vegas, Boston, Philadelphia, Colorado Springs, New York City, and Washington, D.C. As prices rose, so did media attention. When 1804 dollars sold in recent years, people worldwide learned of it on their local news. Although numismatists know of only 15 1804 dollars today, their lore has reached tens of thousands of collectors who have entertained dreams of someday seeing (or owning) an example.

1804 Dollar Owners Famous, Infamous, and Little-Known
Each of those collectors is another reason why the 1804 dollar holds so important a place in American numismatics, as are the fortunate individuals who have had the privilege to possess one. Few coins carry the sense of history the 1804 dollar does. The personalities who have come in contact with the pieces are an endless source of fascination. The Class I Original 1804 dollars, in particular, have long and interesting provenances, including stays in faraway destinations such as Muscat in present-day Oman and Bangkok in what is now Thailand, as well as domestic locales such as Denver and Omaha. Those provenances have also forged unexpected connections across time. The King of Siam specimen, which has perhaps the most varied and fascinating pedigree, links the mid-19th century royals of that Asian nation to numismatic personalities such as David F. Spink, Lester Merkin, and Iraj Sayah. As Bowers notes, some collectors’ reputations-H.G. Brown, James Dexter, L.R. French, Jr., R.H. Mull, Percy Smith, and George Weingart-are based almost entirely on ownership of an 1804 dollar.

For many others, however, an 1804 dollar was part and parcel of a widely known, highly publicized collection or numismatic career. It is impossible to think of Virgil Brand, Amon Carter, Walter Childs, Louis Eliasberg, John Work Garrett, Col. E.H.R. Green, Reed Hawn, Joseph Mickley, or Lorin Parmelee without acknowledging the role an 1804 dollar played in making them coin legends.

While B. Max Mehl’s frequent offerings of 1804 dollars make him the most prominent dealer involved with them, many other noted numismatists have handled an 1804 dollar as a career highlight. David Akers, Bowers, the Chapman brothers, Thomas Elder, Sol Kaplan, Abe Kosoff, Dwight Manley, Wayte Raymond, Warren Tucker, and Farran Zerbe are among the famous professionals appearing in the provenances of various pieces.

The institutions that own or have owned 1804 dollars have benefited from the generosity of wealthy collectors, and many others have gained from their display. The magnanimous gifts of the Du Pont family added 1804 dollars (and many other pieces) to the Smithsonian and ANA collections. The ANA Museum also exhibits an 1804 dollar donated by the Bebees. The American Numismatic Society received its specimen from the Chase-Manhattan exhibit originated by Farran Zerbe. In Omaha, Nebraska, the Durham Western Heritage Museum exhibits the Byron Reed Collection, willed to that city more than a century ago.

The Massachusetts Historical Society no longer has the 1804 bequeathed from the William Sumner Appleton estate-it deaccessioned it in 1970-but the community greatly benefited from its presence, and the proceeds from the sale of Appleton coins have helped the society record and preserve state history.

The Power of Provenance
In the October 1970 catalog in a section titled “J.J. Mickley and His Dollar,” Stack’s wrote eloquently of the power of provenance, noting that the new owner “will become part of a great line, not only of distinguished numismatists, but outstanding personalities as well.” Interestingly, the buyer of the piece is unidentified, purchasing the coin from Stack’s and later consigning it to the same firm for private treaty sale. Subsequent purchasers Reed Hawn and David Queller, however, figure prominently in its provenance.
The Stack’s section on Mickley concludes, “While it is true that all the 1804 Dollars have an interesting past, it seems to us that this particular specimen has been more closely connected with the history of our national coinage, and the best traditions of collecting in the past, than most. The pedigree of this piece gives it a special personality all its own.”

Three collectors later, its provenance seems even more alive with history, and should the next owner desire it, that person can enjoy lasting numismatic fame.

Limited Market Availability of 1804 Silver Dollars
The 1804 dollars possess an unmatched mystique, combining legendary names of the past with absolute rarity. For all the questions surrounding the 1804 dollar in its various incarnations, it remains a numismatic icon. Even though a handful of U.S. coins have smaller mintages or fewer known specimens, each 1804 dollar in the three classes-15 in all-is extremely rare. The Newman-Bressett Class I coins, corresponding to the “originals” in other references, number only eight pieces, while only six Class III examples (“restrikes”) are traced today. The Class II, “plain-edged restrike,” is known only through history and a single surviving specimen in the Smithsonian, and as such is noncollectible.

Several Class I pieces are similarly inaccessible to eager potential buyers. Among the eight Class I dollars, just five are in private collections, with three in institutions due to the Byron Reed bequest of the Parmelee example to the City of Omaha, the Mint Cabinet-Smithsonian piece, and the Du Pont donation of the Cohen coin to the ANA.
Three of the six known Class III examples are also unobtainable: the Linderman-Smithsonian specimen, the Idler-ANA coin, and the ANS-Ellsworth piece. Such donations allow numismatists to see multiple examples of the famous 1804 dollar, while simultaneously complicating their efforts to own one. Museums have been known to divest themselves of coins-the present Mickley-Hawn-Queller piece was sold on behalf of the Massachusetts Historical Society after 65 years at that institution-but it is highly unlikely that an organization of national importance, such as the Smithsonian or ANA, would sell an 1804 dollar.

Certain U.S. issues are known to have smaller surviving populations today. The mysterious Liberty nickels dated 1913, the 1885 Trade dollar proofs, and the singular 1870-S half dime and three dollar gold are examples. Still, as previously noted, the 1804 dollar was well-recognized as a rarity before any of those coins were struck. Numismatists of the 19th century knew of fewer examples than do contemporary numismatists. The Mint Cabinet, Stickney, and Mickley specimens were at the forefront of collectors’ minds in the mid-19th century, but the King of Siam piece was a mid-20th century revelation, one that caught even Eric Newman and Kenneth Bressett by surprise as they wrote The Fantastic 1804 Dollar. The scandalous debut of the Class II pieces led their creators to keep the clandestine Class III coins off the market until at least the early 1870s.
The emergence of new examples did not negatively affect prices or the passion of collectors for the 1804 dollar. While the academic side of numismatics has sometimes harshly criticized the pieces in general, the 1804 dollars have never lacked willing buyers. In the 21st century collector enthusiasm has flourished for these famous, important numismatic delicacies. Heritage’s offering of the Mickley-Hawn-Queller Class I Original 1804 silver dollar will give prospective bidders an opportunity to acquire one of the world’s most legendary coins.

Deep silver-gray patina covers the surfaces of this attractive coin. Closer examination reveals subtle iridescence and strong undercurrents of golden-tan patina. The left obverse field shows a strong element of bold blue, and areas of dusky pewter-gray appear around the peripheral devices. Minor, scattered contact marks are present on the obverse, though only a few of them would attract attention if this were a circulation strike. They appear in pairs, two on Liberty’s cheek and two to the left of the hollow of Liberty’s neck.

On the reverse, three reeding marks appear in the field between the shield and the olive branch, and a few smaller points of contact are present elsewhere in the fields. Such minor flaws are consistent with the belief that a teller at the Bank of Pennsylvania, Henry C. Young, found the coin mixed with others in a deposit sometime in the early 1850s. Both sides are luminous beneath the patina with a distinct, glossy sheen. Slight striking softness at the uppermost parts of the design and the star centers is consistent with other examples of Original or Class I 1804 dollars. A thin die crack-one that is present on both Original and Restrike pieces-passes across the tops of stars 5 through 7 and all but the last letter of LIBERTY.

The lettering on the edge is “crushed,” the result of a lettered-edge planchet entering a press with a smooth collar. The strike squeezed and distorted the edge design, rendering many letters unreadable-a distinctive diagnostic for the Class I 1804 dollars. The coin’s holder precludes viewing of this detail, but Bowers describes it in The Rare Silver Dollars Dated 1804 and the Exciting Adventures of Edmund Roberts, which was published before this piece’s encapsulation

Researchers and catalogers over the past 50 years have graded this coin as PR50 (Bowers, 1999) and “very nearly Uncirculated” (Newman-Bressett, 1962). Stack’s, despite selling this specimen twice at auction, opted not to grade the coin. Instead, it reprinted the Newman-Bressett assessment in its catalogs for both the Massachusetts Historical Society Sale (1970) and the Reed Hawn Collection Sale (1993).

The NGC-certified present grade, PR62, does not affect the coin’s consensus ranking among the eight Class I or Original 1804 dollars. The Mickley-Hawn-Queller piece, as the pedigree on the NGC holder states, is superior to the Mint Cabinet specimen and the Cohen coin, but does not rate as highly as the Sultan of Muscat, King of Siam, Stickney, Dexter, or Parmelee examples. While this specimen is not the finest known 1804 dollar, the Class I issue is so rare and famous that the relative ranking of a particular survivor diminishes in importance.

Aside from the two Stack’s sales, this specimen’s only other auction appearance took place in the 19th century, when W. Elliot Woodward offered it in October 1867 on behalf of Joseph Mickley. The first part of its lot description reads: “This piece is regarded by all American collectors as the gem of Mr. Mickley’s collection. It has been in circulation, but it is still in the finest condition, retaining its brilliancy of surface, and being entirely uninjured.” Woodward then goes on to recount the coin’s (brief) history to that time, including its purported discovery at the Bank of Pennsylvania and its status as one of only two Class I (to use a modern term) 1804 dollars known at that time.

The importance of this opportunity to acquire an 1804 dollar-the first 1804 dollar of any variety to appear at auction since 2003-cannot be overstated. No Class I Original example has sold at auction since 2000. Private transactions are infrequent at best, with only five Originals available to individuals and most tightly held in private collections. At one point this specimen was off the market for more than a century, and since 1970 more than a decade has passed between its auction appearances. A second chance to purchase this historic coin, widely proclaimed as the “King of American Coins,” may be years or even generations away.

Ex: Chief Coiner Adam Eckfeldt; unknown intermediaries; Henry C. Young, a teller at the Bank of Pennsylvania (c. 1850); Joseph J. Mickley (c. 1858); Joseph J. Mickley Collection (W. Elliot Woodward, 10/1867), lot 1676, $750; William A. Lilliendahl; Edward Cogan; William Sumner Appleton (c. 1868); Appleton estate; Massachusetts Historical Society (1905); Property of the Massachusetts Historical Society (Stack’s, 10/1970), lot 625, $77,500; Chicago collection; Reed Hawn, via Stack’s (1974); Reed Hawn Collection (Stack’s, 10/1993), lot 735, $475,000; David Queller; Queller Family Collection.

Photos and descriptions used with permission and courtesy of Heritage Auction Galleries

The 1802 proof novodel silver dollar is an issue that is usually grouped by numismatists with three others: the 1801 proof novodel, the 1803 proof novodel, and the famous 1804 silver dollars. Like the 1804 dollar, which has been referred to as the “King of American Coins” for more than a century, the 1802 proof novodels were manufactured in a minuscule quantity, some time after 1832. No more than a dozen of the 1802 proof novodels were struck, and only four pieces are definitely confirmed to exist. The specimen offered in the upcoming Heritage CSNS Signature Auction is the Newcomer specimen, and served as the plate coin in Newman and Bressett’s The Fantastic 1804 Dollar.

Much confusion has reigned in the numismatic universe where these problematic coins are concerned, which is unsurprising when one considers the deliberately clandestine nature of the 1801-1803 proofs, as well as the 1804 dollars. Numismatic heavyweights such as Walter Breen, Q. David Bowers, Eric P. Newman, and John Dannreuther (among many others) have attempted to deconstruct the history of these fascinating pieces, and have drawn at least some conclusions that seem logical and supported by the relatively few known facts of the case.

In his monumental 1993 work Silver Dollars and Trade Dollars of the United States: A Complete Encyclopedia, Q. David Bowers outlines the following sequence of events: He believes the novodel dollars were produced from dies that Mint Director Samuel Moore instructed Chief Coiner Adam Eckfeldt to prepare in 1831, in anticipation of a resumption in the coining of silver dollars that never actually occurred. Since the Draped Bust motif had not been used on any U.S. coin since the 1808 half cent, Eckfeldt had to consult old Mint records to ascertain that 1804, 1803, and 1802 were the last years that dollar production featured this design. (What he did not know, however, was that the 1804 delivery contained dollars dated 1803.) By the end of 1831, the Philadelphia Mint had on hand one incomplete obverse die, three obverse dies dated 1802, 1803, and 1804, respectively, and two distinct reverse dies (designated X and Y by Eric P. Newman and Kenneth E. Bressett in their 1962 book The Fantastic 1804 Dollar). Between that year and 1836, the so-called Class I 1804 silver dollars, of which the King of Siam and Imam of Muscat specimens are the most famous examples, were produced.

The Bowers theory continues that after their completion sometime in 1831, the Mint locked the novodel dollar dies away for several decades, retrieving the 1804 obverse die along with reverse die X to strike the Class I or “Original” 1804 dollars between 1833 and 1836. The 1804 obverse die was reused, circa 1858, along with reverse die Y to strike the Class II and Class III specimens. The remaining four dies remained tucked away until the early 1870s. Sometime during 1873-1876, Mint Director Henry R. Linderman entered the story of the novodels. Under his direction, a Mint employee retrieved the 1802, 1803, and undated obverse dies from the vault, added stars and the 1801 date to the previously incomplete obverse die, mated the three obverses with reverse die X of the Class I 1804 dollar, and produced fewer than 25 novodels dated 1801-1803. To support this assessment, Bowers cites these facts:

“The Class I 1804 dollars all have weights that conform to the pre-1837 standard of 416 grains. The Class III 1804 dollars (produced sometime circa 1858) all have weights that conform to either the pre-1837 standard of 416 grains or the post-1837 standard of 412.5 grains. The 1801-1803 novodels, however, weigh between 419.5 and 423 grains. This spread is within the legal tolerance range of the 420 grain standard. Since the Trade dollar of 1873-1883 is the only coin that conformed to this standard, it seems nearly impossible that the Mint would have had planchets of this weight on hand during and earlier than the 1870s.”

Excerpts from pcgs.com, “Thoughts on Proof 1804 Original and Restrike Silver Dollars (and Their Cousins, the Proofs of 1801-1803)” by John Dannreuther, follow:

“The term that best seems to fit these coins is novodel, which denotes a coin struck from copy dies that are very similar but slightly different than original dies used for a particular series. … The 1801-1803 Proof dollars have long been called ‘Restrikes,’ but again this is a misnomer-they should also be called novodels as original dies were not employed in their striking, thus they are not restrikes of a previous coin. … Their striking quality seems to indicate a striking date of 1858 or later. They may have been made earlier but their weights indicate an even later period. However, I will give the three scenarios as I see them for the striking of the 1801-1803 coins…

“First scenario: These could have been struck between 1834 and 1849 (or pre-1858 as Breen speculates) around the same time as the Class I 1804 dollars with the same reverse. … Why would the post-1873 weight standard planchets be used is the main, and fatal, flaw with this theory. Also, the progressive rust pits on Reverse X make this time frame highly unlikely.

“Second scenario: Snowden (or the ‘Midnight Minters’) struck them in 1858-60. He could have seen the 1802 and 1803 dies, as well as the unfinished die. He had the unfinished die prepared with whatever was available to create the anomalous 1801-dated die. … The weight bugaboo again makes this an unlikely scenario. (All 1801-03 dollars are closer to the pre-1837 weight standard than the 412-grain standard in use during 1858-60.) The rust pits on Reverse X could have developed by this time, so the weight variance is the primary reason for doubting this era as the striking period. Also, none of these coins appeared on the numismatic marketplace until the mid-1870s.

“Third scenario: The X reverse die was the one stolen or ‘hidden in the Mint’ and Snowden destroyed Reverse Y thinking it was the ‘original’ as it was the one used on the plain-edge strikes of 1858-1860. Snowden may have not even known about the real ‘original’ Reverse X die. That the ‘Restrike’ reverse (Reverse Y) still existed until 1873 seems unlikely, as there are no Class III 1804 dollars struck on 420-grain planchets, while all 1801-03 Proofs are of the past-1873 standard. The fact that several Class III 1804 dollars are circulated and that virtually all 1801-03 coins are Proof 63 or higher makes one conclude that 1873 or later is the striking period for the 1801-03 dollars. The progressive rust pits on Reverse X lend even more credence for a much later striking date for the 1801-03 dollars than for the Class I 1804 dollars with that reverse. Since the size of the rust pit increases, a two or three year time frame is indicated for their striking.

“In summary, I think the case is very strong that all of the 1801-03 Proofs were made circa 1873-76, 1804 Class I dollars circa 1834-35, 1804 Class II and III dollars circa 1858-60, but one never knows! … If technology ever advances to the point that exact dating of coinage can be ascertained, we will have the answer to when these, and other restrikes/novodels, were struck. Until that time, the coin sleuths will have to expand on the theories and discoveries of their predecessors.”

Another of the more persistent theories concerning the origin of the 1801-1804 novodel dollars is the one that Walter Breen proposes in his Complete Encyclopedia. Breen asserts that, while the Class I 1804 novodel dollar dies were produced in the 1830s, those of the 1801-1803 pieces trace their roots to the 1850s. Sometime no later than 1858, an unknown party or parties retrieved the “original” 1804 dies of the 1830s from the chief coiner’s vault, along with Robert Scot’s old device punches, and created three new obverse dies backdated 1801, 1802, and 1803. On the latter two dies, the tip of a broken hair curl on the top of Liberty’s head was repaired by hand. The edge lettering on the 1801, 1802, and 1803 novodel proofs is “blundered” (like that on the Class III 1804 dollars), suggesting that this edge lettering was added to the coins by a Castaing machine at some later date, after they were first struck with plain edges. The pieces that these new dies produced remained in the hands of coin dealer William Idler for an unspecified period of time. In 1876, Idler’s son-in-law, Captain John W. Haseltine, revealed the coins to the numismatic community. He was unable to sell the pieces, according to Breen, because collectors dismissed them as fantasy pieces produced within the previous few months.

1. The Boyd Specimen: Captain John W. Haseltine; Virgil Brand; F.C.C. Boyd “World’s Greatest Collection” Sale (Numismatic Gallery, 1/1945), lot 119; Milfred H. Bolender (M.H. Bolender’s 183rd Sale 2/1952), lot 175; New York Collection; “Groves” Collection sale (Stack’s, 11/1974), lot 443; Four Landmark Collections Sale (Bowers and Merena, 3/1989), lot 1981; Superior Galleries, 1/1993, lot 615; The Rarities Sale (Bowers and Merena, 8/1999), lot 245. (Plate coin in Breen’s Proof Encyclopedia and his Complete Encyclopedia.)

2. The Cleneay Specimen: Captain John W. Haseltine; Thomas Cleneay Sale (S. Hudson Chapman and Henry Chapman, 12/1890), lot 949; Peter Mougey Sale (Thomas Elder, 9/1910), lot 962; John P. Lyman Sale (S. Hudson Chapman, 11/1913), lot 14; H.O. Granberg Sale (B. Max Mehl, 7/1919), lot 30; Virgil Brand (journal id #92339); B. Max Mehl private treaty sale 1/1937 to Ambassador and Mrs. R. Henry Norweb; Norweb Sale (Bowers and Merena, 11/1988), lot 3770; Don Hosier (Superior, 2/1991), not sold; Jack Lee Collection III (Heritage, 11/2005), lot 2199.

3. The Wilharm Specimen: Ex: Captain John W. Haseltine; Dr. G.F.E. Wilharm Collection (B. Max Mehl, 2/1921), lot 592; Virgil M. Brand Estate, via B.G. Johnson; William Forrester Dunham Collection (B. Max Mehl, 6/1941), lot 1055; 1942 ANA Convention Sale (Abe Kosoff); Michael F. Higgy Collection (Abe Kosoff, 9/1943), lot 817; Beverly Hills Stamp & Coin Co. (Max L. Justus FPL, 8/1957); Abe Kosoff; Ken Nichols; Newport Balboa Savings and Loan; Abe Kosoff; unknown intermediaries; Autumn Sale (Stack’s, 9/1978), lot 304; Ellis H. Robison Collection (Stack’s, 2/1982), lot 1884; Larry Whitlow; Larry Hanks (Superior, 7/1984), lot 171, not sold; subsequently sold by Larry Hanks to Pennsylvania collector; Harry Einstein Collection (Bowers & Merena, 6/1986), lot 1734; The Worrell Collection (Superior, 9/1993), lot 1301; Seymour Finkelstein Collection (Stack’s 10/1995), lot 696; Philip Flanagan Collection (Bowers & Merena, 11/2001), lot 4297.

4. The Newcomer Specimen: Captain John W. Haseltine; Waldo C. Newcomer; Colonel E.H.R. Green via B. Max Mehl (ca. 1932); Jack Roe Collection (B. Max Mehl, 6/1945), lot 427; Will W. Neil Collection (B. Max Mehl, 6/1947), lot 29; Amon Carter, Sr.; Amon Carter, Jr. (Stack’s, 1/1984), lot 239; L.R. French, Jr.-French Family Collection (Stack’s, 1/1989), lot 13; David Queller-Queller Family Collection. The present specimen. (Plate coin in Newman and Bressett’s The Fantastic 1804 Dollar.)

Photos and descriptions used with permission and courtesy of Heritage Auction Galleries

Unknown to Walter Breen and to our knowledge unrecorded in any reference, this is a coin that Breen would have said “carries its own credentials.” In his 1977 proof reference, Breen only records an 1892-O dollar as a Branch Mint proof. There is no mention of a half dollar. However, there is more of a reason for the New Orleans Mint to have produced a specimen half dollar than a dollar. It may well be that the half dollar was produced first, and the silver dollar struck as an afterthought. The significance of the 1892-O half dollar was addressed extensively in an article by Paul M. Green in the May 2, 2006, issue of Numismatic News:

” …the written information of the time suggests there was quite a bit of interest in the Columbian Exposition half dollars, which might have been natural as they were the first half dollar commemorative of the United States. The new dimes, quarters and half dollars for circulation were apparently not as interesting.

“There should have been some interest in the 390,000 Barber halves produced at New Orleans that year if for no other reason than the fact that half dollar production at New Orleans was unusual. The New Orleans facility had produced its last half dollar three decades earlier in 1861, when the Civil War was dividing the nation.

“The story behind the lack of New Orleans half dollar production was a simple one. After falling to state of Louisiana forces in 1861 and then being turned over to the Confederate States of America, the New Orleans facility had basically been allowed to decay. The same happened to the other Southern facilities, at Dahlonega, Ga., and Charlotte, N.C. What made New Orleans different was that it managed to come back to life, resuming U.S. coin production in the late 1870s.

“The New Orleans facility had another chance, unlike the Dahlonega and Charlotte Mints, for a couple reasons. The first was that there was some complaint in New Orleans that the deal that had given the government the land for the facility required that there be coin production. The second was that New Orleans had produced silver and gold issues, unlike Dahlonega and Charlotte which produced only gold. That entered the picture because it was becoming clear that the country had a problem with too much silver thanks to the Comstock Lode. … The ‘O’ Mint was, however, basically limited to silver dollars and gold until 1892 when the facility expanded to produce the new Barber issues.”

The hiatus of 31 years was reason enough to strike a specimen half dollar. A Branch Mint proof 1891-O quarter was listed in Breen’s 1977 Encyclopedia, an issue that was stuck after a similar 31-year hiatus. While there is no record of a Branch Mint proof dime, logic would dictate that such a coin should have been struck also since none had been produced since 1860 in New Orleans.

The surfaces of this piece are definitely different than any other 1892-O half dollar, and for that matter differ from any other Barber half except proofs. Brilliant throughout, the absence of color makes the finish of this piece accessible to all who view it. The fields are deep and shimmer with mirror-like intensity, once again unlike the finish on any Barber half except a proof. The devices are frosted and, in fact, a Cameo designation would not be out of line.

Twelve years ago, Experts at Heritage had the opportunity to closely examine the Branch Mint proof dollars from the Anita Maxwell Trust. One of the interesting conclusions they came to was that these pieces were definitely produced for some special purpose; however, the quality of die preparation in the various branch mints was uniformly not on par with that seen on proofs struck in the Philadelphia Mint.

One difference was the presence of unfinished areas of die polish on the dollars. On this half dollar, however, the only area that seen that is not completely polished is between the leaves on the olive branch. However, a similar tightly detailed area between the arrows does show complete die polishing. Close examination of this piece shows that the fields were heavily polished. So much so, in fact, that several of the devices appear attenuated (the stars above the eagle), and others (such as the stars on each side) have a “recessed” appearance. One can attribute this to heavy polishing of the dies, and a conscious effort to produce a uniformly mirror-like specimen.

What is curious is the lack of highpoint detail. One would think after so much effort was put into die preparation, the resultant coin would be fully struck. But what is seen here is a piece that shows typical O-mint softness on the upper lip of Liberty, the right (facing) leg of the eagle and claw. If this coin was struck twice, as would be expected from a specimen, then the dies were set too far apart to achieve complete definition. Most likely, though, the piece was struck only once–perhaps the New Orleans Mint personnel were unfamiliar with the practice of striking proofs twice, or striking detail was a secondary consideration to achieving a mirrorlike coin.

It is not a stretch to state that after all these years, this is likely a unique product from the New Orleans Mint.

Specifications:

Designer: Charles E. Barber
Mintage: 390,000 circulation – Unknown in Proof – Specimen believed to be Unique
Denomintion: $0.50
Diameter: ±30.6 millimeters
Metal content: Silver – 90% Copper – 10%
Weight: ±12.5 grams
Varieties: Reeded

Additional Resources :
“The Complete Guide To Certified Barber Coinage” by David & John Feigenbaum

Last Updated : 03/27/2008

Photos and descriptions used with permission and courtesy of Heritage Auction Galleries

Of the 373 1865 proof silver dollars that have been certified as of (1/08) by both NGC and PCGS combined, the current coin stands above all others with regard to state of preservation and technical grade. A smattering of examples exist at the PR66 and PR67 levels, but only one, the piece offered here, has been awarded the seemingly unattainable grade of PR68. The fields are deeply mirrored and the devices display significant mint frost which yields an unacknowledged cameo contrast beneath the multiple layers of toning. Rose and sea-green toning are seen over each side to varying degrees of intensity. The devices are fully struck in all areas, as one would expect. What is unexpected, however, are the extraordinarily clean surfaces. We simply do not see any defects on this coin.

Although 46,500 Seated dollars dated 1865 were struck for circulation, the number of survivors is comparable to that of the 500 proof coins produced that same year. According to Bowers in his seminal work on the subject, Silver Dollars & Trade Dollars of the United States (1993), the reason for this fact is twofold: most of mintage of 1865 business strike dollars were exported to Central and South America whereas the full production of 500 proof pieces were distributed with the 1865 silver proof sets. Today fewer than 400 business strikes are extant, with the vast majority of those survivors in circulated grades. Approximately the same number of proof examples are available today, based on a thorough review of auction records, population data and independent analyses of numismatic researchers. The problem encountered by advanced collectors of business strike Seated dollars, however, is the fact that few Mint State pieces dated 1865 exist. The inclusion of a high grade proof specimen into one’s regular issue collection is often a tempting, and sometimes the only option.

Breen (1977) claims to have seen one of the 1865 proof sets as produced by the Mint: “I have since seen one in original case of issue, black morocco, lined with blue satin and aquamarine plush … .” When contemplating how an 1865 proof silver dollar could have survived 143 years in Superb Gem condition, it is easy to visualize a piece that was struck with great care under perfect conditions and immediately placed into one of the original proof set cases as described by Breen. While most of the early sets were disassembled over the years and handled with less than perfect care, this proof dollar was under the constant custodianship of an astute numismatist, or put away and forgot about throughout the decades. Whatever the case may be, numismatists of our time rejoice in the fact that this coin has defied the odds.

Regardless of state of preservation or ranking in the Condition Census, all 1865 proof Seated dollars are imbued with historical significance. 1865 was the final year of the Civil War, but it is important to note that all 500 proof silver dollars of this date were issued between February 25 and March 24. Mere days later and approximately 300 miles to the south, General Robert E. Lee surrendered his Confederate Army to Union commander Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865 at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. The current piece has not changed since the instant it was struck and, as such, is a time capsule of America’s history and a numismatic masterpiece.