| United States | |
| Value | 1.00 U.S. dollar |
|---|---|
| Mass | Class I - 26.96 g (0.867 ozt) Class II - 24.711 g (0.794 ozt) [1] Class III - 27.15-27.41 g (0.872-0.881 troy oz) |
| Diameter | 39-40 mm (1.53-1.57 in) |
| Thickness | ? mm |
| 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 |
| Obverse | |
| Design | Bust of Liberty facing right |
| Designer | Robert Scot |
| Design date | 1804 |
| Reverse | |
| Design | Heraldic representation of the Great Seal of the United States with UNITED STATES OF AMERICA around the rim |
| Designer | Robert Scot |
The 1804 Silver Dollar or Bowed Liberty 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. Divided into "Classes," 15 specimens are known. Eight 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. One comprises Class II and six 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.
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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.[2][3] Silver dollars dated 1804 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.[2][3]
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 five 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.[4] 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 $900 million.
| Class I Specimens | ||
|---|---|---|
| Image | Name | Provenance/Notes |
| U.S. Mint Specimen | Retained for the US Mint collection; transferred to the Smithsonian Institution as a part of the National Coin Collection. | |
| Stickney - Eliasberg Specimen | ||
| Cohen - ANA Specimen | Stolen in 1967 from Willis DuPont; recovered in 1993. Currently displayed at the American Numismatic Association Museum in Colorado Springs. | |
| Mickley - Reed Hawn Specimen | Obtained by Joseph J. Mickley. Sold at auction for $3,725,000 by Heritage Auction Galleries, May 2008, as part of the Queller Family Collection[5] | |
| Parmelee - Byron Reed Specimen | Once owned by Byron Reed; now in the custody of the Durham Western Heritage Museum of Omaha. ICG Proof-64. | |
| Dexter Specimen | ||
| Watters-Childs Specimen | Believed to have come from the Sultan of Muscat's proof set. Graded PCGS Proof-68. | |
| King of Siam Specimen | Part of the King of Siam Proof Set; "Brilliant Gem Proof" Graded PCGS PR-67. | |
Between 1858 and 1860, a small number of 1804 silver dollars were illegally struck by an employee of the Mint named Theodore Eckfeldt, and sold to coin collectors through a store in Philadelphia. Two parts of the minting process were improvised by Eckfeldt, striking the 1804 dies into another coin, and using a different but similar reverse die having the lettering and clouds positioned slightly differently than the Class I and Class III specimens.[1] The number of coins minted is believed to be between ten and fifteen, struck with two separate coin dies, known to numismatists as "Class II." The illegally minted coins were hunted down and seized by officials of the Mint. Today, only one Class II coin exists, residing at the Smithsonian Institution. It is alleged that it has been struck over a modified Swiss Shooting Thaler issued for the Shooting Festival in Bern dated 1857.[1]
| Class II Specimen | ||
|---|---|---|
| Image | Name | Provenance/Notes |
| U.S. Mint Specimen; a.k.a. "Shooting Thaler" Silver Dollar | Specimen was retained for the US Mint collection after seizure of other specimens minted illegally. Now part of the National Coin Collection held by the Smithsonian Institution. | |
The Class III specimens were produced sometime between 1858 and 1860, also made by Theodore Eckfeldt. Although similar to the Class I coins, there are differences. There are seven known Class III specimens, which can be distinguished from Class I pieces by their reverse design, lettered edge found on Class I, and weak design.[6] The die from which the Class III specimens were made was seized by Mint Director James Ross Snowden in 1860, but by this time several were in collectors' hands.
| Class III Specimens | ||
|---|---|---|
| Image | Name | Provenance/Notes |
| Berg - Garrett Specimen | ||
| Adams - Carter Specimen | Sold at auction for $2.3 million by Heritage Auction Galleries, April 2009[7] | |
| Davis - Wolfson Specimen | ||
| Linderman - DuPont Specimen | On display at the headquarters of the American Numismatic Association. | |
| Rosenthal - ANS Specimen | On display at the headquarters of the American Numismatic Society. | |
| Idler - Bebee Specimen | Displayed at American Numismatic Association headquarters. | |
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.[8]
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.[9]
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