1804 Silver Dollar
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 jokes aside the 1804 Dollar is a Numismatics dream. This coin is a rare American Treasure. Several even more rare strikes were issued and given to several prominent figures around the world. 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. BeiQian Best Morgan Silver Dollars-(1804-1926) Coin Collecting-Silver Dollar USA Old Original Pre Morgan Dollar goodService 1921. Instant Indian Head Cent Collection - 10 Different More Than 100 Year Old Dates #1 Best Seller Unsearched Wheat Penny Shot Gun. The 1804 Draped Bust Silver Dollar is one of the most publicized and famous of all US coins. The 1804 silver dollars are also some of the rarest and most valuable of all US coins. This is sometimes known as the 'King of Coins'. There are also a few varieties of these coins and only around 20.
Lately, we have experienced a sharp rise in calls from people who want to know how much their 1804 silver dollar is worth. Unfortunately, if you have one of these coins you should assume it is a counterfeit. Instead of being worth millions of dollars these coins have no value at all.For if you had a real one of these (only 15 exist) you would certainly know it.
Counterfeit coins are designed to defraud people who are unfamiliar with authentic ones.
If you are approached by a person on the street with rare coins for sale don’t be tempted. They are a loser at any price and, whatever his story is, you don’t want anything to do with him and his coins.
Counterfeit coins often have poor details, may be attracted to a magnet (real silver coins are notmagnetic), and land with a thud when you drop them on a table. But only an experienced numismatist can tell for sure.
Typical counterfeit 1804 dollars have reeded edges. Authentic ones have either lettered or plain edges and proof surfaces. Thus, identifying an 1804 counterfeit can be quite straight forward.
1804 Silver Dollar
Other commonly counterfeited dollars are the 1887-CC Morgan dollar, and Trade dollars dated 1799 or 1872. You can be certain that every 1887-CC Morgan dollar is counterfeit because the Carson City mint did not make any silver dollars in 1887 including 1886 and 1888. The U.S. Mint did not make Trade dollars prior to 1873 so you can be sure that the 1799 and 1872 Trade dollars are counterfeit as well.
Chinese counterfeits of U.S. coins are on the rise
1804 Silver Dollar Price
To drive the point further, a man came to our shop the other day with 15 silver dollars – every one a counterfeit; 3 of them dated 1804. He said he had paid $500 for them. Each of them was attracted to a strong magnet. Needless to say he was disappointed with his sidewalk purchase. Had they been real they would be worth $40 million.
So unless you are an experienced coin collector, you can best protect yourself from potential loss by following these guidelines:
- Avoid online purchases from businesses whose membership with the American Numismatic Association (ANA) or Professional Numismatists Guild (PNG) cannot be verified. Athough eBay has strict rules regarding the sale of counterfeit coins, they are not immune to violations
- Unless you know the seller, do not to buy coins at garage sales, flea markets or from street vendors
- Purchase coins from reputable and established coin dealers with experience
- If a dealer tells you that your coins are counterfeit and you are convinced of this, destroy and discard the coins yourself. Do not sell them.
If you want to be assured that your coins are genuine, visit our Bound Brook, NJ coin shop for a free no-obligation written appraisal. It is advisable to have your coins authenticated if you expect to pass them on to a relative. Also, should you ever wish to sell your coins for needed cash, you can avoid an unexpected financial jam by getting them checked out beforehand. You’ll be glad you did.
One of the most talked-about and sought-after, hence one of the most expensive silver coins is the controversial 1804 Silver Dollar coin. This particular set of coins has become famous and controversial due to its peculiar and colorful history. I know we would all agree that rarity and uniqueness are major qualities that greatly add beauty and mystery to any collectible item. And these are just what the 1804 Silver Dollar coins have over other more common silver coins.
To start with, the 1804 Silver Dollar coins were not really minted during that year. Coins minted in 1804 actually bore the date of 1803 because the government reused old dies from that previous year. Silver coins bearing the year 1804 were not struck until the year 1834. Secondly, 1804 Silver coins were not meant to be circulated. They were specifically and specially created as gifts. In 1834, the U.S. Department of State created the first set of 1804 Silver Dollar Coins with the purpose of giving them away to certain Asian rulers as gifts. The government presented these gifts with the hope of gaining trading advantages with the rulers. There are seven of these coins in existence and they constitute the Class I, or the originals, of 1804 Silver Dollar Coins. One was given to the King of Siam, King Rama III; another one was given to the Sultan of Oman and Muscat, Said Bin Sultan; and one was kept at a museum. No one knows exactly what happened to the remaining five silver coins because the then ambassador Edmund Roberts passed away during the expedition.
Then, sometime between the years 1858 and 1860, one Mint employee by the name of Theodore Eckfeld reproduced a couple of sets of 1804 Silver Dollar coins without authorization. Mr. Eckfeld struck these illegal silver coins using improvised dies. The first set, which is said to comprise of around fifteen coins, is known today as the Class II of the 1804 Silver Dollar coins. Mr. Eckfeld sold these to unknowing coin collectors in Philadelphia. Being illegally created, the U.S. government searched and confiscated these coins. Today, only one of these Class II 1804 Silver Coins remains and it’s kept at the Smithsonian Institution.
The second set of illegally struck silver coins is known today as Class III of the 1804 Silver Coins. There are seven of these coins that are known to exist. These coins bear a huge resemblance to the Class I coins and are harder to distinguish, except for a few differences that are invisible to the untrained eye. And unfortunately, they already got into the hands of collectors before the die from which they were struck was confiscated in 1860 by the director of Mint, Mr. James Ross Snowden.