Staggering Price for the 1794 Silver Dollar

The silver dollar was one of the earliest species to be issued from the United States Mint. Though, the Mint came into existence in 1792, red tape and cumbersome legal requirements deterred the official casting in precious metals until 1794. Unconfirmed accounts suggest that total 1,578 coins were struck in the year 1794. The entire lot was minted using a single pair of dies in one day, on October 15, 1794. Consequently, the strikes gradually became less prominent, resulting in the outright rejection of a large number of silver dollars. It is believed that today only 120 to 130 coins are available in acceptable net mintage. Therefore, the 1794 silver dollar is treated as a rare issue.

The Congress mandated that the design for the silver dollar was to feature ‘Liberty’ and commissioned the task to engraver Robert Scot. The obverse of the coin portrays the side view of the face of a young woman with freely flowing hair. This hairstyle is particularly symbolic of ‘freedom.’ The word ‘LIBERTY’ is engraved at the top along the circumference with fifteen stars representing the states. The lower portion contains the year of issue. The reverse side shows a bald eagle with outspread wings, encircled by laurel branches on either side. The eagle is depicted sitting on a rock and looking towards its left. The country’s name is engraved along the circumference.

The then Director of the US Mint, David Rittenhouse distributed some of the pieces as mementos to some VIPs, put some into the common circulation, while retained some of them. The uncirculated silver dollars are very few in number and are available in mint state grade, commanding very high valuations. On May 20, 2010, one such coin was sold under a private treaty sale at a stunning price of $7.85 million. This constitutes the highest value transaction in precious metal coins in the world and surpasses a previous record of $7.59 for a 1933 American Double Eagle (gold). The President of the Rare Coins Wholesalers, Steven L. Contursi sold it to Cardinal Collection Educational Foundation, California, after holding it for last seven years.

Many analysts and experts believe that this particular piece is the first silver dollar ever struck. However, concrete evidence to this effect is not available. The dollar retains its pristine shape, making it more significant than its other counterparts do. The visible file marks were created to make the metal content precise to the face value. Martin Loges of Sunnyvale Foundation, California stated, “Of all the rarities I have seen or heard of, there is no doubt in my mind that this is the single most important of all, the very first silver dollar. This is the coin that has it all.”