Q. David Bowers
Distribution of Lafayette Dollars Relatively few Lafayette silver dollars were sold to coin collectors, and not much excitement appeared in print concerning them in the American Journal of Numismatics, The Numismatist, or in dealers' catalogues of the day. By a year or two later examples were available on the market for less than the $2 issue price. Reporting in The Numismatist, January 1903, on a meeting of the Providence (Rhode Island) Curio & Numismatic Association, George C. Arnold noted: "Another member stated that early in November when over to New York, he had purchased four Lafayette dollars for $1.10 each, and these you remember were issued at $2.00 each, the total issue being only 50,000." Arnold went on to relate: "Some 1,800 were left in the hands of the committee, 10,000 being returned from France."
Over a period of time approximately 36,000 Lafayette dollars were distributed. It is believed that some of the pieces were released into circulation at face value, and it is a certainty that many who acquired them at a $2 premium subsequently tired of them and simply spent the pieces, for today it is not unusual to see examples in grades such as Extremely Fine and AU. The unsold remainder, amounting to 14,000 coins, went to the Treasury Building in Washington, D.C., where unknown to collectors the pieces were stored in cloth bags of 1,000 each in the same vault used to store large bundles of currency (including $5,000 and $10,000 notes). In the meantime Lafayette dollars had become desirable numismatic items.
In 1945 the Treasury Department converted the pieces to silver bullion, not realizing that the coins could have been sold at 10 times face value or more. Aubrey and Adeline Bebee, dealers who specialized in commemoratives, learned of the cache from government records, but, upon contacting the Treasury Department, found that their inquiry did not come in time to save their destruction.
Collecting Lafayette Dollars
Interestingly, the Lafayette silver dollar was produced in several different die combinations, which have been described by George H. Clapp, Howland Wood, David M. Bullowa,and other numismatists. (The general descriptions given here are from The Commemorative Coins of the United States, David M. Bullowa, 1938, p. 20. Also see The Encyclopedia of u.s. Silver & Gold Commemorative Coins, Anthony Swiatek and Walter Breen, 1980, pp. 129-130.)
The following is adapted from the descriptions given by David M. Bullowa in 1938:
Obverse 1: With a small point on the bust of Washington. The tip of Lafayette's bust is over the top of the L in DOLLAR. AT in STATES is cut high.
Obverse 2: With left foot of the final A in AMERICA recut, and with the A in STATES high. Second S in STATES repunched (this is diagnostic).
Obverse 3: With AT in STATES recut and the final S low. The letters F in OF and LAP A YETTE are broken from the lower tip of the crossbar and to the right base extension, and AMERICA is spaced as A ME RI C A. The period after OF is close to the A of AMERICA. The tip of Lafayette's vest falls to the right of the top of the first L in DOLLAR.
Obverse 4: With C in AMERICA repunched at the inside top (this is diagnostic). With CA in AMERICA differently spaced from the obverses just described.
Reverse A: With 14 long leaves and long stem. Tip of lowest leaf over 1 of 1900.
Reverse B: With 14 shorter leaves and short stem. Tip of lowest leaf over space between 1 and 9 in 1900.
Reverse C: With 14 medium leaves and short, bent stem. Tip of lowest leaf over 9 in 1900.
Reverse D: With 15 long leaves and short, bent stem. Tip of lowest leaf over 9 in 1900.
Reverse E: Tip of lowest leaf over space left of 1 in 1900.
The rarity ratings, slightly modified from those assigned by Swiatek and Breen, are as follows. (Variety 4-E was unknown to Swiatek and Breen in 1980 but is mentioned by Waiter Breen in his 1990 appendix to the second printing of the work.)
1-A: Scarce.
1-B: Most often seen variety.
1-C: Very rare. Reported by Anthony Swiatek in 1980.
2-C: Rare
3-D: Very rare.
4-E: Very rare. Discovered by Frank DuVall and first published in 1988. (The Commemorative Trail, Fail 1988. p. 14.)
As a professional numismatist I have never received a want list for die varieties of Lafayette silver dollars-probably because the cost of Mint State coins is such that most collectors are satisfied with owning just one example to illustrate the type.
Lafayette dollars are fairly plentiful today. The majority of specimens encountered are apt to grade from AU-50 to MS-60. Cleaned and polished coins are common. MS-63 and finer examples are very elusive, and pristine MS-65 coins are rare and highly prized. In fact, of all silver commemoratives, the Lafayette dollar in higher Mint State levels is one of the most elusive.
GRADING SUMMARY: As noted in the preceding commentary, no care was taken at the time of striking to create or preserve carefully pieces for collectors, and most Lafayette dollars showed planchet contact marks, particularly at the centers of both sides, before they left the Mint. (Most such marks seen on otherwise high-grade Mint State coins seem to be planchet abrasions. from the original blank planchet surface still visible at the center, due to incomplete striking up in that area (per a comment from Bill Fivaz to the author. February 3. 1991).) By the time they were distributed, most coins were in a grade less than what we would call MS-63 today. Many seen on the present market have imperfect lustre and dull finishes. Most have marks due to handling and storage in bags. The reverses of many often lack detail. Some people have searched for a "rounded, full boot" on the Lafayette statue depicted on the reverse of the coin. Nearly all coins show friction and/or contact marks on the cheek of George Washington. To a lesser extent such evidences will also be seen on Lafayette's bust on the obverse and on the higher parts of the statue on the reverse. Most coins have fields that are somewhat satiny, a characteristic of the reverse, in particular. Watch out for cleaned, polished, or overdipped coins, and beware of deeply toned coins which mask friction or wear. Attractive Lafayette dollars are very difficult to find, and you may have to reject quite a few before you find one that is aesthetically pleasing. This coin is quite underrated in this regard.