Q. David Bowers
As the preceding commentary indicates, the Lewis and Clark coins were not popular. In the numismatic community commemorative gold dollars were an anathema, and collectors, who had recently paid $3 each for 1903-dated Louisiana Purchase Exposition gold dollars and who now found they were worth $2 each or less and virtually unsalable even at that low price, were not interested in buying more coins of the same denomination, even though the issue was of a different design. Apparently, Lewis and Clark gold dollars dated 1905, released a year later, were even less popular.
Very little information concerning the 1904 and 1905 Lewis and Clark gold dollars appeared in the numismatic press, and it can be supposed that the editor of The Numismatist, Dr. George F. Heath, who had condemned the folly of the earlier 1903-dated Louisiana Purchase Exposition gold dollars, simply elected not to print any publicity notices that Zerbe may have sent in. In any event there was very little said about the 1904-1905 Lewis and Clark coins in contemporary publications. However, the July 1904 issue of the American Journal of Numismatics noted that the first 25,000 of the new souvenir dollars had been received by the First National Bank of Portland, Oregon from the Philadelphia Mint. "They will be sold for $2 each, and to the purchaser of five an additional one will be presented," the account related.
The Lewis and Clark Exposition took place in Portland, Oregon in 1905, so the idea of producing pieces dated 1904 is subject to question. In any event, Zerbe, who did not have a permanent address and who at the time was constantly travelling around the United States, utilized the firm of D.M. Averill & Company, 331 Morrison Street, Portland, to handle orders by mail, whereas Zerbe himself sought to sell quantities to dealers by mail and at the fair in 1905 to the general public. Other coins were sold locally through banks and other outlets. In early 1905 Averill offered 1904-dated dollars by mail at $2.50 each and 1905 pieces for $2 each, falsely noting concerning the 1904 coins: "These are nearly exhausted." Copying the strategy used in an attempt to spur sales of Louisiana Purchase Exposition gold dollars at the St. Louis World's Fair, Zerbe also offered brooches, stickpins, and even silver spoons in which the Lewis and Clark gold dollars were mounted.
Relatively little else is known concerning the distribution of the Lewis and Clark gold dollars, and although approximately 10,000 of each 1904 and 1905 were saved from the melting pot, today the coins are much rarer than these figures indicate. Lewis and Clark Exposition gold dollars are at least several times rarer than the 1903-dated Louisiana Purchase Exposition issues. The present writer supposes that relatively few were sold to numismatists or moved in bulk to dealers such as B. Max Mehl. Instead, judging from the condition of most examples known today, the majority must have gone to the general public-if not at the Lewis and Clark Exposition itself, then additionally at later fairs and expositions in which Zerbe maintained concessions.
Collecting Lewis and Clark Exposition Gold Dollars
Most extant examples of 1904 and 1905 Lewis and Clark Exposition gold dollars show evidence of handling. Typical grades range from AU-50 to AU-58 with an occasional coin grading in the MS-60 to MS-63 range. Ms-64 coins are difficult to find, and MS-65 pieces are rare. It is usual for Mint State coins to have areas of prooflike finish.
The 1905-dated issue is at least 20% scarcer than the 1904. It may have been the case that quantities of 1905 coins in the possession of Zerbe were never officially returned for melting but were simply cashed in at face value or melted in 1933. In any event, among all commemorative gold coins of this denomination, the Lewis and Clark issues of 1904 and 1905 are Singularly distinctive for their rarity in higher grades. They are far rarer than any other commemorative gold dollar varieties.
GRADING SUMMARY: Check the portraits on both sides for evidence of friction, which is usually there. Use medium magnification and a strong light. While some specimens are deeply lustrous and frosty, most are partially prooflike. Pristine coins are very rare.
Commemorating: Centennial of the Lewis and Clark expedition to explore the Louisiana Territory
Obverse motif: Portrait of Meriwether Lewis
Reverse motif: Portrait of William Clark
Authorization date: April 13, 1904
Date on coins: 1904
Date when coins were actually minted: 1904
Mint used: Philadelphia
Maximum quantity authorized: 250,000 (total for 1904-and 1905-dated coins)
Total quantity minted (including assay coins): 25,028
Assay coins (included in above): 28
Quantity melted: 15,003
Net number distributed (including assay coins): 10,025
Issued by: Lewis and Clark Centennial and American Pacific Exposition and Oriental Fair Company, Portland, Oregon (sales through Farran Zerbe and others)
Standard original packaging: Some mounted in spoons, brooches, and stick pins Official sale price: $2 (some at $2.50), sold by at least one vendor in quantity at $10 for six pieces
Designer of obverse and reverse: Charles E. Barber
Interesting facts: This is the first commemorative gold coin issue to be struck in more than one year; it is a two-headed coin with a portrait on each side.
(average market prices)
1910 MS-60 to 63 $2.50
1915 MS-60 to 63 $3.25
1920 MS-60 to 63 $5
1925 MS-60 to 63 $8
1930 MS-60 to 63 $12
1935 MS-60 to 63 $13
1936 (summer) MS-60 to 63 $15
1940 MS-60 to 63 $19
1945 MS-60 to 63 $45
1950 MS-60 to 63 $50
1955 MS-60 to 63 $130
1960 MS-60 to 63 $225
1965 MS-60 to 63 $400
1970 MS-60 to 63 $300
1975 MS-60 to 63 $975
1980 MS-60 to 63 $5,500
1985 MS-60 to 63 $2,250
1986 MS-60 $1,200, MS-63 $2,350, MS-64 $3,250, MS-65 $6,250
1990 (spring) MS-60 $1,200, MS-63 $4,350, MS-64 $8,500, MS-65 $17,500
1990 (December) MS-60 $1,125, MS-63 $2,950, MS-64 $5,500, MS-65 $8,250