Q. David Bowers
The 1804 dollar-is it truly "The King of American Coins," or, as Eric P. Newman and Kenneth E. Bressett have suggested, is it an impostor to the throne?
Is the 1836 Gobrecht dollar a pattern or a regular issue? How can one tell if such a coin is a restrike?
The 1845 Liberty Seated dollar-why is it a rarity in Uncirculated grade?
The 1870-S Liberty Seated dollar-how rare is it? The 1873-S Liberty Seated dollar-will any be discovered?
What is the "tail feathers situation" among 1878 Morgan dollars?
The 1883-S Morgan dollar, or the 1894-S dollar, or the 1890-CC dollar, or the 1903-S dollar, or the 1879-O dollar (or virtually any other Morgan dollar you care to name)-how many were distributed, how many were melted, how many exist today in Uncirculated grade?
Will anyone ever find an 1887/6-S Morgan dollar? What are the chances?
The 1921 Peace dollar-why is it not recognized as a separate type?
Why were so many 1922 High Relief Peace dollars melted?
The 1934-S dollar-how rare is it?
The 1964-D Peace dollar-does one exist today?
Why are Uncirculated low-mintage 1878-CC trade dollars more plentiful than Uncirculated high-mintage 1876-CCs?
Such questions contribute to the fascination of numismatics.
As the largest silver denomination made for circulation in America, the silver dollar always has been popular with collectors. The series (including later dad-metal issues without silver) can be divided into convenient categories:
1. Early silver dollars dated 1794-1804. These are of three design types: (a) Flowing Hair obverse, Small Eagle reverse, dated 1794-795. (b) Draped Bust Obverse, Small Eagle reverse (the "small eagle" being different from the preceding, however), dated 1795-1798. (c) Draped Bust obverse, Heraldic Eagle reverse, dated 1798-1804.
2. Gobrecht silver dollars dated 1836 and 1839.
The 1836 has no stars on the obverse and stars on the reverse, while the 1839 has stars on the obverse and no stars on the reverse. (1838 Gobrecht dollars are strictly patterns.)
3. Liberty Seated silver dollars dated 1840-1873.
These are of two types: (a) Without Motto, 1840 to 1865 plus the anomalous 1866. (b) With IN GOD WE TRUST, 1866 to 1873.
4. Morgan silver dollars dated 1878-1921.
5. Peace silver dollars dated 1921-1935, plus the
supposedly vanished 1964-D.
6. Eisenhower dollars dated 1971-1978.
7. Susan B. Anthony dollars dated 1979-1981.
8. One-ounce silver bullion "eagle" dollars 1986 to date.
9. Trade dollars (actually, a separate denomination) dated 1873-1885.
10. Commemorative silver dollars 1900 Lafayette to date.
Each of these dollar types forms a section of the present work.
My first silver dollar was all 1886 Morgan, grade unknown and later lost; given to me at birth-an omen of what was to come in my life! In addition to owning and having read much numismatic and historical literature on the subject, I enjoy silver dollars and have handled more than my share of them, ranging from multiple examples of the famed 1804 and 1870-S, and what may be the finest 1794, to the rare 1884 and 1885 trade dollars, and more-including countless common coins.
I have to be objective here; and while it is professionally stimulating to handle an Uncirculated 1794 Flowing Hair silver dollar, buying and selling thousands of common-date Morgan dollars pays the electricity, insurance bills, etc., at the office. One of the most enjoyable times I have ever had in my career was looking through unsorted Treasury-stored bags of Liberty Seated silver dollars, not of rarities or of Mint State coins, but of worn pieces from 1840 through 1873.