Q. David Bowers
1794 $1 Sold for Face Value (1916)
The Numismatist, June 1916, page 294 reported an article from the Cincinnati Times-Star, April 20, 1916, which noted the following: "A silver dollar of 1794, the first standard dollar ever coined by the United States, was received at the United States SubTreasury Wednesday from a Louisville Bank, and it was redeemed as a one dollar Silver Certificate."
Venn on "Daddy Dollars" (1921)
The Numismatist, November 1921, contained an article, "Are the 'Daddy Dollars' Again Corning Into Their Own?" by Theodore J. Venn. The author was especially interested in the subject of coin popularity and investment and was a few decades ahead of most other writers in this field:
"There was a time, far beyond the recollection of our present generation of numismatists, when our earliest silver dollars, the 'dollars of our daddies,' or 'daddy dollars,' as they were usually called, were the most popular coins among American collectors. This was years before the collecting of large United States cents became general and when these coins and the half cents still constituted our active copper circulation.
"These early dollars, with their fine hair lines, (QDB note: A reference to the finely detailed hair strands of Miss Liberty on the 1798-1803 Draped Bust portrait) unquestionably made a strong appeal-to the artistic eye, and many people therefore saved the few specimens that chanced to fall into their hands. From the time of their introduction ill 1794 until the date of their suspension in 1803 (or 1804, as some will have it) fewer than 1,500,000 of these coins, all told, had been struck, so it will be readily seen that they could not have had much circulation among the people at large.
"During the lapse of 36 or 37 years which followed prior to the resumption of silver-dollar coinage for general circulation in 1840 with a change of type, collectors eagerly sought these 'daddy dollars' and paid large premiums for them. During the long hiatus the silver dollars had, so to speak, become obsolete, and many non-collectors who possessed a few of the coins became so attached to them that they refused to part with their specimens for any reasonable consideration. To some degree they had become heirlooms. And this continued for many years after the new type dollars made their appearance, for these were not 'daddy dollars.'
"In examining early coin auction catalogues and price lists of the dealers of bygone days one will be surprised at the' quotations for some of these dollars, even In Good or VG condition, as compared to what they had been bringing for about 20 years until the recent reaction in their favor set in. And the surprise will be increased when one stops to figure the vast difference between the purchasing power of money in those days and in our own.
"It is difficult to attribute a cause for the decrease in interest in the early silver Coinage which took place about a Score or so years ago, unless it be laid to the influence of the pre-ponderant number of collectors of copper coins who had entered the numismatic ranks within more recent years. This and a decline or absence of interest in the antique on the part of those into whose hands the 'daddy dollars' had chanced to fall, thus temporarily glutting the coin market, would have been sufficient to bring about the condition that then prevailed.
"The advent of so many new collectors within the past two years, however, has entirely changed the aspect of affairs and those who have been steadfast in their affection for the 'daddy dollars' are about to be rewarded by seeing them once more come into their own. So many of the younger generation among the numismatists are showing a preference for these old dollars that bind us to the past that they probably will place them on a pinnacle higher than they formerly occupied, and the early silver half dollars, for which they also show a strong fancy, appear slated for deliverance from the slough of despondence in which they so long have been floundering. In fact, they have been on the upward trend for a year or more.
"The numismatist who is inclined to doubt the good news need but examine his dealer's stock or make inquiries from collectors who unsuccessfully have been trying to secure some of the dates and varieties of the early dollars during the past year. Fortunately for the collector who wishes merely a specimen or two, the 1798, 1799 and 1800 still are readily procurable, but in most instances it is a different story with the other dates. A review of the auction sales of recent months also will show that the offerings have greatly decreased.
"It is to be hoped the tribe of 'daddy-dollar' collectors will continue to increase. Every true numismatist will be glad to learn that the shadows finally have lifted from these rare antiques that have been in partial eclipse so long."
More From Venn (1922)
The Numismatist, January 1922, carried more from Venn, under the title of "Liberty Dollars, 'Daddy' Dollars, Et Al.":
"When the writer contributed a short article to the November issue of The Numismatist on the 'daddy' dollars, he was aware there was a misconception on the part of some collectors as to which issue of United States silver dollars was really entitled to the appellation, but it is only within the past few weeks he has learned so many have been led into the delusion that the term applies to the 'Liberty-seated' dollars, the coinage of which began in 1840.
"There is a slight excuse for this error, as it is partially based on custom, but custom frequently rests upon a false foundation and manages to perpetuate itself, nevertheless. Custom grows rapidly, but it is often a poor schoolmaster. For instance, custom wrongfully causes us to turn a German into a Dutchman and to shock purists with such expressions as 'ain't' for 'isn't,' etc. Hence a small additional explanation as to the early dollars may not come amiss. The historical facts are as follows:
"When coinage on the first issue of dollars, also frequently called 'Liberty' dollars, was suspended, they soon went out of active circulation and few people saw any of them. When shown one of the coins, the exhibitor often was wont to remark, 'These were the dollars of the daddies'-hence 'daddy' dollars. Finally, to the average man, they became a mere tradition. When the later issue appeared in 1840, many of the younger generation who had heard the older issue referred to as 'daddy' dollars would exclaim, 'We again have the dollars of our daddies,' and thus the custom grew until it finally even made some inroads on collectors, who also began to accept the term 'daddy' dollars for the later issue. But this error on the part of custom does not make the earlier dollar lose any of its prerogatives-it is still the 'daddy' dollar." (Notwithstanding this article, it is a fact that the Treasury Department called Liberty Seated dollars "daddies" and "daddy dollars." (See Liberty Seated section of this book.) However, traditionally the term was applied in numismatics to dollars of the 1794-1803 years, as Venn relates.)