Q. David Bowers
(Years Combined)
Business Strikes:
Enabling legislation: Act of April 2, 1792
Designer of obverse: Robert Scot (after Stuart), model by John Eckstein
Designer of reverse: Robert Scot (from the Great Seal)
Weight and composition: 416 grains; .8924 silver, balance copper
Melting value (silver bullion value) in year minted: $1.03+
Dies prepared: Unknown
Business strike mintage, calendar year: 41,650 (all varieties of 1802 combined; may include some struck from dies dated earlier; figures do not include pieces reserved for the Assay Commission; these are given in parentheses); Delivery figures by day: January 26: 731 (+1); March 8: 9,110 (+3); June 22: 8,710 (+2); August 27: 957 (+2); November 8: 10,220 (+1); December 8: 3,240 (+1); December 29: 8,682 (+1).
Estimated business strike mintage of 1802-dated dollars (author's estimate): 80,000 (rounded).
Estimated quantity melted: Unknown
1802/1 OVERDATE
Approximate population MS-65 or better: 0 (URS-0)
Approximate population MS-64: 0 (URS-0)
Approximate population MS-63: 2 to 4 (URS-2)
Approximate population MS-60 to 62: 4 to 8 (URS-3)
Approximate population AU-50 to 58: 13 to 26 (URS-5)
Approximate population VF-20 to EF-45: 700 to 1,200 (URS-11)
Approximate population G-4 to F-15: 350 to 650 (URS-10)
Approximate population for all grades combined: 1,100 to 1,900 (URS-12)
CONDITION CENSUS: 63-63-60 (multiples)
AVERAGE AUCTION APPEARANCE (for all varieties combined): VF-24
Characteristics of striking: Depends upon the variety. If weakly struck, this is often observed at the center of the obverse and among the stars above the eagle on the reverse.
Known hoards of Mint State coins: None
1802
Approximate population MS-65 or better: 0 or 1 (URS-1)
Approximate population MS-64: 0 or 1 (URS-1)
Approximate population MS-63: 8 to 15 (URS-5)
Approximate population MS-60 to 62: 10 to 20 (URS-5)
Approximate population AU-50 to 58: 100 to 200 (URS-8)
Approximate population VF-20 to EF-45: 1,150 to 2,100 (URS-12)
Approximate population G-4 to F-15: 325 to 525 (URS-10)
Approximate population for all grades combined: 1,600 to 2,800 (URS-12)
• CONDITION CENSUS: 63 (multiples)
• AVERAGE AUCTION APPEARANCE (for both varieties): VF-31
Characteristics of striking: Depends upon the variety. If weakly struck, this is often observed at the center of the obverse and among the stars above the eagle on the reverse.
Known hoards of Mint State coins: None
Proofs:
Proof novodels were made decades later (see Chapters 5 and 6)
Commentary
The year 1802 is remarkable for having five different overdated obverse dies.
The Year 1802 in History
In April 1802, the United States learned that Napoleon Bonaparte of France had secured the return of the Louisiana Territory via a secret treaty with Spain. President Jefferson sought to buy land on the lower Mississippi River to use as a port, but the U.S. minister to France, Robert R. Livingston, was unsuccessful, In October 1802, the remaining Spanish officials in New Orleans refused to let American ships use the port. The prospect of continuing difficulties prompted Jefferson in 1803 to negotiate the purchase of the Territory from France. The Enabling Act, signed by Jefferson on April 30, 1802, provided that a territory established under the Ordinance of 1787 could become a state, once certain procedures were followed.
The U.S. Military Academy was established at West Point and opened on July 4. The Library of Congress issued what is believed to be the first catalogue of books printed in America. The first version of The New Practical American Navigator to be published by Nathaniel Bowditch, a revision of an earlier work by]. Hamilton Moore, was distributed and would go on to many editions. One hundred merino sheep were brought to the United States and set the foundation for a textile industry using high-quality wool. E.I. Du Pont du Nemours and Company, manufacturer of gunpowder, was founded on the Brandywine River near Wilmington, Delaware. In Saratoga Springs, New York, the first lavish "grand hotel," the Union Hotel, was built by Gideon Putnam, and set the pace for the town becoming an important social center and spa during the nineteenth century. The Abel Porter & Co. brass mill began operations in Waterbury, Connecticut, a city that would become famous for its metalworking industries, including the later Scovill Works (important manufacturer of Hard Times and other tokens in the 1830s and 1840s).
British Parliament revoked the income tax initiated in 1799. Mme. Tussaud's first wax museum was opened in' London; the concept would become popular, and the Tussaud name would be associated with wax museums for the ensuing two centuries. Thomas Wedgwood of England, son of famed ceramics manufacturer Josiah Wedgwood, took the world's first photographs, using paper sensitized with silver nitrate, but was unable to permanently fix the image.