Q. David Bowers
As the known die varieties with visible plugs are distributed throughout the striking sequence (as evidenced by the inclusion of BB-18, which uses the WII wreath employed, in my opinion, no earlier than late Summer 1795), it seems that the plugging process was employed from May to at least late summer. In any event, I believe that varieties known with silver plugs were struck in calendar year 1795 and not later. If the plug was inserted to correct the planchet weight, the problem must have been solved after 1795, as no, later-dated dollars are known with this feature. As Kenneth E. Bressett has said, it is such situations that keep numismatics interesting.
Creating Emission Sequences Facts and Assumptions
Known facts: The following is an attempt to build a die linkage and sequence of emission, of 1795- dated silver dollars. Each die linkage constitutes a "striking period." If possible, the authors of this section (Q. David Bowers and Mark Borckardt) will devise a chronology for the different striking periods.
Known facts include the following:
1. BB-11, BB-13, BB-14, BB-21 are known with silver alloy plugs. Presumably, these were among the first varieties of 1795 dollars made.
2. BB-14 is known overstruck on a 1794 silver dollar. If unsatisfactory 1794 silver dollars had been saved as planchet stock, then BB-14 would have been one of the first 1795-dated dollars struck to use up this stock.
3. BB-18 and BB-20 are varieties known to have been included in the Lord St. Oswald Collection, which contained coins believed to have been obtained in, America in autumn 1795. Thus, these varieties would have been struck in 1795.
4. When dies were placed on the presses, they remained there unless one or another die broke, at which time the useless die was removed and replaced with another. If a die became damaged and had to be relapped, it was removed from the press; in such an instance, it could have been replaced immediately after relapping, or it could be put on the shelf to await a later use. If the press was required for other purposes-such as for coining $10 gold eagles=both obverse and reverse dollar dies would be removed; when dollar coinage resumed, the mating of a particular obverse might be with another reverse, and vice-versa. However, the earlier-listed schedule of silver dollar and $10 gold deliveries show that there were more interruptions to dollar coinage than there are known dollar striking periods (see below). Thus, in some instances, dollar dies must have been removed from the press briefly, $10 coins minted, and then the same silver dollar die pair reinstalled. In all instances, $10 coinages were very small, and must have taken little time to produce. If the Mint had to be closed for an extended period-such as during one of the periodic yellow fever epidemics-dies were removed from presses and taken to a vault in a bank; when coinage resumed, die mating might be different.
Reasonable assumptions: Reasonable assumptions include the following:
1. Certain obverse dies have the Head of 1794 style and were probably made earlier than those with the Head of 1795 style.
2. Certain reverse dies are of the WI wreath style of simpler design and were probably made earlier than the more ornate WII wreath style.
3. As 1795-dated obverse dies and appropriate reverse dies were not used for coinage until May 1795, because a suitable coining press was not available, these dies were not stored in the sequence in which they were made. Instead, they were kept as a mixed group.
4. When coinage of 1795-dated dollars began in May 1795, the inventory of silver dollar dies would have consisted mostly if not entirely of the earlier styles (Head of 1794 obverses and WI reverses).
5. As there are three extended die-link sequences of 1795 dollars, it is assumed that if one of these sequences had more early-type obverses and reverses than any other die-link sequence, that sequence would have been made first.
6. Similarly, if an extended die-link sequence of 1795 dollars contained most or all late-type obverses and reverses, it would have been the last made. (Any mixed group of early- and late-type dies would fall in between.
(Flowing Hair and Draped Bust types)
Striking Period 1: At the very beginning, a pattern emerges. One of the die sequences contains four coins, all of which have early characteristics. These seem to constitute the initial production of 1795-dated dollars, called Striking Period 1. These varieties are as follows:
STRIKING PERIOD 1.
1795 BB-11 (equivalent to Bolender 3). Believed to be the first 1795 silver dollar variety struck. 1795 BB-12 (Bolender-11)
1795 BB-13 (Bolender-9)
1795 BB-14 (Bolender-4)
The rationale for assigning the foregoing varieties to Striking Period 1 is as follows:
BB-11, BB-12, and BB-13 all share a common obverse die of the Head of 1794 style. BB-13 is from a later state of the die. Therefore, it was struck after BB-11 and BB-12. All examples of BB-12 studied by the authors are weakly struck on the right side of the obverse. This is the only evidence to place BB-12 after BB-11. Should extremely high grade specimens of BB-11 and BB-12 become available for examination, die state differences may be revealed, and it is possible that the order given above could be transposed.