Q. David Bowers
Collecting Preferences Since 1970
Since 1970, trade dollars have increased in popularity. This began in earnest in the mid-1970s when investment writers and others began to take note of how rare certain silver dollars (in particular) and other coins were in various levels of Uncirculated condition. Researchers took notice that a coin could be common in one grade and a rarity in another.
The investment boom of the late 1970s, which peaked in March 1980, saw great activity in Mint State and Prooftrade dollars (the only grades said to be of "investment quality" by sage advisors). Prices doubled and redoubled. In the early 1980s prices fell, only to begin an upward ascent in 1983-1984, culminating in 1989, when the prices of MS-65 and Proof-65 coins in particular ascended to what many considered to be astronomical heights. The availability of trade dollars (and other coins) in certified plastic holders ("slabs") marked with the date and grade seemed to give the coins a commodity-type status suitable for buying and selling in investment circles. Investors from Wall Street and elsewhere failed to materialize, at least in the numbers hoped for, and prices fell. By 1992, prices for many common date trade dollars in higher grades were fractions of their 1989-1990 highs.
In the meantime, much fertile numismatic soil was being plowed by the Liberty Seated Collectors Club (and its publication The Gobrecht Journal) and by individual numismatists who thought the trade dollar worthy of detailed historical or technical study. Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U.S.. and Colonial Coins, published by Doubleday in 1988, was issued with a $75 cover price (later raised to $100), but despite this figure, over 10,000 copies reached buyers, including over 8,500 sold by Bowers and Merena Galleries. This book, by one of America's most accomplished numismatic scholars, listed coins not only by dates and mintmarks, but by repunched dates and other technical varieties as well, for trade dollars and all other U.S. series.
In the present market of the early 1990s, the buyer will find much more information available on trade dollars than ever before, will find prices (especially of high grade coins) to be lower than during the late 1980s, and will find more enthusiasm among numismatists for the series than at any other time in the history of our hobby.
The Availability of Trade Dollars
On the following pages will be found general as well as specific information concerning the rarity of trade dollars in different grades.
Among business strikes, the most often encountered date-mintmark varieties are those with the largest mintage. Most common are 1875-S, 1876-S, 1877, 1877-S (which holds the mintage record; 9,519,000 were made), and 1878-S. The rarest is 1878-CC, of which only 97,000 were struck (many of which were melted at the Mint), followed closely by 1877-CC, and 1875.
Proofs were issued for collectors from 1873 through 1883. The years 1878 through 1883 are Proof-only issues so far as Philadelphia issues are concerned, for no related business strikes were made. As such, the Philadelphia Mint issues of 1878, 1879, 1880, 1881, 1882, and 1883 have been favorites with collectors for many years. There is something appealing about these large and beautiful coins with glittering Proof surfaces, combined with the knowledge that only 1,000 or so pieces of each exist in all the world! When I was a student at the Pennsylvania State University 1956-1960 one of my roommates expressed an interest in coin investment. I suggested that Proof trade dollars, then selling at $50 to $75 each, would be a good investment. They proved to be a spectacular investment!
There is a curious thing about Proof trade dollars with regard to their availability today. Early issues such as 1873, 1874, and 1876 are much rarer in Choice Proof grade than those of the Proof-only years from 1878 through 1883. Although the pieces in the later range were in general made in larger numbers, that is not the explanation, as will be elaborated upon later in the present text.
The type set collector will find that Mint State specimens of such issues as 1875-S, 1876-S, 1877-S, and 1878-S are the least expensive on the market. Large numbers exist of each. Of course, you may find it preferable (I know I would) to spend a little more and acquire a variety which is a great deal rarer.
Collecting trade dollars can be a fascinating pursuit. Apart from investor interest in commoner dates in MS-65 and Proof-65 grades, little attention has been paid to them. For the astute buyer, this can translate into the formation of a collection which is at once fascinating and historical and, at the same time, quite inexpensive in comparison to its sister series, Liberty Seated and Morgan silver dollars. The rarity of an MS-63 1876-CC trade dollar is many multiples of that of a comparable 1893-S Morgan dollar, for example; yet, in the early 1992, the 1876-CC sells for only a small fraction of the price of the 1893-S.
Evaluating Rarity
The Concept of Rarity
How rare is a given trade dollar? Except perhaps for 1884 and 1885, precise answers such as "10 exist" or "there are 321 known" are not possible. However, as for many years numismatists have studied trade dollars and published observational and statistical data, approximations of rarity become feasible. In spite of these excellent efforts, more research remains to be done. The figures and estimates given here are tentative.
The Annual Report of the Director of the Mint provides a good starting point, but as will be seen there are some questionable figures, errors, and omissions. Studies of trade dollars published in The Gobrecht Journal are valuable, as are the studies by Walter H. Breen and John M. Willem published elsewhere. The Acknowledgments and Bibliography pages in this book list sources of information. However, it has not been until relatively recent years that the series has been studied intensely. Estimates published in the 1970s and early 1980s are in many cases obsolete now. However, we all build upon foundations laid by others, and there is no question that today's corpus of information is all the richer for having had earlier studies to draw upon. Undoubtedly, as time goes on, various figures given in the present book will need revision as newer information becomes available. Specific suggestions from readers are welcome.