Q. David Bowers
"Second, Annear wired to Mint Director Baker on May 18-a Wednesday-that he had delivered 400,000 dollars for the week ending that day. He reported another shipment May 25. Why end your reporting week on Wednesday? This arrangement makes sense only if the first production week began on Thursday-or on a Wednesday with low production.
"Finally, Annear sent Baker two of the first coins made. If minting had begun on Monday, May 2, the day's coins almost certainly would be bagged before Annear learned that Baker wanted specimens. The same is true for Tuesday, May 3.
"Only if Denver's first 100 silver dollars were struck late in the morning of Wednesday, May 4, does all the evidence fit perfectly .... And the day passed into history.
"Thomas Annear probably put aside the remaining 98 of the first 100 pieces. He messaged to Baker on Tuesday, May 17, to report receipt of 'numerous request of banks and individuals' for new dollars. Could he release coins directly to the public? The answer evidently was that he could.
"So he had an engraver (probably from the mint staff) add three lines of printing, curved to follow the rim, in the field at left of the Liberty head. The words begin with a number and continue: -TH DOLLAR RELEASED FROM 1ST 100 EVER COINED AT DENVER MINT, THOMAS ANNEAR SUPT.
"On No. 12 the L of RELEASED was started as an E. The coin's present owner suggests that by this time the engraver was 'gettin' a little tired.'
"What happened to these first 100 dollars?
"The State Historical Society of Colorado holds coin no. 1, according to Michael A. Sievers, the Society's Registrar, Material Culture. 'According to our records, the Denver Mint coined its first silver dollars on May 5, 1921 at 9 a.m.,' Sievers wrote me. As we now know, the actual date was May 4.
"What did occur on Thursday, May 5, must have been Mint Director Baker's presentation of the coin-but let Sievers tell it: ' ... and the first coin was apparently presented to the United States Senator from Colorado, L.C. Phipps. Senator Phipps in turn presented it to the State Historical Society of Colorado on May 11, 1921.' This coin, Sievers added, 'does not contain any extraordinary engraving indicative of its significance.'
"The next 11 pieces are mentioned to Annear's May 22, letter to a Mr. Cowbell: 'The ten silver dollars purchased by you from the mint were from the first hundred ever coined in this institution. At the request of the Director of the Mint I sent two silver dollars to Washington, which I understand were presented to the United States senators from this state, who in turn presented one to the School of Mines, Golden, and one to the Colorado State Historical Society. Yours were the next ten released.'
"Either Annear was wrong or someone later removed no.
2.Geraldine D. Bariani, Reference Librarian, wrote to me that the Colorado School of Mines holds no such coin.
'''We have searched all our records, called the various offices which were concerned or might have been connected with the coins and we can find nothing,' she reported. She and her staff searched the Golden Transcript, but found 'no statements in this paper about the Presentation pieces.'
"Coins no. 3-12 were lots 1040-1049 in B. Max Mehl's Dec. 18, 1923, auction catalogue, which printed Annear's letter to Cowell.
"To make matters more mysterious, at least 50 of the first 100 coins (besides no. 1 and 2) probably are not engraved.
'''I have heard that-and this is, of course, hearsay,' says the owner of nos. 6 and 12, 'the highest number that has been seen is no. 50. And whether there are any more beyond that, no one really knows. Or a no. 50 has been seen. I don't know of any others in between 12 and 50.'
"So most of the coins probably can be identified only by letters or other documents which authenticate them as from the first 100. And for many of the coins, authentication may be forever impossible.
"The engraved dollars are generally unknown, comments a spokesman for the Smithsonian Institution's Numismatics Division. He agrees that the work must have been done on
Annear's own authority. The National Collection itself lacks a specimen of an engraved coin from the first 100, he says.
"1. Annear (Denver Mint) to Mint Director Baker (Washington), to Sen. Phipps, to State Historical Society, Denver, all May 1921. No engraving. Now held by State Historical Society.
"2. Annear to Baker, May 1921. Reportedly to other Colorado Senator and from him to Colorado School of Mines, but unknown there. Whereabouts unknown. No engraving.
"3-12. Annear to Cowell, May 1921. Cowell to Mehl for auction, 1923. Whereabouts unknown, except as noted below.
"6. Whereabouts unknown 1923 to late 1950s, when owned by Robert Friedberg. Now owned by private collector, Washington, D.C. Last sales record, $350.
"8. Whereabouts unknown 1923 to 1935, when found in circulation. At last report (1973), owned by J. Cecil Woodward, Alabama.
"9. Whereabouts unknown 1923 to 1969, when owned by Robert E. Ladum, Oregon.
"12. Whereabouts unknown 1923 to 1969, when owned by Tom McAfee. Whereabouts unknown 1969 to 1973, when owned by dealer in Florida, and sold to present owner. Now owned by private collector, Washington, D.C. Last sales record, $400.
"1349. Whereabouts unknown. May lack engraving. "50. Whereabouts unknown.
"51-100. Whereabouts unknown. May lack engraving."
The First 1921-D Dollars (Breen)
For inclusion in the present book, Walter H. Breen contributed the following (which has been edited to delete items redundant from the Norman M. Davis article just quoted). However, Breen believes that the engraving was done by or for numismatist C.W. Cowell, which, if true, removes them from the category of official pieces, but does not lessen their historical value:
"The pieces engraved in obverse field 9TH [etc.] DOLLAR RELEASED FROM 1ST 100/ EVER COINED AT DENVER MINT / THOMAS ANNEAR, SUPT. have become controversial. The engraving was apparently not done at the Mint, but privately by or for C.W. Cowell (nos. 3-12 below) .. .. [Cowell letter quoted here.]
"The actual # 1 and #2 specimens were evidently not engraved. Pedigrees of Nos. 3-12 should all begin "Thomas Annear, C.W. Cowell, Mehl 12/18/23:1040 [through 1049]". The roster is as nearly complete as possible:
"1. Colorado School of Mines, Golden. No record of accession or disappearance.
"2. Stolen from the Colorado Historical Society, 1980. Not recovered.
"3. Annear, Cowell, Mehl 12/18/23:1040, ... private collection, Steve Tebo, 1982-. ANACS certificate E-6064-V.
"4. Annear, Cowell, ... Frank Rinaldi, ex a bingo game, 1989.
"5. Annear, Cowell, ... ? Uncertain. (Later appeared as Lot 1423 in the Miller Collection Sale, Bowers and Merena, November 1992.)
"6. Annear, Cowell, ... Robert Friedberg (bought before 1960), $350 to an East Coast private collection, Superior's sale of January 1986, $5,500.
"7. Annear, Cowell, ...? Uncertain.
"8. Annear, Cowell, ...? Found in circulation, Tennessee, 1935, by J. Cecil Woodward.
"9. Annear, Cowell, ... Tidewater Coin Club auction (early 1960s), private collection, Robert E. Ladum (reported 1969).
"10. Annear, Cowell, ... Tidewater Coin Club auction (early 1960s), Charles Taliaferro.
"11. Annear, Cowell, ....? Uncertain.
"12. Annear, Cowell, .........Florida dealer Tom McAfee (1969), to owner of #6 (1973); offered with #6 in the Superior sale, reported to have been unsold.
"The above derive partly from Alan Herbert, "Denver Dollars Not Engraved at Mint," Numismatic News, 11/28/89, page 58."