1795 $1 Flowing Hair, B-11 MS(PCGS#39978)

November 2015 Baltimore U.S. Coins Auction

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

20071

等级

XF40

价格

59,654

详细说明

Rare and Desirable 1795 Two Leaves Silver Dollar 1795 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar. BB-11, B-3. Rarity-5. Two Leaves. EF-40 (PCGS). A bold example of this scarcer, infrequently offered die marriage for the 1795 Flowing Hair silver dollar. Otherwise olive-gray surfaces are further enhanced with splashes of rich copper-russet patina along the lower right obverse border. Faint remnants of satin luster are discernible with patience around a few of the devices, especially the reverse lettering. Well defined from an expertly centered strike, and sure to appeal to type collectors and early dollar variety specialists alike. Like the other silver denominations authorized as part of the Mint Act of April 1792, it was not put into production until the principle mint officers could post bond so that they could handle precious metal. At first the bond requirements were so steep -- $10,000 each for Chief Coiner Henry Voigt and Assayer Albion Cox -- that Congress was compelled to reduce them to a more manageable $5,000 for Voigt and $1,000 for Cox. New research by David Finkelstein for the John Reich Collector's Society has uncovered the original surety bonds for the first time. These now show that the previous belief that David Rittenhouse posted Voigt's bond is incorrect and that it was actually posted by four prominent Pennsylvania politicians, Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg, Peter Muhlenberg, Henry Kammerer, and Nicholas Lutz, while Cox himself posted his bond. While silver coins were not produced in large numbers in 1794, this changed significantly in 1795. At least 10 Flowing Hair obverse dies and 11 Small Eagle reverse dies were prepared resulting in 29 varieties that have so far been cataloged. Estimates of the quantity struck vary: mint reports indicate that 203,033 dollars were coined in 1795 with no differentiation between the Flowing Hair and the Draped Bust types. While earlier research has indicated that 160,295 Flowing Hair dollars were struck, Q. David Bowers in his recent detailed analysis of the early silver dollars, instead offers that perhaps as many as 390,000 dollars were produced in total bearing the 1795 date, including 185,000 pieces struck as late as 1798, a figure that is rounded down to approximately 290,000 coins as a best guess estimate. As demonstrated by these large numbers, America's flagship silver coin would not be merely symbolic but a piece for everyday use at home and abroad. Among the first of the 1795 dollar varieties struck, the BB-11 Bolender 3 variety can be distinguished by the two leaves under the eagle's wings on the reverse and 16 berries on the wreath which is unique to this variety. The BB-11 is also one of the more elusive varieties with only 50 to 75 specimens thought to be extant, almost all of which in the VF and EF grade range. No uncirculated examples are presently known with the finest known being the AU-58 Atwater coin. Seldom available and with lovely eye appeal, this is an especially appealing coin for collectors seeking a seldom encountered variety. PCGS# 6853. NGC ID: 24WZ.