1794 $1 MS(PCGS#6851)

December 2020 U.S. Coins Auction

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

1089

等级

MS62

价格

6,881,886

详细说明

Historic First Year 1794 Silver Dollar A Landmark Rarity in NGC MS-62 The Austrian-Wittlin-Willing Specimen 1794 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar. BB-1, B-1. Rarity-4. MS-62 (NGC). The silver dollar was authorized by the Act of April 2, 1792, that also established the United States Mint and created our nation's coinage. While not the highest denomination coin authorized by that act, the silver dollar was obviously the most important as it was the standard unit upon which the United States' monetary system would be based. All other coins struck in the United States Mint from the 1790s to the present day are either fractional parts of the dollar or multiples of that unit. The silver dollar is, without a doubt, the most popular and widely collected coin ever struck in the United States Mint, and is eagerly sought by both advanced numismatists and the general public as a historic treasure, a cherished collectible and (for common date examples of the later Morgan and Peace types) a storehouse of wealth for those with an interest in owning silver bullion. The most important silver dollar ever struck -- and also one of the rarest -- is the 1794 Flowing Hair. The first coin of its kind and a famous numismatic rarity in all grades with a mintage of just 1,758 pieces, the 1794 Flowing Hair silver dollar is a coin of which legends are made. Survivors are always greeted with eager anticipation when they are offered for sale either through auction or via private treaty. Such is the importance and popularity of the 1794 Flowing Hair dollar that it has been honored with the No. 13 ranking in the 2008 edition of 100 Greatest U.S. Coinsby Jeff Garrett and Ron Guth. The design of the nation's first silver dollar was entrusted to Chief Engraver Robert Scot, whose obverse features the most mature evolution of the Flowing Hair Liberty portrait that was first featured on Augustin Dupre's Libertas Americana medal of 1783. By the time Dupre's Liberty found her way onto the silver dollar, however, she had been turned to the right and no longer displayed the liberty pole and cap. The basic design is superficially similar to its earliest inception, nonetheless, with Liberty's hair free flowing along the back of her head and neck, thus explaining the widely used name. Scot's dollar obverse also exhibits 15 stars around the border arranged eight left, seven right in honor of the number of states that made up the Union in 1794, the word LIBERTY at the upper border, and the date at the lower. The reverse of the Flowing Hair silver dollar mirrors Scot's work for the Flowing Hair half dime and half dollar. A spread-wing eagle is surrounded by two branches bound at their base by a thin ribbon with the legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA around the border. Curiously, the denomination is not featured on either the obverse or reverse of the Flowing Hair silver dollar -- something that might appear as a sign of ineptitude on the part of early Mint employees to someone familiar with United States coinage of the 21st century. The omission was intentional, however, as United States coinage was new to the world market of the 18th century and the term "dollar" would have been unfamiliar to merchants of the day. In order to facilitate the coins' acceptance in as many quarters as possible, therefore, the Mint omitted the denomination from the design and opted to let the silver dollar's weight and precious metal content establish its value. For those willing to look closer, they would find the denomination on the edge, which is lettered HUNDRED CENTS ONE DOLLAR OR UNIT with decorations between the words. By the time Mint employees had posted the necessary bonds to begin working with precious metals -- which was not until 1794 even though the silver dollar had been authorized by Congress in 1792 -- Mint Director David Rittenhouse wanted to begin production of these coins as soon as possible. His decision was a bold one, for the press he had on hand was better suited for striking smaller coins such as dimes, quarters and half dollars. In recognition of the silver dollar's status as the basic unit of our national currency and the largest coin authorized by the Act of April 2, 1792, however, Rittenhouse insisted that it be the first precious metal coin struck in the United States Mint. Difficulties in achieving Rittenhouse's goal arose immediately because bullion was lacking. The early United States Mint did not strike silver and gold coins on its own account but, rather, was dependent upon private deposits of these precious metals. The first deposit of silver to arrive at the United States Mint came from the Bank of Maryland on July 18, 1794. Composed of French coins, Assayer Albion Cox's tests of the metal's fineness averaged just .737 fine, meaning the deposit would have to be heavily refined to bring it up to the congressionally mandated .8924 standard for silver coinage. With the refining department understaffed, Rittenhouse made a bold choice: rather than follow the letter of the law, whereby depositors received finished coins based upon the order of their initial deposits, Rittenhouse himself jumped the line. On August 29, 1794, he made two deposits, composed of silver ingots of relatively fine purity (.900 and .8665 fine) that added up to $2001.33 worth of silver, or enough to strike almost exactly 2,000 silver dollars. On October 15, 1794, Chief Coiner Henry Voigt delivered 1,758 silver dollars to David Rittenhouse, representing the entire mintage for the year. The Mint's workmen could have struck all of these coins in a single afternoon, using a press ill-suited for the rigors of striking the large diameter dies. Rittenhouse later received $242.50 in half dollars, plus six half dimes, to complete the total initial deposit, but according to traditional numismatic wisdom the original mintage of 1794 dollars amounted to 2,000 coins. Proponents of this theory believe that the remaining 242 examples were judged to be underweight and/or too poorly struck to be released, the coins either remelted or used as planchets for 1795-dated silver dollars. At least one poorly struck 1794 dollar was used as a planchet for a 1795 dollar, but since that coin's discovery in the 1960s no other examples have come to light. If the original mintage of the 1794 dollar was 2,000 pieces, the remaining 242 or so coins were almost certainly melted. Alternatively, the total mintage might be just 1,758 pieces, the failure of the press under the rigors of striking these large coins ending the day's work prematurely and prompting the chief coiner to make up the balance of Rittenhouse's bullion deposits in half dollars and half dimes, as related above. We will never know for sure because no details were recorded and no ceremony was held, despite the historical significance of the event. Indeed, even those 1794 dollars that were deemed acceptable for distribution exhibit many of the coining difficulties suffered by the early United States Mint. Virtually all of the known examples are softly struck to one degree or another at the left obverse and reverse borders. This is due not only to the Mint's use of a press that was initially intended for smaller-size coins, but also because the dies eventually "slipped" and became misaligned in the press. On some 1794 dollars the misalignment is so pronounced that the date can be difficult to discern. Additionally, many examples display adjustment marks that represent the Mint's filing down of overweight planchets to make them conform to the legally specified weight range for this issue. While these adjustment marks are often innocuous, they are sometimes so numerous as to severely compromise one or more elements of a coin's design. Regardless of striking quality or level of preservation, a 1794 Flowing Hair silver dollar is an extremely important numismatic find, and the ownership of even a low grade or impaired example is the mark of an important collection. Writing in the 2010 edition of the reference The Flowing Hair Silver Dollars of 1794: An Historical and Population Census Study, Martin Logies of the Cardinal Collection Educational Foundation accounts for a surviving population of 140 examples. A slightly more liberal estimate of 150 or so coins is provided by PCGS CoinFacts, while Q. David Bowers (The Encyclopedia of United States Silver Dollars: 1794-1804, 2013) agrees with both of these other sources when he says that 135 to 150 examples are extant. These estimates represent a rather high percentage of the mintage based upon most statistical survivorship models of early American coins. This high percentage reflects the early date at which collectors placed a premium on 1794 dollars, thus saving low grade specimens that would have been consigned to the melting pot if they were of any other date. Indeed, many of the known examples are significantly impaired due to cleaning, repairs, edge damage, or other problems. Even most problem free 1794 Flowing Hair dollars that have survived did so only after acquiring some degree of wear. Indeed, in Mint State this issue is a landmark rarity. Exactly how many Uncirculated 1794 dollars are extant is a matter of debate as fluctuating grading standards over the years have resulted in some specimens alternating between About Uncirculated and Mint State grades. The finest is unequivocally the Neil-Carter-Contursi specimen certified Specimen-66 by PCGS that Stack's Bowers Galleries sold for the record-setting price of $10,016,875 in our January 2013 sale of the Cardinal Collection. The Larry H. Miller specimen has long been noted among Mint State 1794 dollars certified by PCGS and NGC, and it is ranked either CC#8 or CC#9 by Martin Logies in his aforementioned and exhaustive census studies published in 2010 and 2014. Widely known as the Austrian-Whittlin-Willing specimen, it is very well struck and remarkably well preserved for the issue. Dollars of this date often display soft to blunt detail along the left obverse and reverse borders due to the misalignment of the dies in the press. For the present example, however, we note nearly complete denticulation around both sides. Only from 10 to 11 o'clock on the obverse does the detail to the denticulation come up a bit short, but minimally so and hardly significant. All 13 stars are boldly to sharply rendered, all four digits in the date are bold and clear, and the word LIBERTY is fully legible despite a touch of softness at the top of the letter L. The reverse features a fully legible legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, a touch of softness to the top of the letters TED STA along the left border is noted solely for accuracy. Both sides are boldly to sharply struck in and around the centers with crisp detail throughout much of Liberty's hair and the eagle's plumage. The often-seen adjustment marks (as made) are barely in evidence here, there being only a trace at the reverse border outside the letters TE in UNITED that help to explain the trivial softness of strike in that area. Lustrous satin surfaces are enhanced by light iridescent toning in golden-tan and powder blue. Scattered handling marks are commensurate with the grade, and they are inconsequential in a survivor of this rare issue from the earliest days of U.S. Mint operations. The most useful feature for provenance purposes is actually as made: a shallow, circular planchet flaw near the center of the eagle's breast on the reverse. BB Die State II with light clash marks (again as made) in both the obverse and reverse fields, the second to lowest curl of Liberty's hair approaches the innermost point of star 2. A leading highlight of the Larry H. Miller cabinet, this is a truly exceptional 1794 dollar. It is sure to see spirited bidding among advanced type collectors, early dollar enthusiasts, and other numismatists who appreciate the historical significance and well known rarity of this issue. Provenance: From the Larry H. Miller Collection. Earlier ex "Austrian private collection" (or possibly the Paris Mint Collection or that of the Bibliotheque Nationale); Paul H. Wittlin; James Kelly's ANA sale of 1956, lot 1509; Stack's; private owner, repurchased by the following in 1975; Stack's; Julian Leidman and Mike Brownlee; Paul Nugget; Dave Berg; private owner; our (Bowers and Ruddy's) Dr. Edward B. Willing Collection sale, June 1976, lot 412; Superior's Father Flanagan's Boys Home Sale, May 1990, lot 3875. PCGS# 6851. NGC ID: 24WY. Click here for certification details from NGC. Click here to see Coins in Motion. [“Coins]