1795 $1 Flowing Hair, BB-20 MS(PCGS#39985)

March 2018 Baltimore U.S. Coins Auction

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

2226

等级

AU58

价格

531,973

详细说明

Nearly Mint State 1795 BB-20 Flowing Hair Dollar Exceptional Eye Appeal 1795 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar. BB-20, B-2. Rarity-3. Two Leaves. AU-58 (PCGS). OGH. This premium quality 1795 silver dollar is sure to command strong bids when it crosses the auction block. It is very close to Mint State and, indeed, has been cataloged as such in past auction appearances. Both sides retain nearly complete satin luster with an overlay of pretty reddish-gold iridescence. The toning is boldest and most vivid at the borders. The surfaces are smooth and attractive, certainly more so than one would usually expect to see in an early silver dollar of any type or variety. The borders are uniformly denticulated from an expertly centered strike, and the design elements are sharp apart from a touch of softness to the central high points -- the hair curls around and below Liberty's ear on the obverse and the eagle's breast feathers on the reverse. BB Die State II, the only die state positively confirmed to exist for this variety. As the flagship coin of the new nation, the silver dollar was intended to impress those who would use it, both domestically and abroad. Like the other silver denominations authorized by the Act of April 2, 1792, coinage of this denomination could not begin until the principle Mint officers could post the required bonds to handle precious metal deposits. The initial 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. As with the half dime and half dollar, very few silver dollars were struck in 1794, but this was to change in 1795. At least 10 Flowing Hair obverse dies and 11 Small Eagle reverse dies were prepared resulting in 19 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 Draped Bust types. The figure that is most often quoted today is 160,295 Flowing Hair dollars based on research by Walter Breen. Writing in the 2013 reference The Encyclopedia of United States Silver Dollars: 1794-1804, Q. David Bowers postulates 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. Regardless, it is quite clear that after 1794 sufficient silver was deposited to allow mass production of this denomination. The coins either saw active commercial use (including in export trade to the Orient and West Indies) or served as bullion reserves for banks and brokers. By the early 19th century so many silver dollars were being lost to export, primarily to the Orient, that President Thomas Jefferson was forced to suspend coinage of this denomination in 1804. The average grade among survivors of all 1795 Flowing Hair dollar varieties is firmly in the VF range. Bowers-Borckardt 20, represented here, has an estimated population of 300 to 500 coins (per Bowers). There are even a number of Mint State coins known, with the present example included in Bowers' list of "Notable Specimens" with the grade of MS-63 that it was assigned in historic auction appearances. It is more attractive than many early dollars in MS-61 or MS-62 holders that we have handled in recent years, and we suspect that bidding activity will reflect this. The old style PCGS insert uses coin #6852, which is now reserved for the Three Leaves Guide Bookvariety of the 1795 Flowing Hair dollar. Provenance: Ex Pine Tree's Great Eastern Numismatic Association (GENA) Sale of September 1973, lot 293; Frank M. Stirling; Heritage's sale of the Frank M. Stirling Collection, February 1986, 1327; Superior's session of Auction '86, July 1986, lot 1207; Anthony Terranova, August 1991, to the present consignor. PCGS# 6853. NGC ID: 24WZ. Click here for certification details from PCGS.