Flowing Hair Silver Dollar
Mint Engraver Robert Scot created the Flowing Hair silver dollar, and examples were produced only in 1794 and 1795. The former is a famous American rarity, with perhaps 130 or so known today from a net mintage of just 1,758 pieces. Thus, it's not a likely candidate for one's type set. BeiQian Best Morgan Silver Dollars-(1804-1926) Coin Collecting-Silver Dollar USA Old Original Pre Morgan Dollar goodService 1921 3.8 out of 5 stars 820 $3.39 $ 3.
One of the first dollar coins that was made by the US Mint almost 200 years ago is now being auctioned as the owner feels it is 'time to move on'.
The silver dollar coin was stuck by the US Mint back in 1794. The coin is known as 'Flowing Hair' dollar. It features a portrait of Lady Liberty with long open hair on one side and an eagle on the other.
Bruce Morelan, who owns the rare 1794 silver dollar, feels it is time to let go of this precious collection and move on to next adventures. 'This is a dream coin -- a priceless artifact that I have been proud to own, and I'm very sorry to see it go,' he told a local media house.
Morelean got this coin in 2013 for nearly $10 million. However, he now feels that it is 'time to move on to other challenges and I hope that the new owner of the coin treasures it just as much as I have.'
Over 200 years ago when the United States Congress passed the Coinage Act of 1792 and established country's first national mint in Philadelphia, this was one of the first dollar coins that was produced.
'The Constitution had specified that the dollar was going to be the cornerstone of the US monetary system,' Douglas Mudd, the curator and director of the American Numismatic Association's Money Museum told local media house.
The mint started producing silver coins in 1794, but these silver coins were not for public use but were to be distributed as souvenirs to specific 'important' people of the society as a PR policy.
The 'Flowing Hair' figure of Liberty was inspired from Roman coins where female figures were used to represent freedom.
A total of 1,758 coins were produced, out of which 130-140 coins are still out in the world.
The auction, which can have a low turnout due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, will be held at Legend Auctions on October 8 at The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas.
- 1794 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar
Coin Info
The 1794 Flowing Hair silver dollar goes down in history as being the very first official dollar coins the United States federal government ever issued as legal-tender federal money. Designed by Robert Scot, the 1794 Flowing Hair dollar is the coin that began the American tradition of silver dollars, even though it was, in concept, based on other large-size silver coins from other world governments. Of particular inspiration behind the dollar coin are the Austrian silver Thaler and the Spanish dollar, the latter otherwise known as the 8 Real coin, or Pieces of Eight.
When the 1794 silver dollar was first struck, the United States Mint was still in its infancy, having just been federally established by the Coinage Act of 1792. The U.S. Mint had only just begun striking official federal coinage in 1793 with the production of the copper half cent and large cent. By 1794, the U.S. Mint commenced striking silver coinage, with the silver dollar among these issues.
The first silver dollars were minted in very small quantities. The 1794 dollar saw the very smallest of all early dollar mintages, with just 1,758 pieces struck. Believed to be the very first dollar coin ever minted is a Specimen-66 example that sold for more than $10 million in 2013.
Indeed, all 1794 dollars are very scarce, and perhaps less than 150 exist today. Not all cost $10 million. In fact, the average price for a 1794 dollar that grades Fine-12 is $150,000. That's certainly not cheap, but even with its six-figure weight the price is still lower than the $10 million paid for the 1794 dollar that many theorize was inspected by George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and first U.S. Mint Director David Rittenhouse.
Coin collectors should be wary of buying any and all 1794 silver dollars that aren't certified by a reputable third-party coin authentication company. Many more counterfeit 1794 dollars exist than do real specimens, and genuine examples are challenging to come by. Collectors should be wary of any deals that seem too good to be true, and even when being offered a 1794 dollar that seems in line with pricing trends, buyers should still insist on buying the coin slabbed, not raw.
Those who have or plan to buy 1794 dollar coins should be proud of their numismatic acquisitions. After all, the 1794 dollar is the very first among all U.S. dollars, preceding federal paper dollar currency by several decades. The 1794 dollar is truly the 'dollar that started it all'!
Flowing Hair Silver Dollar 1794 Value
Other Years From This Coin Series
