The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-12-18
TWO LONE 1904 DOLLARS.
IF MIR IIBY sErMoUB OF MONTANA
A THIRD IT'S A PRICE.

HdS a THIRD ITS n hASH
whore the orlriusI 90. 900 Dollars OF 1906
went To IL n ret Mystery OF Cein Collectors.
but Africa IL suspected OF Having Gobbied
Thrm-I0o, 900 Loat 1904 Half Dollars.
Numismatists in this city arc greatly inter
estod in the report that another OF tho 1904 Sill
yer dollars has turned up. this time In the pos
session Of a bartender in Chateau, Mon. Onco
upon a time there were 10000 OF these dollars,
Every ono Of them, according to some authori'
tics, has disappeared, and the two known to DO
In collections are said to DO dollars struck from
tho 1904 die at q later date, q performance
which would have brought Its contrivors to
prison had thoy been caught. Where the rest
went is part Of the grcat coin mystery Of that
yoar. At present tho 1904 dollar is priced at
$1,000. although sums ranging as high as SO, 900
have boon offered for It.
or the two dollars bearing tho 1904 date now
known to be in existence. ono IL owned by l.. +.
Altwein Of st. Joseph, NO.. who. after long no.
| gotiations, bought 1t from an Illinois man for
81, 900. That was several years ago. Tho other
was in the collection of Parmlce, the noted Bos-
ton numismatist and collector. lie paid 300
for 1t some time in the 70's, but could undoubt-
| edly have sold It for moro than three times that
amount. It one time the Government was in
negotiation for It. but the negotiations fell
through. When tho Parmlee collection was
| sold at auction in this city several years ago
the famous dollar was not a part OF 1t. From
time to time reports of other 1904 dollars have
been circulated, but they invariably turned out
to be either without foundation. or to refer tr
What has become of the 10000 1901 silver
dollars3 That is tho question, over which nu-
mismatists have pondcred and explored. Tho
theory which sccms TO bc best borne out by
facts is ms follows, haso! on the undoubted TACT
that there were 90, 900 OF these coins struck off
In tho yaar 1904 which is sufficiently RtteStCu
by records. At that time we were engaged. in a
war with Tripoli. and our marines eIuis !, hl
paid. A certain member of Congress made HIM
self unpopular by suggesting that necessity in
at that time. Tho objection at once met him:
There is no money to pay them With, -,
issued" he replied. why not send those ~
Accordingly the silver dollars were shipped &c
gladden. the hearts Of the m iss It. tra nmp ,hn in
they fell in with our marines. These tribcsmen
lars n sH n; other money would they have. but tr
these coins they would their most preciou'
possessions. The result was that the marines
sailed away possessed of much treasure of th'
orient, while the natives, wearing clankingc chain
Of 1884 dollars. danced ioyously upon the sands
All these coins their new possessors punche!
to string as necklaces or waisthands, and tooi
back with them into the interior. where tneI
tered. This is the theory 10 which most or tht
collectors adhere. and !, is Alphabetically sub
EUHntlAtcu ny tIuIl NhuI 1N"i' sN'
two old American dollars with holes punched
where the date had been turned up IN an Al
Another theory is moro romantic. In l79'
there was trouble between Algiers and this coun
Try, t nItrd s,nis, in IN n nn H 600 ooo for 9n th beG ir PsTt %
of our captured and enslaved seomen, ana NY.
600 for immunity to our shins thsreattcr: No
until 1901, when the war with Tripoii was II
progress. was the S23. 900. including the entir'
coinage Of 1904. sent. The friEate philadelphia
having the money on board. ran aground ano
was captured nv the TrIpolitans. The frigatt
was subsequently boarded and burned by the
Neither OF these theories accounts for a pecu
liar feature Of tho coinage of that time. Scvcra
/. silver dollars have been discovered which plain
" show 1908 stamped over lSni. In lSoo M
silver dollars were issued from the minis. never
thcless 3o1 are now known TO be in collections
been struck Off is not known. As for the cHis,
Ing two 1904 dollars, which arc he envy of ever
established Il they were coined in 1s2
through tho connivance OF inen IN the mint VII
two collectors; the old die 5eI'nE i"nHa amd TN IN
did at that time constitute, a penal offence. I'm
in no wise decreased the value or the two coins
the 1904 dollsr is thnt Of the 1904 haif dollal
off. Tho record is there to show it. Not one sinEl
solitary specimen Is known to be IN eNis,cnc
would Bring Almost amy price. There isn't eve
a docently adequate theory to cover this make
: mystery; There The e i Il Is sir and I'd hss u hGfn f fpe m miiie;;
mum. The 1904 cent is rare, too, though nj
extraordinarily so, but-and here is an ndae
t 1901 Quarter can be bought for 81 and thel
: were but 1000 quarters struck IN that year.
AS to the gennineness Of The dollar in the 20
/. coin collectors can only theorizo at, ms al
tnnce. Ten years ago there we're 10000 col
collectors in this county, X which non NUMBER hD h n,
4 times and the increasing rarity of old coins.
TINT 1904 dollar had been going the ROUNDS lon
: it is hardly possible thatit would have escape
the notice, either at first hand or through me
ton OF some vigilant numismatist. particula
ly as the appearance OF any coin OF thar ige
unusual and likely to, be remarked. W,hen'
the dollar came Mr.. Seymour docs not knoN
o but each one of several enthusiastic ,feilo
townsmcn is willing to swear that it hclonGt
+ knew that it was valuable. Its present own,
Q will not give it up for less than $1,000 OF II
ordinary dollars or their eQuiva lent.
Changing the date OF coins is an art by
i means unknown, and it is possible that q
n Montana specimen is an instance OF this. NJ
w. +. Willis of Brooklyn. a collector and expe
n~umismatist, in speaking of artificial chang
in coins. said Yesterday: ,,, .,o too,
IL can change the date of n coin so skiltully tn
. It is extremely difficult to detect the marks
g the work. For instance. you will find in maj
y collections cents of the year of lsl0. No cen
Of that date we're ever struck or, but C
- ~lectors wishing "a, have n complete, $
n of coppers hHyo The figures On me i -
II an 1904 cent which had been change
y Isppposc a dollar Of another issue might p,
sibly be changed to isoi, a1th9ngh could n
ings OF the coins. Certainly The prize for MAXI
such u deception c~fcctual is a great one. In
marks aside from the date by which an expo
d can discover the deception. As Tor the value
a genuine 1904 dollar, ! believe that many pric
have been offered. but | should say that al
% thing above g.. 600 was an adequate price,
AGES CURR ENJOY Reform.