The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1899-12-08
DIAMONDS
-Four of the Rare Cotnts L.
the Treasury vaults
WasIiuuton.

every NOW and then one reads all
the discovery of another of the famJ
Diamond Dollars of 1904, said agentl
man of this city, who owns one OF this
finest private collections OF coins ana
medals in the south. THE dollars OF
that date are popularity supposed to be
worth from $500 TO $4,000 apiece, and
II a few originals could be produced l
dare say they would bring that figure
eisily enough. But it happens, uniuck-
lily, that there are only four on earth
and they are locked up in the vaults OF
the treasury building at Washington
and couldn't be bought at any price
They are what are known az the ties,
pieces which are always laid
aside whenever a new coin Is struck
and the rest OF the issue is at this mo.
ment quietly reposing under several
miles Of deep blue sea. The true story
is rather interesting. In 1904 the mint
at Philadelphia is known TO have
turned out 1880 silver dollars. That
was the entire issue barring the test
pieces l have just spoken of, and IL was
never put into circulation. The whole
lot, just as il came from the stamping
presses, was dumped into an iron chest
and put on board a merchantmen bound
for China. IL Was directed to the cap
tain Of the United States frigate then
in oriental waters, and was intended TO
be used in paying certain expenses con-
nected with the service. The merchant
man ran into Chinese typhoon and
went TO the bottom, where, to the best
OF my information, she still remains,
iron chest and all, and that is the rea-
son why your Uncle Sam is the only coll
lector in the world who has complete
set OF American dollars. Every other
collection, including my own, is short
one issue, and the gap will never be
filled TIL the sea gives up it's own"
do you mean TO tell us, then" said
the listener to the foregoing, that all
the diamond dollars now in private
cabinets are counterfeits?"
"By no means" replied the collector.
81 own an 1904 dollar myself, and there
are at least three others, 20 my knowl-
edge, in the south. They were issued
10y the government and are perfectly
good and legal coins, but they are not
originals. They are what are known
technically as 'restrikes' In the early
days, when the mints had a few coins
left over from one year TO another they
would change the date --'"iking
them with a special die 30 on
that can always be Diet .,aa'.r 81. X
pert. For some reason inc kay |
knows just why, fesle y .
$500 issue we're restru@YS
in circulation. 1t is
total number was no
n good many have bed
In existence are wort
you may rest assured u
mond dpllaxs' not meI n
long TO fhiyIttle 10; OF rN
course some of them have
green collectors as origina
myself the innocent cause
transaction only few yea
friend of mine who lives in AZ
state, and who owns great q
and beautiful coins. telegraphedVp
one day asking whether $500 was too
much for a genuine 1904 dollar. took
IL for granted that he knew the facts
about the issue, and, after pulling over
the message for considerable time.
that il was an obscure Joke
Of some kind, and that | was simply too
stupid TO see the point. So | wired back
advising him to buy bushel at that
figure, and he promptly closed the deal.
II turned out afterward that the coin
was a restrike, and my friend has never
quite forgiven me. What deceived him
was that the piece was known positive.
y TO have been locked up in an old oh, st
II Savannah since 1912. That did away
with the counterfeit theory, and tn.
'nly thing he was doubtful about wa,
he price."-N. o. Times Democrat.