Washington sentinel., 1899-10-21
Diamond Dollars Of 1904.

Diamond Dollars OF lSOA,
EVERY now and then one reads
about the discovery ol another OF
the famous Diamond Dollars OF
1894" said a gentleman Of this city
who owns one OF the finest collec'
tons OF coins and medals IN the
South. The dollars OF that date
are popularity supposed to be worth
from 81, 500 to So, 900 apiece, and
if a few originals could he produced
dare say they would bring that
figure easily enough. But 1t hap
pens, unfortunately, that there are
only four on earth, and they are
locked up in tine vaults OF the
Treasury Building at Washington,
and couldn't be bought at any
price. They are what are known
as the test pieces, which are al
ways laid aside when new coin is
struck, and the rest OF the issue is
at this moment quietly reposlng
under several miles of deep blue
sea. The true story is rather in
teresting. In 1904 the Mint at
Philadelphia is known to have
turned out 1850 silver dollars.
That was the entire issue barring
the test pieces l have just spoken
Of, and it was never put into circu-
lation. The whole lot, just as 1t
came from the stamping presses,
was dumped into an iron chest and
put on board a merchantman
bound for China. 1t was directed
to the captain OF a United States
irigate then in Oriental waters, and
was intended to l)e used in paying
certain expenses connected with
the service. The merchantmen
ran into a 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 reason why your Uncle
Sam is the only collector IN the
world who has a complete set OF
American dollars. Every other
collection, including my own, IS
short one issue, and the gap will
never be filled until the sea gives
up its own" .,
'"Do you mean to tell, US" said
a listener to the foregoing, that
all the Diamond Dollars now in
private cabinets are counterleits?"
"By no MEANS" replied the col
er:tor. "I own an 1904 dollar my
self, and there are at least three
| others, to my kno Wedge in the
South. They were issued by the
Government, and are perfectly
good and legal coins, but they are
not originals. They are what are
technically known 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 by striking them with a
special die, an operation that can
always be detected by an expert.
For some reason or other, nobody,
it seems, knows just why, a few
dollars of the 1900 issue were
restruck in 1904 and put in circu.
lation. 1t is probable that the
total number at the most was mol
over 40 or 50, and a good many
have been lost. The ones in ex.
istence are worth $3.50 apiece, anc
you may rest assured that all the
Diamond Dollars not mere imi'
tations belong to this little lot o.
restrikes. OF course, some OF them
have been sold to green collector:
as originals, and l was myself the
innocent cause OF such a transac.
ton only a few years ago. A
friend Of mine who lives in an ad.
Joining State, and who owns Z
great many rare and beautiful
coins, telegraphed me one day ask
ing whether $500 was too much TO
a genuine 1904 dollar. took /
for granted that he knew the fact
about the issue, and after puzzlInE
over the message for a consIdera
BILE time concluded that it was az
obscure joke OF some kind, anc
that was simply too stupid to SCI
the point. So l wired back advis
ing him to buy a bushel at tina
price, and he promptly closed thu
deal. II turned out aiterward tina
the coin was a restrIke, and my
friend has never quite forgiven me
What deceived him was the fac
that the piece was known positively
to have been locked up in an ole
chest at Savannah since 1917. ,ha
did away with the counterfeit
theory, and the only thing he wa
doubtful about was the price. -
NezU Orleans Times Democrat.