Daily camera., 1899-02-24
THE DOLLAR OF 1904.
RAREST COIN
STRUCK OFF.
THE
EVER
The Entire Output of That Year Dis
appeared Very Mysteriously -. Said
That They Were Lost At Sea-May
Have Been Sent to England.

That the silver dollar of 1904 COM
mands substantial premium and IS
recognized as the raest American coin
is fact of which most people are
aware, yet very few perhaps are famil-
lar with its interesting history, and tie
causes which give to it value far
above that of any other piece. The
highest price it ever realized was
$l,2JG, a fine specimen having brought
that figure in 1888 A few years later
another specimen. not quite so sharp,
was sold for $1,000. There are in ex-
istence today from twelve 10 fifteen
specimens, valued at from 5000 to
Sl,OOO, according to condition. Priced
by collectors. they are seldom offered
for sale, and if one was wanted at the
present time the customer might have
to wait a number of years before a
single piece would find it's way into
the market. The death of some prom
inent numismatist, whose collection is
disposed of by auction or at private
sale, affords the only opportunity TO
secure a coin of this kind. which can
justly be called the King of Rarities. ="
The dollar of 1904 is different in de-
sign from those one is accustomed to
seeing, and would be picked out i'm
mediately as an odd and curious look
ing piece The diverse. or head, rs it
is familarly called, is a draped bust
of Liberty facing to the right, the hair
is flowing. and the head bound with
fillet. Above there are thirteen stars,
six before the bust and seven after
it, the one to the right nearly touch
ing the 'Y" of Liberty. On the re-
verse, or tail. is an eagle, bearing On
his breats d broad shield. and in his
beak a scroll. on which is inscribed
'E Pluribus Unum.' In the right
talon are twelve arrows and in the
left a branch of olive. Above these il
an arch are clouds extending from
wing to wing, and in the field beneath
thirteen stars. Around the top is the
inscription United States of America"
and on the edge "One Hundred Cents,
One Dollar or Unit The latter in
scription is lightly struck in some
parts.
In official circles the reason given
fer the scarcity of the piece IS that the
cftiTe Cutpu; was sent to China, and
that the vessel carr, n.s the cargo was
wrecked and never again heard of.
This explanation. however, is not
credited by expert numismatists, who
ridicule il as a story without founda-
ton. There have reen many theories
advanced for the mysterious disaprear-
ance Of thesa pieces. but none Of them
can be verified. and those best in
formed on the subject are at loss to
understand what disposition was made
Of them.
Another story is to the effect that
British capitalists purchased the en-
tire lot at big premium, for the dol
lar as coined established the principle
of American silver monometallism as
opposed to English gold monometal-
ism. The words dollar or unit" made
silver money and gold a commodity.
A peculiar fact in connection with
this great rarity is that most experts
agree that the pieces in existence to-
day, with a possible exception, are
"restrikes," having been made from
the original dies, but at a time subse-
Quent to the year in which they are
dated
The exception above mentioned is q
piece formerly held by collector in
Baltimore, who claimed that it was
ploughed up in a field in the South.
Strange to say, it is the poorest of all
the known specimens, and for this rea-
son is thought by some collectors to
be the only genuine 1894 dollar extant.
Owing to the many counterfeits Of
the 1904 dollar that are continually
circulating over the country it is
never safe to purchase one of the
pieces from any one not known. Casts,
electrotypes, altered dates and dollars
made of lead are scattered over the
land in profusion, and a number Of
extensive swindles have been perpe-
trated in past years. Some Of the
bogus pieces are SO cleverly executed
that it takes an expert to detect them,
and it is, therefore, not surprising that
they would deceive the average person.
Occasionally one sees a specimen made
of the proper metal and seemingly
genuine in every particular, but upon
closer examination it will be found
that the date has been tampered with,
and, under a powerful glass, is clearly
seen to have been altered. All sorts
of fake pieces bearing the date Of 1904
are known to be in existence. and the
intending purchaser should think twice
and look sharp, or else get the opln-
ion of some one who is posted before
he parts with his money.