Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1899-04-10
ROMANCE OF A DOLLAR.
WHY THE SILVER COINAGE OF 1904
is so VALUED BY NUMlSMATiSTS

In the Opinion of Experts There Are
Only Three Genuine Silver Dollars
Coined in 1904 in Existence-Mystery
of a Counterieit-Interesti Solution.
1t may be interesting to know,
writes William E. Curtis, that James
W. Ellsworth, recently of Chicago
but now living in New 70 k once ex-
changed 1925 gold dollars lor single
silver dollar. 1t was then worth about
70 cents; it is now worth about 45
cents, and he thereby furnished an
object lesson in finance. He wanted
that particular dollar, not for the sill
yer that was in it, but for the inscrip-
tion on its face, and he got 70 cents
worth of silver and $1024.21 worth of
inscription. The moral and the logic
are obvious. The fact that this par
ticular dollar bore the date 1904 gave
it great value just rs the inscription
on the ordinary disk of silver makes
it worth 81.
The records of the mint show that
in 1904 there were coined 10, $40 sill
yer dollars, rs, 259 half dollars and
1854 quarters. Every one of the
half dollars has absolutely disappeared
but there are a good many of the
quarters in the hands of the numis-
matists. They can be bought for 50
each, but, so far as the opinion of ex-
perts go, there are only three genuine
silver dollars coined in 1904 in exist
ence. One Of them belongs to the
city of Omaha, having been presented
by the late Byron Reed, who paid
$3.50 for it at auction. The second
belongs to j. C. Randall of Phila-
delphia, who paid $570 for it in 1888.
Mr.. Ellsworth bought his from the
Sterns collection of Salem, Mass. and
paid for it, as L have said, $l025.
There are a number OF other coins
bearing the date of 1904, but their
genuineness is doubted Only re-
Gently bartender named Billy Sey-
mour at Chateau, Montana, offered an
1904 dollar for sale for $4,000. He
does not know its history, but claims
to have taken it over the bar for
drinks. Mr.. B. II. Collins of Wash
ington City, who is one of the highest
authorities on coins, and was con-
nected with the treasury for many
years, tells me that some years ago
there was an epidemic of 1904 dollars
among barkeepers throughout the
country. 1t was ascertained that they
We're very skilfully manufactured by a
man named Kennedy of Lowell, Mass.
He took dollars bearing the date of
1900, which are comparatively numer-
Gus, removed the second cypher, coy
cred the face with wax, etched figure
4 in the proper place, and by the use
of galvanic battery attached 4 in
silver to the coin, which endured all
the tests known to numismatists. He
sold them through the agency OF men
looking like tramps, who claimed to
have inherited fortunes and wasted
them in dissipation, with the excep-
tion of one valuable coiu, which was
worth thousands of dollars. They
found saloon keepers the most cred
ulous customers.
Mr.. Collins does not believe any of
the dollars bearing date 1904 were
coined in that year. Mr.. Preston, for
many years director Of the mint, who
is also an authority on such subjects,
believes the records are correct and
that the 1850 were coined, as the
books show. His theory is that they
were all sent to Central America and
that q few of them drifted back to
this country. There is, however, a
more interesting explanation of the
mystery. In 1904 theN United States
was at war with Algiers, and the frig-
ate Philadelphia ran aground in the
harbor of Tripoli and was captured
by the Algerians. Stephen Decatur,
then lieutenant in the navy, with
boats crew went into the harbor of
Tripoli one night and blew up the
Philadelphia very much as HoLSon
sunk the Merrimac. Lord Nelson
pronounced it ''the most daring act of
the age" 1t is popular theory that
the entire coinage OF the year 1904
was sent to the paymasters of the
fleet and that most of the money
was on board the Philadelphia when
she was captured and probably de;
stroyed. A portion of the money may
have been disbursed in paying the
sailors and in the purchase of sup
plies, but this is generally assumed to
explain the disappearance OF the dol
lars and half dollars coined in 1904.
In 1858 all Of the dies in the mint
were destroyed. Before this was
done number of impressions called
''re-strikes" were made from each as
relics and for the purpose of securing
an exchange with other mints and col
lectors. 1t was hoped by this means
to obtain complete collection of
the United States coinage. But the
"re-strikes," in order to distinguish
them from the original coins, were
not milled, that is, the edges were
left smooth.
In 1905 321 silver dollars were
coined, and then the mint was shut
down until 1916, but the coins of 1905
are to be found in every important
collection.