The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-05-13
to $1,000 apiece, and if a few originals could

| to 5000 apiece, and If few originals could
| be produced L dare say they would bring
| that figure easily enough. But it happens,
unluckily, 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 as the test pieces
which always laid aside whenever a
new coin is struck, and the rest of the issue
| is, at this moment, 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 1850 silver dollars. That was the en-
| tire ISSUE barring the test pieces 1 have
| just spoken of, and ii was never put into
circulation. The whole lot, just as it came
| from the stamping presses, was dumped
into an iron chest and put on board
merchantmen bound for China. 1t was d.
rected to the captain of a United States
frigate then in Oriental waters and was
penses connected with the service. The
merchantmen 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 reason why
your Uncle Sam is the only collector in
the world who has a complete set Of Amer
lean dollars. Every other collection, includ-
ing 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. then.'' said
listener to the foregoing, that all the
Diamond Dollars now in private cabinets
are counterfeits?" by no means" replied
the collector. II own an 1904 dollar myself.
and there are at least three others, to my
knowledge, 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 known technically as
restrikes. In the early days, when the
minis had 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 knows just why, few dollars of
in circulation. 1t is probable that the total
number was not over forty or fifty, and
good many have been lost. The ones in ex-
istence are worth $50 apiece, and you may
rest assured that all the Diamond Dol
lars not mere limitations belong to this
little lot of restrikes. OF course, some of
them have been sold to green collectors
cent cause of such a transaction only a few
years ago. A friend Of mine who lives in
an adjoining State, and who owns a greet
many rare and beautiful coins, telegraphed
me one day asking whether $500 was too
much for genuine 1904 dollar. 7 took ii
for granted that he knew the facts about
the issue, and after puzzling over the mes
1t was an obscure joke of some kind, and
that was simply to stupid to see the
point. So / wired back advising him to
buy bushel at that price, and he prompt
ly closed the DEAL 1t turned out after
wards that the coin was restrike, and my
friend has never quite forgiven me. What
deceived him was the fact that the piece
was known positively to have been locked
up in an old chest at Savannah, since 1874
That did away with the counterfeit theory,
and the only thing he was doubtful about
was the price,"