Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-12-12
SILVER DOLLAR BRINGS So 600
Ninety -Nine-YearOld Coin Joins the
Collection of Seven,

From the Denver Republican
united States dollar, now in its ninetv-
ninth year. yesterday began the long trim
from Denver to Portland Ore. after having
lain IN a Denver collection of coins for more
than eighteen years. Though the dollar
is about the size of those coined during
the present year. and contains about the
same number of grains of silver, 1t brought
In the neighborhood of about S5.35 per grain
OF pure silver in its combination, and all
this because it has been in the one form for
nearly one hundred years
The dollar is one of the COMA ge of 1904 Of
which there are only seven known to be in
existence. 1t was bought by the late 7 Y
Dexter at the Chapman sale of coins I'm
1850 AT that time the coin had been but
lately secured from collection in RerIin
being the only one of the dollars that is
known to have been in a foreign collection
MI Dexter paid 81 ,010 for the dollar, hav-
ing 70 bid against several other collectors
the price being at that time the largest that
had eyer been paid for one of the coinage
named Since then one of the other coins
hau been sold for $1,000, record that held
goo1 until yesterday. when H G. Brown of
Portland, Ore, paid $1,000 for the coin to
X q. parvin, who succeeded to the owner
ship of the Dexter collection. Mr. Parvin
do net Willingly part with the coin at that
price for he has held 1t as the key piece
or his numismatic collection.
About year ago the Republican printed
the story of the Parvin 1904 dollar and Ii
was copied extensively throughout the
country. AS a result Mr.. Parvin has been
receiving letters ever since concerning his
collection of rare coins from all parts OF the
country. Chicago man tried to buy the
dollar. offering up to 1900, and failed
Then man in st. Louis tried to secure ii
for a collection to be exhibited at the
worlds fair. During these negotiations Mr.
Parvin thought he had discovered the limit
of bidding, and that no man would 20 over
$1,000 in trying to get the coin So when he
was asked by Mr.. Brown to put a price
upon it he replied that he was not willing
to dispose of it, but had set his price at
$1,000. Mr. Brown did not wait for the
slow progress of the United States mall
but telegraphed to send on the old dollar
Since then kilograms have been coming at
the rate of one a day Yesterday while
Mr.. Parvin was reluctantly placing the
dollar in a candy box and labelling it. there
came another telegram to hurry up the dol
lar anyway, and to send it c. O. d. If there
was no other way. So the dollar started
west
The scarcity of dollars of the 1904 vintage
IS explained by accident at sea. The
larger part of the silver dollars of that year
were struck off to pay United States SOL
diers and sailors doing duty in Tripoli,
North Africa, and We're shipped to that
place. The vessel that carried them away
from this country was never heard from
again. so the entire cargo is supposed to
rest somewhere upon the floor of the At
lantic ocean. Just seven copies of the dol
lar of that year in existence, two lying
in the mint at Philadelphia and the others
being private collections. In 1858 some
copies of the coin of 1864 were struck Off.
being known as ''restrikes,' but all but two
of them were called in. the records show,
and destroyed. One copy of the ''restrike'
is in the mint at Philadelphia and the
other is owned in England. No counterfeit
of the 1904 dollar was ever known.