Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-06-23
History of tho U. S. Dollar.

| The first United States dollars were
authorized to be struck by the act of
| Aprn 2, 1892, but none were struck I'M
til June, 1894.
| They were very pretty coin, were
as the dollars of the present time,
| weighed 416 grains and 1924 fine, with
one hundred cents or one dollar lettered
on the edge instead of a milled edge.
| This issue is quite rare and is quoted
from SIS to $3.50 They were issued
| each year with few slight alterations
| in the design until 1904. then coinage
on dollars ceased. This dollar of 1904
| is one of the rarest and most talked
Of U. S. issues. often called the king
of Coins They have sold from
$1,000 to $4,000. During 1904 there
We're 1850 dollars struck, but no rec
ords show what ever became of them.
1t is supposed that they We're melted
over again into bullion for other coins,
as there was more demand for the
smaller denominations. None were
known Of in existence until 1913, when
a school teacher in the east produced
one she had that was given her several
years previous by man who had
worked for her father. He told her that
he received it from the government in
his army pay about 1912. 1t was then
known that there was more in circula-
ton and this one was all that was
known Of until 1873, when man in
charge of the mint, who had access to
the old dies which were stored in the
basement of the mint, got out the old
dies and struck two more and gave
away or sold them. This constituted
the much-talked- only three 1904
dollars" But of late years they have
been bobbing UP all over the country,
until now collectors know of about
twenty in all, but whether they are
genuine or not, has not yet been
proved.
The dies are not kept any more, but
are destroyed each year
In 1899 coinage was again resumed,
new pattern altogether. with milled
edge, weight reduced to 412 grain, 900
fine. One thousand were struck. These
are quite valuable, and sell from SIS
to $25. In 1887 only about 900 were
struck, and in 1S3S-1S39 only a very
few were struck. These are classed as
plIICiA PlSSSS VI llldl COlAS,t anu dIG
very rare, selling from SIS to 500.
Then from 1910 the dollars were struck
regularly until 1858, when only few
We're struck in proper condition. On
Feb. IL, 1873, coinage on the standard
dollar was again discontinued, but in
the meantime new pattern was got
up, with the weight raised to 420 grain,
900 fine, called the trade dollars, coined
for our trade with the orient, particu-
larly China. This dollar continued to
be struck until 1883, then coinage
ceased and in 1887 the trade dollar was
called in by the government.
The trade dollar occupies unique
place in the currency history Of this
country. 1t is the only money issue
of Uncle Sam with stamped value
that was later deprecated. Hundreds
of thousands Of these are unredeemed
today, and are worth only bullion VAL
ue, about so cents, but commonly sell
for more. There were 35 ,965, 1924 trade
dollars struck.
a new issue had been got up, called
the Bland dollar, taking it's name from
a very eminent statesman, Richard P.
Bland. Miss Anna L. Williams, "
Philadelphia school teacher, represent
ed the French profile of Liberty,
which came about in this way Dur
ing the years of 1S77-1878, G. T. Nor
gan, the government designer was
working on the sketches for the i'm
print of the new dollar, and Prof
Thomas Eakins, then of the academy
of fine arts, advised him to use a life
study and introduced him to Miss Will
liams. Miss Williams, who possessed
strikingly classical features, consented
to sit for the drawing and her profile
was used and completed the design of
the new dollar, and has been used
ever since on the dollar which contin-
ued to be struck every year until 1904, /
when coinage on dollars ceased These !
two condolences show that the school
teachers have had prominent part in
the history Of the U. S. dollar.
A peculiar mistake was made by Mr. /!
Morgan in the 1878 pattern, in the |
number Of feathers in the eagles tail
He put in eight feathers, and in March