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The Draped Bust dollar is a United States dollar coin minted from 1795 to 1803, and again throughout the nineteenth century with the date of 1804. The design succeeded the Flowing Hair dollar, which began mintage in 1794 and was the first silver dollar struck by the United States Mint. Originally, the Draped Bust dollar was struck in an illegal alloy of .900 silver. The designer is unknown, though the distinction is usually credited to artist Gilbert Stuart. The model is also unknown, though Ann Willing Bingham has been suggested.

In October 1795, newly appointed Mint Director Elias Boudinot ordered that the legal fineness of .892 silver be used for the silver dollar. Due largely to a decrease in the amount silver deposited at the Philadelphia Mint, coinage of silver dollars declined throughout the end of the eighteenth century. In 1804, coinage of silver dollars was halted, and officially ended in 1806 by order of Secretary of State James Madison.

In 1834, silver dollar production was temporarily started to supply a diplomatic mission to Asia with a special set of proof American coins. Officials mistakenly believed that dollars had last been minted with the date 1804, causing them to use that date rather than the date in which the coins were actually struck. A limited number of 1804 dollars were struck by the Mint in later years, and they remain rare and valuable.

Background


Coinage began on the first United States silver dollar, known as the Flowing Hair dollar, in 1794 following the construction and staffing of the Philadelphia Mint. Though the Coinage Act of 1792 called for the silver coinage to be minted in an alloy of .892 silver and .108 copper. However, Mint officials were reluctant to strike coins in the unusual alloy, so it was decided to strike them in an illegal alloy of .900 silver instead. This caused depositors of silver to lose money when their metal was coined. During the second year of production of the Flowing Hair dollar, it was decided that the denomination would be redesigned. It is unknown what prompted this change or who suggested it, though numismatic historian R.W. Julian speculates that Henry William de Saussure, who was named Director of the Mint on July 9, 1795, may have suggested it, as he had named a redesign of the American coinage as one of his goals prior to taking office. It is also possible that the Flowing Hair design was discontinued due to much public disapproval.

Design
Though the designer of the coin is unknown, artist Gilbert Stuart is widely acknowledged to have been its creator; Mint Director James Ross Snowden began researching the early history of the United States Mint and its coinage in the 1850s, during which time he interviewed descendants of Stuart who claimed that their ancestor was the designer of the coins. It has been suggested that Philadelphia socialite Ann Willing Bingham posed as the model for the coin. Several sketches were approved both by Mint engraver Robert Scot and de Saussure and sent to President George Washington and Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson to gain their approval.

After approval was received, the designs were sent to artist John Eckstein to be rendered into plaster models; during that time, plaster models were used as a guide to cutting the dies, which was done by hand. After the plaster models were created, the engravers of the Philadelphia Mint (including Scot) began creating hubs that would be used to make dies for the new coins.

Production
It is unknown exactly when production of the new design began, as precise records of design were not kept at that time. R.W. Julian, however, estimates the beginning of production in either late September or early October 1795. In September of 1795, de Saussure wrote his resignation letter to President Washington. In his letter, de Saussure mentioned the illegal silver standard and suggested that Congress be urged to make the standard official, but this was not done. In response to de Saussure's letter, Washington expressed his displeasure in the resignation, stating that he had viewed de Saussure's tenure with "entire satisfaction". As de Saussure's resignation would not take effect until October, the president was given time to select a replacement.



The person chosen to fill the position was statesman and former congressman Elias Boudinot. Upon assuming his duties at the Mint on October 28, Boudinot was informed of the silver standard that had been used since the first official silver coins were struck. He immediately ordered that this practice be ceased and that coinage would begin in the .892 fineness approved by the Coinage Act of 1792. The total production of 1795 dollars (including both the Flowing Hair and Draped Bust types) totalled 203,033. It is estimated that approximately 42,000 dollars were struck bearing the Draped Bust design. Boudinot soon ordered that production of minor denominations be increased. Later, assayer Albian Cox died suddenly from a stroke in his home on November 27, 1795, leaving the vital post of assayer vacant. This, together with Boudinot's increased focus on smaller denominations, as well as a lull in private bullion deposits (the fledgling Mint's only source of bullion), caused a decrease in silver dollar production in 1796. The total mintage for 1796 was 79,920, which amounts to an approximate 62 percent reduction from the previous year's total.

Bullion deposits continued to decline, and in 1797, silver dollars production reached the lowest point since 1794 with a mintage of just 7,776 pieces. During this time, silver deposits declined to such an extent that Thomas Jefferson personally deposited 300 Spanish dollars in June 1797. In April 1797, an agreement was reached between the Mint and the Bank of the United States. The Bank agreed to supply the Mint with foreign silver on the condition that the Bank would receive their deposits back in silver dollars. The Mint was closed between August and November 1797, and in November the Bank deposited approximately $30,000 worth of French silver. In early 1798, the obverse was changed from the small, perched eagle to a heraldic eagle similar to that depicted on the Great Seal of the United States. The agreement reached with the Bank of the United States along with other bullion deposits (including some made by Boudinot) led to an increase in the amount of silver dollars coined; mintage amounts for both the small and heraldic eagle types totalled 327,536. Mintage numbers for the dollar remained heavy through 1799, with 423,515 struck that year.

Toward the end of the eighteenth century, many of the silver dollars produced by the Mint were being shipped to China and not returned to the United States. In 1800, silver deposits once again began to decline, and the total silver output for that year was 220,920. In 1801, following complaints from the public and members of Congress, Boudinot began requesting silver depositors to receive smaller denominations rather than silver dollars, which were routinely requested, in an effort to supply the nation with more small change. As such, production dropped to 54,454 pieces for the year of 1851. The situation persisted in 1802, and Boudinot was able to convince many depositors to accept their silver in the form of small denominations, resulting in a mintage of just 41,650 silver dollars that year. Though silver bullion deposits at the Mint had increased, Boudinot attempted to end silver dollar production in 1803, favoring half dollars instead. Mintage of the 1803 dollar continued until March 1804, when production of silver dollars ceased entirely. In total, 85,634 dollars dated 1803 were struck. Following a formal request from the Bank of the United States, Secretary of State James Madison officially suspending silver dollar and gold eagle production in 1806, though minting of both had already ended two years earlier.

1804 dollars
In 1831, Mint Director Samuel Moore filed a request through the Treasury asking president Andrew Jackson to once again allow the coinage of silver dollars; the request was approved on April 18. Later, in 1834, Edmund Roberts was selected as an American commercial representative to Asia, including the kingdoms of Muscat and Siam. Roberts recommended, among other things, that the dignitaries be given a set of American Proof coins. Following the suggestion, the government ordered Moore to prepare the sets. Though the minting of dollars had been approved in 1831, none were struck since 1804. After consulting with Chief Coiner Adam Eckfeldt (who had worked at the Mint since its opening in 1792), Moore determined that the last silver dollars struck were dated 1804. Unbeknownst to either of them, the last production in March 1804 was actually dated 1803. Since they believed that the last striking was dated 1804, it was decided to strike the presentation pieces with that date as well. It is unknown why the current date was not used, but R.W. Julian suggests that this was done to prevent coin collectors from being angered over the fact that they would be unable to obtain the newly dated coins.

The first two 1804 dollars (as well as the other coins for the sets) were struck in November 1834. Soon, Robert's trip was expanded to Indo-China (then known as Annam) and Japan, so two additional sets were struck. Those pieces struck under the auspices of the Mint are known as Class I 1804 dollars, and eight of that type are known to exist today. Roberts left for his trip in April 1835, and he presented one set each to the Sultan of Muscat and the King of Siam. While in Siam, Roberts fell ill in Bangkok, was taken to Macao, and died in June 1835. Following Roberts' death, the remaining two sets were sent back to the Mint without being presented to the dignitaries.

Collecting


Coin collectors largely became aware of the 1804 dollar in 1842, when Jacob R. Eckfeldt (son of Adam Eckfeldt) and William E. Du Bois published a book entitled A Manual of Gold and Silver Coins of All Nations, Struck Within the Past Century. In the volume, several coins from Mint's coin cabinet, including an 1804 dollar, were reproduced by tracing a pantograph stylus over an electrotype of the coins. In May 1843, numismatist Matthew A. Stickney was able to obtain an 1804 dollar from the Mint coin cabinet by trading a rare pre-federal United States gold coin. Due to an increase in the demand for rare coins, Mint officials, including Director Snowden, began minting an increasing amount of coin restrikes in the 1850s. Several 1804 dollars were struck, and some were sold for personal profit on the part of Mint officials. Upon discovering this, Snowden bought back several of the coins. One such coin, which Snowden later added to the Mint cabinet, was struck over an 1857 shooting thaler and became known as Class II, the only such piece of that type known to exist today. Other pieces, which had edge lettering applied after striking, became known as Class III dollars. In total, six of this type are known.

By the end of the nineteenth century, the 1804 had become the most famous and discussed of all American coins. In 1867, one of the original 1804 dollars was sold at auction for $750. Seven years later, on November 27, 1874, a specimen sold for $700. Later, in the early twentieth century, coin dealer B. Max Mehl began marketing the 1804 dollar as the "King of American Coins". The coins continued to gain popularity throughout the twentieth century, and the price reached an all time high in 1999, when an example graded Proof-68 was sold at auction for $4,140,000.