The Early History of the Silver Dollar

The silver dollar is a coin worth one dollar in United States currency. Dollar coins have been minted various times beginning in 1794. In the past, it has been minted in gold, silver, and base metals. Silver coins were the first dollar coins every minted. The term is actually used to refer to a number of different coins, whether or not they are made from silver. Any white metal coin worth one dollar is commonly referred to as a silver dollar in the United States.

The first coins to be minted in this coinage were done after the passage of the Coinage Act of 1792. The act authorized their production. The United States Mint began to produce these coins and did so from 1794 through 1803. They were not produced again until 1836. The original coinage was only of 1758 of them. They were dated October 15th, 1794. These first coins were not placed into circulation but rather were given to foreign and national dignitaries as souvenirs.

There were several designs used in these early coins:

• The Flowing Hair coin was minted from 1794 through 1795• The Draped Bust coin was minted from 1795 through 1804. Notably, there are two reverse designs of this coin, one from 1795 to 1798 and the other from 1798 to 1804.

If you are lucky enough to have one of these early American silver dollars, consider yourself in possession of some of the finest available. Some of them are considered considerably rare.

Things changed when the 1804 silver dollar was produced. It is the rarest coin and one of the most notable to coin collectors around the world. These coins are considered to be minted mistakenly and although they were struck in 1804, they were dated for 1803. The 1804 coin was actually minted in 1834, as a way of creating gifts for Asian leaders. There were only 15 coins minted with that date on them. One of these that sold in 1999 sold for more than four million dollars.

The Seated Liberty dollar was the next coin to be minted in dollar denominations. It was produced from 1836 through 1873. These coins were used fairly well in general circulation. By 1853, though, the value of silver was more than the actual face value of the coin. It was minted for the following years but mainly because there was a need for it to facilitate trade in the Orient. In 1870, the value of silver fell again, and the coins were once again produced for general circulation.

Those who may collect silver dollars should learn the age of the coins. In the early years, silver was valuable. More so, one dollar could be used to purchase a great deal of product and therefore the coins were often considered too highly valued to be in regular use. Still, as history shows us later on, even as inflation occurred, Americans have never really hung onto the silver dollars as well as other coins and paper currency.