Silver Dollar Sets New World Record

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
May 21st 2010 at 11:32AM

A rare 1794 U.S. silver dollar has set a record price. The Neil/Carter/Contursi specimen 1794 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar sold for $7.85 million. What makes this particular coin so rare is that it is the finest known 1794 dollar and several experts believe this could be the first silver dollar ever struck by the United States Mint.

The coin was sold by Steven L. Contursi, President of Rare Coin Wholesalers of Irvine, California, to the nonprofit Cardinal Collection Educational Foundation in Sunnyvale, California. Contursi has had the coin since 2003, acquiring it for a price he's only ever defined as "millions of dollars." He has displayed the coin in cities around the country and had a custom wooden exhibit case constructed so it could be seen more easily. When it wasn't on tour it was a featured exhibit at the American Numismatic Association's Edward C. Rochette Money Museum in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The Flowing Hair silver dollars take their name from Lady Liberty's flowing locks shown on the obverse of the coin. The reverse shows the the words the United States of America with an olive tree and an eagle. Records show that 1,758 silver dollars were struck on a hand-turned screw press at the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia on October 15, 1794, which was the only day of production for dollar coins that year. The coins were created to replace the European coins that dominated local commerce. Now it is believed that there are around 140 surviving examples remaining. The Neil/Carter/Contursi specimen is unique both for the quality of its imprint and the fine silver it was struck from. The pristine condition of the coin has led experts to surmise that is has had plenty of special handling in the years since its minting, a fact which lends credence to the hypothesis that this was the first coin struck and therefore designated to be of prime importance. It remained in the Mint's collection until the 1800s and has been in collector hands ever since.

The record price bests the old record of $7.59 million set for a U.S.-minted 1933 $20 gold piece, according to the American Numismatic Association. Martin Logies, curator of the Cardinal Collection, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving rare coins, told the AP that the foundation plans to display the coin and show it to the public. He said that the coin is without a doubt the earliest struck of all pieces extant. He should know, he is the author of "The Flowing Hair Silver Dollars of 1794" and has done extensive research on these historic coins.

Tags: 1794 silver dollar, contest, flowing hair silver dollar, most expensive coin, rare coin, rare coins, silver coins, silver dollar, silver dollars

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)

the truth May 21st 2010 12:34PM

Take it to Gold and Silver Pawn Shop in Las Vegas. Ask for Chumley.

Grahamwizbo54 May 21st 2010 1:11PM

I bet you'd love to get your hands ona 7 million dollar coin, so would I !

Bill May 22nd 2010 5:31PM

Ok, so how does a "non-profit" org come up with nearly eight million to purchase one coin? I say, time to start taxing those mother-effers just like the rest of us getting screwed.

leon May 21st 2010 1:16PM

Darn I bought my first deer rifle when I was 13 and I paid for it using 16 silver dollars just like those.

harry May 21st 2010 1:43PM

I doubt that seriously Leon.....no more than you obviously know about silver. I've been collecting silver for years.....have thousands of old coins myself, and have NEVER seen one like that!

pnut166 May 22nd 2010 5:09AM

Really? Was your first deer gun a flintlock musket ?

pnut166 May 22nd 2010 5:13AM

Really? Was your first deer gun a flintlock musket ?

al schrader May 22nd 2010 8:15PM

On April 18, 2010 a shot a coin half that size at half a football field with my Russian Mosine rifle (iron sights, no scope) pretty much making me the best marksman on earth....Alfred-

bobdwells May 22nd 2010 8:46PM

Not a chance Leon....

Unless your're over 300 years old.

RYAN May 21st 2010 1:39PM

I had a 1774 pre american paper dollar in my shop the other day but I knew the guys mom that was selling and he hasnt been out of prison for that long,he went in a 15 and got out at 21 and he has been out only a couple of years so I called her and asked her where he might get something like that,she said DONT BUY IT.........I did have a guy in the store once before with a coin older than this one ,like 1778 or something and I was looking at giving him 12 grand or so for it but the weight didnt turn out to be correct,it was a fake.....my personal collectiong isnt worth that much but all of my coins are BC coins with the oldest being around 450 BC.....but coin collecting is fun,try it sometime if you have never done it.

Ed May 21st 2010 2:56PM

Is in God we trust written on it?

Robert Wayne May 21st 2010 3:36PM

I doubt it, but it should have been.

Failte A Bhecky! May 23rd 2010 2:16AM

"In God We Trust" didn't become a big thing until the McCarthy era. It was added to point out that we weren't godless like the Communists. That's when "under God" was added to the Pledge of Allegiance, too. Nowadays, we tend to think of it as an essential part of America from the beginning, but those institutionalized deist sayings are relatively new.

Money Bags May 23rd 2010 2:11PM

No In God We Trust on this one. The first coin to have In God We Trust was the 1864 Two-Cent piece.

Art May 21st 2010 3:21PM

Let's say they worked 10 hours on Oct. 15, 1794 and turned out 1758 dollars, that would be about one every 20 seconds. Possible that they had more than one press. If not, that hand- screwed press would have had to be smokin'.

gts58 May 22nd 2010 12:35PM

This is a "dream coin" - have been collecting coins for nearly 60 years. Coins like this are "out of the reach to 99.9% of all coin collectors." But still, it is a pleasure just to look at it. Back then - America stood for something! Now we stand for nothing! The fiat money system is being minipulated and currency is created out of thin air - and we have a President who is totally lacking in leadership qualities. Our country had 8 years of Bush, a man who (in my opinion) had a learning disability and now we have a committed Socialist/Marxist that seems hell-bent on destroying everything that made America great.