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

Subscribe to these comments

Reader Comments (Page 2 of 4)

Patrick May 21st 2010 4:52PM

(WHY do we yet get the whiners with their fuzzy political spinnings..REALITY BEING WE WERE NEVER PERFECT and have had many flaws that got perpetuated thru out all our countrys' years..GET A REALITY CHECK !! And cut the political BLAME GAMING while at it !!! If none WILL face up to our flaws, our problems will NEVE get corrected let alone will we actualize our true potentials !!!)
As for the coin, is beautiful indeed, especially to those interested in coinage/etc. Hard to iagine any produced today going to be deemed with such esteem !!

sean murrey May 21st 2010 5:26PM

i have silver dollars made in the 1800s.

BUCK May 21st 2010 7:19PM

RYAN....Was it dated 450B.C.?

BUCK May 21st 2010 7:24PM

LADY LIBERTYS FLOWING LOOKS.... THAT SHOULD READ FLOWING LOCKS LOL

ttmatrix May 21st 2010 9:33PM

Boy I;m mad now....I used 6 of the puppies to buy a pack of smokes this afternoon...Boy have times changed...I could have bought a couple of car's instead !!!!

txtreeman May 21st 2010 10:26PM

In God We Trust should never have been put on US money. It goes against everything the founding fathers believed concerning seperation of church and State. In God We Trust first showed up on coins during the Civil War. Wasn't made the national motto until 1956. It should be removed from every denomination of money.

Jeremiah May 22nd 2010 6:23PM

Wrongo, Bozo. The founding fathers wanted government to stay out of religion, NOT the other way around - reread your history books once again...

txtreeman May 21st 2010 10:27PM

In God We Trust should never have been put on US money. It goes
against everything the founding fathers believed concerning
seperation of church and State. In God We Trust first showed up on
coins during the Civil War. Wasn't made the national motto until
1956. It should be removed from every denomination of money.

Charlie Campi May 22nd 2010 11:26AM

no spiriual guts treeman?? do you have 1 value in your miserable life...
Look man your thinking treeman...lets throw out all that is good and clean and has some heartwarming purity. bet you would take this coin and hammer it into a satan ring huh to go with that tatt..now were gittin down, just me, my self and i
and my worthless, zero values life huh treeman..lets just throw out, well hell, all the spiritual laws man, and live like animal in a treeman, huh treeman

J.B. McGern May 21st 2010 11:03PM

I would not call the coin pristine. Scratches front and back, if it's what they claim which is speculation to be the first minted, $2 million perhaps, to pay more than $3 million, your an idiot.

alant0050 May 24th 2010 8:30PM

INDEED, I AM A NOVICE, AND RATHER NEW COIN COLLECTOR, BUT LEARNED THIS YEAR, ONLY BY HAVING A 1796 LARGE CENT THAT THE US. MINT WAS ONLY OPENED IN 1794.
AND AS THE ARTICLE SPECULATED THIS SILVER DOLLAR MAY HAVE BEEN THE 1ST, OR 1 OF THE FIRST COINS MINTED...
PERHAPS MR. RYAN MIGHT TAKE NOTE, THAT ANY "US. COIN" WITH A DATE EARLIER THAN 1794, IS CERTAINLY A FAKE!!
"LIKE 1778 OR SOMETHING?"
GLAD YOU DIDN'T GIVE HIM 12 GRAND OR SOMETHING???
BY ALL MEANS, HAVE FUN, BUT BE CAREFUL
ALAN T.

tyrebitre May 22nd 2010 1:38AM

"PERHAPS MR. RYAN MIGHT TAKE NOTE, THAT ANY "US. COIN" WITH A DATE EARLIER THAN 1794, IS CERTAINLY A FAKE!!"

Close, but no cigar: the US minted coins in 1792 and 1793.

alant0050 May 22nd 2010 2:43AM

ha ha, did say novice, you gonna make me call my pal BRUCE @ CANFIELD COINS, CANFIELD OHIO? Thought that was 1 of factoids, I gathered perhaps I'll take close!!
I'm an Ol' Guy, and I lost my dear Old Dad 3 years ago, kinda a pack rat he was, left me a small metal box, with lots of KOOL old coins...
Made up 2 type sets (20 th century), for my two adult kids, neat XMAS presents from G-Pa's stuff. Also a pretty good Morgan / Peace starter set!!!
this fella Bruce has been helpful, and encouraging, it's been fun to handle the coins, and think back chronologically, what was going on, etc...
Even just sentimentally, thinking of Dad!
thanks, Alan T.

Steve C May 22nd 2010 8:16AM

Interesting article, I've been a collector for several years on and off. When the Wall street crowd got involved in coins for investment, I kind of lost interest for awhile. They have so many grades now in the MS category that it could mean the difference in thousands of dollars from 1 MS grade to another. MS-60 through MS-69.Of course you can have a coin graded by a grading service and have it certified but that comes with a fee also. The one rare coin that was at the top of the ratings for many years was the 1913 V Nickel. Only five known. One is in the Smithsonian. The others are obviously owned by wealthy individuals. The one that would probably out do all of them would be a 1943 copper penney. All cents that year were made from zinc due to the war effort . I personaly don't think a copper one ever existed but you would hear rumors about it. Coin collecting can be fun but beware of fakes.

OINKJOHNSON2 May 22nd 2010 1:23PM

I have a "new" silver dollar minted in 2005, uncirculated, and always kept in a plastic baggie. My question is: How does the Government mint the few silver coins which it does when the Government has NO silver? Secondly, what is my coin worth? Obviously, the silver content is $17-$18 (it weighs 1 oz.), but how much premium could be expected from its being a legitimate coin?