PCGS PR 55 1804 Draped Bust Dollar Stars In Baltimore's D. Brent Pogue Coin Auction

PCGS - Santa ANA, CA - A rare 1804 Draped Bust Dollar, the most famous prize in coin collecting, will be sold in Baltimore on March 20 at an auction conducted by Stack's Bowers Galleries of Santa ANA, California. One of just 15 known to exist, the auction house expects the coin, graded PR55 by Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS), to bring between $1.2 and $1.5 million. When it was auctioned on behalf of Johns Hopkins University in 1980, it became the most valuable silver coin in the world. It was acquired by JHU by bequest from the Garrett Family, who first bought the coin in 1883.



Though dated 1804, the Garrett specimen of this renowned rarity was struck in secret at the Philadelphia Mint sometime between the 1850s and early 1870s, as coin collectors realized how rare 1804-dated silver dollars were and the U.S. Mint sought to cash in. The original 1804 Draped Bust Dollars were struck in 1834, intended as diplomatic gifts to Asian monarchs, produced as part of special presentation sets of American coins. Due to a misunderstanding of mint records, which indicated that the last silver dollars were struck in 1804, American government officials produced new silver dollars with the 1804 date. The last silver dollars before 1834 were coined in 1804 but bore the date 1803.

Read the entire article.