Interesting read, but I find a few things questionable.
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However, the State Department did carry out further directives concerning the number of proof sets to be assembled. Six more sets were created beyond the two for the King of Siam and Sultan of Muscat.
This is news to me. I have never before this seen or heard of ANY reference to four more sets being made up beyond the four sets for Siam, Oman, Japan and Cochin-China. Yes 8 dollars were struck but I have never heard of anything but the four sets. I always supposed the extra coins were made so the four best could be selected for the presentation sets.
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At least four restrikes were produced without authorization sometime in 1858 and sold by a U.S. Mint employee for $75 apiece. The coins, bearing a plain edge and slightly different reverse than the lettered-edge originals, were traced to four collectors who surrendered them.
Plain edged restrikes were made and were reportedly being offered for $75 ( and the same source was said to be offering rae date coins and pattern coins in roll quantities) but I'm not aware of any records of how many were actually made or recovered, nor any records of who the collectors were who had them. Contemporary stories at the time had at least one of the plain edged coins being sent out of the country before the Mint attempted to round them up. That coin, if it exists, has never been seen again.
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Three of these pieces were subsequently melted
Were they?
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By 1859 more restrikes appeared, though these were produced on regular dollar planchets and carry the standard lettered edges as seen on the original 1804 Draped Bust Dollars. It's unknown how many were made, but six are accounted for today and are categorized as Class III 1804 Draped Bust Dollars.
These coins come from the same die pair as the one known Class II coin. The lettered edge on the Class III coins was applied AFTER the coins were struck. I think it may be possible that the Class III's may actually be the recovered Plain edge coins which were then edge lettered and sold off by the top Philadelphia mint officials for their own gain. The provenance of ALL of the Class III coins except one (Mint Director Linderman's coin) trace back to Linderman's friends, and coin dealers, Idler and Haseltine. (Those two also seem to have a never ending supply of "special" coins and patterns that most likely could only have come from an inside source at the Mint.)
Edited by Conder101
07/17/2020 8:04 pm
Posted 07/16/2020 10:27 pm
