Bust Gold Dollar US Rare Coin Investments

Arrival of several tons of Welsh copper blanks from Boulton & Watt, July 8, 1800, signaled a new beginning. Dies were evidently of tougher steel, as they lasted longer than any earlier ones; the single Stemless Wreath reverse (the commonest die of the denomination, 1793 - 1857) forms the majority of survivors dated 1805 - 1806 and nearly half those dated 1804. Its blunder has the same explanation as that on the stemless cents: The wreath device punch lacked stem ends, which had to be added by hand, and Scot carelessly omitted them.

Very rarely, coins dated 1804 come on cent stock; the dates 1803 - 1808 may also exist on blanks made from cut-down spoiled cents. This reflects not error but economy; the coiner had to account for every Boulton & Watt planchet, and do everything to minimize spoilage because Congress would appropriate funds for more planchets only the basis of how many coins were actually issued. Unsurprisingly, mint errors in this period are plentiful: Quality control had to yield to quantity.

Again for reasons of economy, many dies were used into later years: The mintage figures for 1804 - 1804 included many coins dated 1803, those for 1805 - 1806 included many dated 1804, that for 1807 included many dated 1806. Coins dated 1807 are readily found worn but seldom in mint state, the best ones being weak strikings from worn dies. Those dated 1808 represent the final appearance of this design; the normal date obverse was evidently made in 1806 with final digit omitted, the 8 punch breaking in the meantime, as its final 8 is made up of two zeroes.

Uncirculated survivors dated 1800 are mostly from two hoards found in New England: brown UNCs. from a group found before the turn of the century, red ones (usually spotty) from one found in Boston in the 1930s. Mint red 1806's with large 6, also usually sporty, are from a hoard of at least 200 found by Hendry Chapman about 1906; these are always weak at upper wreath.

BUST DOLLARS - DRAPED BUST / SMALL EAGLE (1796 - 1797)
These are among the most mysterious of U.S. coin types, as well as among the most elusive. Two obverses dated 1796, respectively with 15 and 16 stars, were muled with a single reverse, which was carried over to make the first of the two vars. dated 1797 again with 15 stars, not 16: Why? The mystery deepens when we consider delivery dates: 1796, none; 1797,[60] February 28, [874] March 21 (both to the Bank of the United States in Philadelphia), and finally [2,984] May 26. By internal evidence, both 15-16 stars commemorated the admission of Tennessee to the Union on June 1. Then the 16-stars die must have been completed either aticipating or following the celebrations of that time.

My tentative solution-presented only as conjecture, as no other Archives date survive about these mintages - is that early in 1796, a few prooflike presentation coins were struck, but as usual not recorded as regular coinage. A second 15-stars obverse was made but (as in many other instances) omitting final degit, for possible use later that year or in 1797 or some subsequent year. Then, for the Tennessee celebrations, the 16-star die was made and used only for a few prooflike presentation strikings. No more half dollars were coined from either die until February 1797. Those coined in February were 1796's with 15 stars; those in March included some with 15 and others with 16 stars, both obverses cracking. Their shared reverse began to crack with the 16 star obverse. At this point the incomplete 15-star die was given a final 7 and hardened for use, and the second reverse made ready. The mintage of May 26 consisted mostly of coins dated 1797 from both reverses, but may have included the last of the 1796's with 16 stars.

Many high-grade survivors show vaguely prooflike surfaces, from a tiny group once owned by Col. E. H. R. Green (pegoegged collector of railroad cars, coins, pornographic films, son of Hetty Green, the "Witch of Wall Street"). Real presentation strikings, from the very earliest states of both 1796 obverses are much rarer.

The portrait of Ms. Liberty is after a drawing by Gilbert Stuart, modeled by Mrs. William Bingham (ne'e Ann Willing), Philadelphia socialite reputed to be one of the most beautiful women of her day- not that either this or the Gilbert Stuart connection could be proved by Scot's device punch. John Eckstein is credited with the eagle; the plam branches were originally a compliment to Mint Director DeSaussure's South Carolina homeland, but by the time these half dollars were made, the device was an anachronism, as DeSaussure had long since resigned.

CAPPED BUST (1836 - 1837)
During autumn 1836, Christian Gobrecht (appointed Second Engraver in 1835 when Kneass had his eventually fatal stroke) completed working dies for half dollars, of a new design, intended for steam coinage at the new weight standard, to be mandated by a bill then under consideration by Congress. As this bill did not become law until Jan 18, 1837, the coins dated 1836 were for long believed patterns. Robert W. Julian has found evidence that the 1836 coinages of the new design were in fact legal issues for circulation at the old weight standard. However, Mint tolerances for blanks at the old standard meant that many were coined at 206.5 to 207 grams, which largely overlaps the legal limits of the new standard. Therefore, new standard blanks could have been used and probably were. All specimens I have weighed are within legal tolerances for either standard.

These half dollars of the new issue, dated 1836, were the first coins made for circulation on the Mint's new steam press. Steam coinage had been a goal of successive Mint Directors ever since 1797, when Matthew Boulton originally demonstrated its value by coining over 34 million pennies for the government of George III, more nearly identical (and more frustrating to counterfeiters) than any similar quantity of coins had ever been. However, for a variety of reasons, no foundry in the USA could build a steam coinage press until 1836. The Mint's first one was due to begin service on February 22, 1836, and Gobrecht cut dies for medalets; however, the demonstration was aborted, and the date on the FIRST STEAM COINAGE medalet die was altered to March 23. (These medalets became very popular; the Mint Bureau still sells imitations.) No steam coinage for circulation followed until November 8, 1836. On this latter date, Min Director Robert Maskell Patterson sent 10 "specimens" (were these proofs?) of the new half dollar design to Treasury Secretary Levi Woodbury as "the first specimens, executed this afternoon."

HERALDIC EAGLE (1800 - 1805)
As always, the smallest denominations were among the last to received the dubious benefit of Scot's design changes. Scot coppied the heraldic eagle device from the Great Seal of the United States (1872), though on all six device punches of this design he committed the heraldic blunder (or piece of saberattling bravado?) of placing the warlike arrows in the eagle's dexter claw (its own right, observer's left), outranking the olive branch of peace in the sinister claw. On the actual Great Seal (as copied on the backs of current dollar bills) this blunder does not occur. No Archives documentation explains the change; we may never know if it was Mint Director Boudinot's militant hyperpatriotism, or merely a Scot error blindly repeated from one device punch to its bigger or smaller look-alikes. Circumstances favor the latter guess. Patterson and Dougall cite evidence that Scot engraved the Great Seal.

This design appeared first on 1796 quarter eagles, perhaps originally intended for presentation pieces celebrating Tennessee's admission to the Union as the sixteenth state: All three dies have 16 stars above eagle. Next it showed up on half eagles and eagles in 1797, and on dollars and dismes in 1798, reaching the half dismes only in 1800, half dollars in 1801, quarter dollars in 1804. On all the smaller gold and silver denominations, especially the half dismes, through miscalculation it presents a much more crowed appearcance than on the dollars, eagles, or half dollars.

The only date of this type which can be had in mint state, well struck, without many years waiting, is 1800. Of 1802 no UNCs. it traced, of 1801 only one, and of 1803-1805 only a few.
For 1800, three obverses are known. That with a tall perfectly formed 8 is still unique; after this punch broke, for unknown reasons it was never replaced, and subsequent dies through 1805 either have an 8 made out of overlapping circles (the other two 1800 obverses, 1802, and 1803 large date) or engraved, crude and narrow, like a schoolboy's effort (1801, 1803 small date 1805).

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