1804 Draped Bust Dollar : A Collector’s Guide

1804 Draped Bust Dollar Dies

All authentic 1804 Draped Bust Dollars were struck with the same polished obverse die and one of two polished reverse dies. The three dies were likely prepared together, probably in 1834. Eric P. Newman and Kenneth Bressett refer to the two reverse dies as Reverse X and Reverse Y.

Both reverse dies are based on the Heraldic Eagle design used from 1798 to 1803, though they were not perfectly executed. While the eagle image comes from the original hub punch, the letters, berries, and stems were added separately.

The simplest way to tell the two reverses apart is to look at the placement of the legend and the berries.

• On Reverse X, the first ‘S’ of “STATES” is slightly to the left of the gap between the two leftmost clouds. The top-left berry touches the leaf and is positioned higher than the top-right berry.
• On Reverse Y, the first ‘S’ is entirely above the leftmost cloud. The top-left berry is centered between the sets of leaves and is nearly level with the top-right berry.

Specialist collectors, dealers, and authenticators may be aware of additional identifying features.

“Class I” 1804 Dollars

Class I 1804 Draped Bust Dollars were produced alongside the 1804 Capped Bust Eagle Proof to fill two holes in specially-produced diplomatic Proof sets, which the United States Mint struck and provided to the State Department. Neither denomination had been in production since the Jefferson Administration, which had ordered the suspension of coinage of the large silver and gold coins due to concerns that they were primarily being used for export. The exact reason why these two denominations were included in the sets has been the subject of much speculation over the years.

Edmund Roberts, U.S. envoy to the Far East, with the backing of President Andrew Jackson, was tasked with bringing impressive gifts on his return trip to Asia. Jackson’s order to the Mint was to produce “duplicate specimens of each kind now in use, whether gold, silver, or copper.” The Mint interpreted this instruction to include the silver dollar and the $10 gold eagle, despite neither denomination having been struck for nearly 30 years. To avoid producing coins dated 1834 with designs that were no longer current, the Mint opted to create pieces dated 1804, believing this was the last year both the Draped Bust Dollar and Capped Bust Eagle were struck. However, Mint records failed to show that while Capped Bust Eagles were indeed issued in 1804 (and the coiners used leftover dies to produce Proofs for the diplomatic sets), all 19,570 Draped Bust Dollars struck that year were almost certainly dated 1803. As Dr. Jesse Kraft points out in his discussion of the Rosenthal Dollar, the Mint’s attempt to avoid creating an instant rarity by striking a new 1834 silver dollar ironically resulted in the creation of a small number of the very first dollars dated 1804.

On October 1, 1835, Roberts presented Said bin Sultan, the Sultan of Muscat, with a custom-made morocco case containing a proof set of American coins and an Andrew Jackson gold medal. This gift was a gesture of friendship to accompany the signing of a Treaty of Amity and Commerce, which granted the United States “most favored nation” status with the Sultanate. On April 6 of the following year, Roberts returned to Siam (now Thailand) to deliver a second set of coins to King Rama III, as the two nations exchanged ratifications of their bilateral Treaty of Amity and Commerce.

Roberts died in Macau in June 1836, scuttling any further plans to distribute these diplomatic proof sets. The coins presented to Siam and Muscat, along with six additional examples, were struck from the same dies and are known as “Class I” 1804 Dollars. Numismatists consider these coins to be “originals” because they were struck for official government purposes. A key diagnostic feature of the Class I 1804 Dollar is its flattened edge lettering—a result of the smooth collar blunting the letters, which were a holdover from a practice the Mint had long since abandoned. This renders many of the letters illegible.

Each of the Class I dollars, with the exception of the Parmelee (Cohen) specimen, weighs 416 grains. The Mint reduced the weight standard in 1837, and the Parmelee coin reflects this change, suggesting it may have been the last of the Class I 1804 dollars to be struck. Class I coins use the only known obverse die and reverse die X.

“Class II” 1804 Dollars

As coin collecting gained popularity in the United States, a side business emerged for Mint employees willing to strike rarities for dealers (notably Dr. Montroville W. Dickeson of Philadelphia), who then sold them to eager collectors for tidy profits. During the mid-19th century, Mint personnel surreptitiously produced and smuggled out unauthorized restrikes of coins, medals, and patterns- many were backdated. Class II and Class III 1804 Dollars fall into this category and were likely struck in or around 1858 by Mint employee Theodore Eckfeldt. Unlike the Class I dollars of the 1830s, the only known Class II unauthorized restrike had a plain edge. That coin was also struck over an 1856 Swiss Shooting Thaler produced for a festival held in the Canton of Bern. This piece is permanently impounded in the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution.

“Class III” 1804 Dollars

Class III 1804 Draped Bust Dollars, like the one known Class II dollar, were also restrikes, all produced after 1857. These, however, have edge lettering that was added to the coins after they were struck. As a result of this procedure, the coins exhibit slightly concave surfaces. In their landmark book, The Fantastic 1804 Dollar, published in 1962, Eric P. Newman and Kenneth Bressett write that Class III dollars were produced around the same time as the Class II coins. The edge lettering was likely added to avoid detection. Class III coins first appeared around 1869.

Seven examples of the Class III dollars known today, with four purposely worn down to give the appearance of circulation.

Pedigree of Class I 1804 Draped Bust Dollars

1. Sultan of Muscat Specimen

The Sultan of Muscat-Childs-Pogue specimen is the finest known 1804 Silver Dollar. The U.S. State Department presented the coin as part of a diplomatic gift Proof Set to the Sultan of Muscat; however, it eventually fell into private hands. The coin arrived in England in the mid-1910s and was later handled by the legendary numismatist Henry Chapman before it was added to Virgil Brand’s incomparable collection. After Brand’s passing, his family sold the coin in 1945 for $3,150. It then resided in the prestigious Childs and Pogue collections.

This specific coin, along with the only 1822 Capped Bust Half Eagle in private hands, was a centerpiece of the fourth session of the Stack’s Bowers and Sotheby’s sale of the Pogue Collection. The family chose to place a reserve on both of these coins, an unusual decision as every other lot in the collection was sold without one. Although it received a record-breaking bid, the lot ultimately failed to sell. Five years later, following the death of D. Brent Pogue, the coin was finally sold for $7.68 million.

• PCGS PR68 #03459822: Chief Coiner Adam Eckfeldt; U.S. Department of State, c/o Edmund Roberts; Sayyid Sa’id-bin-Sultan (Sultan of Muscat), as part of a cased presentation set; unknown intermediaries; Charles A. Watters of Liverpool, England; Glendining & Co., London, May 1917, Lot 227 – £330; Henry Chapman, June 1918 – $2,500; Virgil Brand, later, Brand Estate; Armin W. Brand; Horace Louis Philip Brand, August 10, 1945 – $3,150; Ruth and Charles Green, October 1, 1945 – $5,000; Charles Frederick Childs; F. Newell Childs; Charles Frederick Childs II; Walter H. Childs; Bowers and Merena, August 1999, Lot 458 – $4,140,000; Mack and Brent Pogue; As PCGS PR68# 03459822. Stack’s Bowers & Sotheby’s, May 25, 2016, Lot 4020 – Failed to Meet Reserve after $9,200,000 bid; Stack’s Bowers & Sotheby’s, August 2021, lot 4114 – $7,680,000.

2. King of Siam Specimen

The diplomatic presentation set, which includes the famous 1804 Draped Bust Dollar presented to the King of Siam, remains complete. However, the individual coins and the Andrew Jackson Second Inaugural Medal have been professionally graded and encapsulated by PCGS and are now part of the Tyrant Collection. The 1834 Classic Head Half Cent and the 1834 Matron Head Cent were both graded PCGS PR66RB, while the 1834 Capped Bust Dime received a grade of PCGS PR67. The 1834 Capped Bust Quarter is graded PCGS PR65, and the 1834 Capped Bust Half Dime is PCGS PR66. The 1834 Capped Bust Half Eagle is a PCGS PR65, and the 1804 Draped Bust Dollar is graded PCGS PR67. The set also includes a PCGS PR65CAM 1834 Classic Head Quarter Eagle, a PCGS PR65CAM 1834 Classic Head Half Eagle, and an 1804 Capped Bust Right Eagle graded PCGS PR64CAM. Finally, the Jackson Medal was graded PCGS PR63CAM.

• PCGS PR67 #21594249: Chief Coiner Adam Eckfeldt; U.S. Department of State, c/o Edmund Roberts; King Ph’ra Nang Klao (Rama III) of Siam; presumed remaining in the family until about 1950; David F. Spink, who acquired the set personally; Elvin I. Unterman, via agent Lester Merkin; Bowers and Merena, October 1987, Lot 2209, passed; Rarities Group (Martin Paul) and Continental Rarity Coin Fund I (Greg Holloway); Superior May 1990, Lot 3364 – $1,815,000 (for the entire King of Siam set); Iraj Sayah and Terry Brand; Superior, January 1993, Lot 1196; Spectrum Numismatics; private western collection, 2001; Goldberg Coins to Steve Contursi and private collector, via private treaty, November 2005. As PCGS PR67 #21594249. The Tyrant Collection.

3. Stickney Specimen

• PCGS PR65 #0001804: Chief Coiner Adam Eckfeldt; Matthew Adams Stickney, 1843; Henry Chapman, June 1907, Lot 849 – $3,600; Col. James W. Ellsworth; Wayte Raymond; William Cutler Atwater, later, Atwater Estate; B. Max Mehl, June 1946, Lot 213 – $10,500; Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr., later, Eliasberg Estate. As PCGS PR65 #0001804. Bowers and Merena, April 1997, Lot 2199 – $1,815,000; Spectrum Numismatics; “The Larry H. Miller Collection,” Stack’s Bowers, December 17, 2020, Lot 1094 – $3,360,000.

4. Dexter Specimen

• PCGS PR65 #31530374: Chief Coiner Adam Eckfeldt; unknown intermediaries; S.H. and H. Chapman; Adolph Weyl, Berlin, October 1884, Lot 159 – $216; S.H. and H. Chapman; Chapman Brothers, May 1885, Lot 354 – $1,000; Scott Stamp & Coin Company; James Vila Dexter, later, Dexter Estate; H.G. Brown; Lyman H. Low October 1904, Lot 431 – $1,100; William Forrester Dunham; B. Max Mehl; B. Max Mehl, June 1941, Lot 1058 – $4,250; Charles M. Williams; Abe Kosoff and Sol Kaplan; Harold Bareford; Stack’s, October 1981, Lot 424 – $280,000; RARCOA (Ed Milas); Leon Hendrickson and George Weingart. As “Choice Proof”. RARCOA’s session of Auction ’89, Lot 247 – $990,000; American Rare Coin Fund, Ltd. (Hugh Sconyers, manager); Northern California collector; Superior, July 1993, Lot 551 – Passed; Northern California collector; Superior, May 1994, Lot 761; Harlan White; private southeastern collection; Stack’s, October 2000, Lot 1167. As PCGS PR65 #31530374. Mack and Brent Pogue; “The D. Brent Pogue Collection, Part V,” Stack’s Bowers, March 31, 2017, Lot 5045 – $3,290,000; Kevin Lipton and John Albanese; Bruce Morelan, via private treaty sale.

5. Parmelee Specimen (Museum)

• ICG PR64: Chief Coiner Adam Eckfeldt; unknown intermediaries; “an aged lady” who gave the coin to her son; E. Harrison Sanford; Edward Cogan, November 1874, Lot 99, $700; Lorin G. Parmelee; New York Coin & Stamp Co., June 1890, Lot 817 – $570; Byron Reed; Omaha City Library; Western Heritage Museum.

6. Mickley Specimen

• PCGS PR62 #27860093: Chief Coiner Adam Eckfeldt; unknown intermediaries; Henry C. Young, a teller at the Bank of Pennsylvania, circa 1847; Joseph J. Mickley, circa 1847; W. Elliot Woodward, October 1867, Lot 1676 – $750; William A. Lilliendahl; Edward Cogan, 1868; William Sumner Appleton, 1868; Massachusetts Historical Society, 1905; Stack’s, October 1970, Lot 625 – $77,500; Chicago collection; Reed Hawn, private treaty via Stack’s, 1974; Stack’s, October 1993, Lot 735 – $475,000; David Queller. As NGC PR62 #27860093. “The Queller Family Collection,” Heritage Auctions, April 17, 2008, Lot 2089 – $3,737,500; Heritage Auctions, August 9, 2013, Lot 5699 – $3,877,500; Heritage Auctions, June 14, 2018, Lot 4003 – $2,640,000. As PCGS PR62 #27860093. Del Loy Hansen. Imaged on PCGS CoinFacts.

7. Mint Cabinet Specimen (Museum)

• Impaired Proof: Chief Coiner Adam Eckfeldt; Mint Cabinet; National Numismatic Collection, Smithsonian Institution.

8. Cohen Specimen (Museum)

• PR30: Chief Coiner Adam Eckfeldt; unknown intermediaries; Edward Cohen, Richmond, Virginia; Col. Mendes I. Cohen, Baltimore, Maryland; Edward Cogan, October 1875, Lot 535 – $325; Henry S. Adams; Edward Cogan, November 1876, Lot 356 – $500; Lorin G. Parmelee; Henry G. Sampson; Major William Boerum Wetmore; Chapman Brothers, June 1906, Lot 208 – $720; S.H. and H. Chapman; Thomas L. Elder; James H. Manning; B. Max Mehl, May 1921, Lot 778 – $2,500; Elmer S. Sears; B. Max Mehl; Lammot DuPont; Willis H. DuPont; unknown thieves, recovered in Zurich, Switzerland, on April 23, 1993; donated to the American Numismatic Association Money Museum.

Pedigree of Class II

9. Mint Cabinet Specimen (Museum)

• Proof: Struck over an 1857 Bern, Switzerland, shooting thaler. National Numismatic Collection; Smithsonian Institution.

Pedigree of Class III

10. Stack Specimen (Recent Discovery)

The James A. Stack (no relation to the firm Stack’s Bowers) specimen was not known to the numismatic community until its shocking appearance in a 2025 consignment of coins from the Stack Collection. Stack, a leading collector of high-end, high-eye-appeal coins in the mid-20th century, spent his time quietly amassing one of the finest coin collections of his era. The only reason his accomplishments are not better known is his private nature and the fact that his collection was sold piecemeal over several decades. It is well-known in numismatic circles that Stack once owned a notorious 1933 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle, which, for a time in the early 1940s, gained notoriety as word spread that the coin was extremely rare. When the federal government looked into the matter, it determined that the would-be last-year issue was never monetized and should not have entered circulation. Stack, seeking to avoid negative publicity and problems with the law, surrendered the coin “under protest and under legal duress” on June 20, 1945. Who could have guessed that he had another trophy coin, just as important, tucked away, and that it would not turn up for another 80 years?

• PCGS PR65 CAC CMQ: Stack’s Bowers, December 2025 – TBD.

11. Linderman Specimen (Museum)

• PR63: Mint Director Henry R. Linderman, later, Linderman Estate; Lyman H. Low, June 1887, Lot 40 – Passed; Linderman Estate; J.W. Scott, February 1888, Lot 40 – $470; James Ten Eyck, later, Ten Eyck Estate; B. Max Mehl, May 1922, Lot 394 – $840; Lammot DuPont; Willis H. DuPont; unknown thieves; recovered March 16, 1982; loaned to American Numismatic Association; donated to Smithsonian Institution.

12. Idler Specimen (Museum)

• PR60 or slightly finer: Philadelphia Mint; William K. Idler; Captain John W. Haseltine; Stephen K. Nagy; Henry O. Granberg; William Cutler Atwater, later, Atwater Estate; B. Max Mehl (6/1946), lot 214, $2,875; Will W. Neil; B. Max Mehl (6/1947), lot 31, $3,125; Edwin Hydeman; Abe Kosoff (3/1961), lot 994, $29,000; Edwin Hydeman; World-Wide Coin Investments, Ltd. (John Hamrick and Warren Tucker); Bowers and Ruddy Galleries; Continental Coin Galleries; Mark Blackburn; Larry Demerer; Dr. Jerry Buss, via Superior Galleries; Superior Galleries (1/1985), lot 1337, $308,000; Aubrey and Adeline Bebee; American Numismatic Association.

13. Adams-Carter Specimen

• PCGS PR58 #3719507: Philadelphia Mint; Captain John W. Haseltine; Phineas Adams; Henry Ahlborn; John P. Lyman; S.H. Chapman, November 1913, Lot 16 – $340; Waldo C. Newcomer; Col. Edward H.R. Green, later, Col. Green estate; A.J. Allen; Frederick C.C. Boyd; Percy A. Smith; B. Max Mehl; B. Max Mehl, May 1950, Lot 804 – $3,250; Amon G. Carter, Sr.; Amon G. Carter, Jr., later, Carter Estate; Stack’s, January 1984, Lot 241 – $198,000; John Nelson Rowe, III; L.R. French, Jr., later, French Estate; Stack’s January 1989, Lot 15 – $242,000; Rarities Group (Martin Paul); National Gold Exchange (Mark Yaffe); Heritage Rare Coin Galleries; Indianapolis Collection; unknown private collection; David Liljestrand; unknown Midwest collection; David Liljestrand; National Gold Exchange and Kenneth Goldman; Legend Numismatics; Phillip Flannagan; Bowers and Merena, November 2001, Lot 4303 – $874,000; Donald H. Kagin, Ph.D.; Bowers and Merena, August 2003, Lot 2026 – $1,207,500; West Coast collector, via Kevin Lipton; Heritage Rare Coin Galleries, $2,250,000; East Coast collector, private collector, March 2006 – $2,475,000; Heritage, April 5, 2009, $2,300,000.

14. Berg Specimen

This was the third 1804 Dollar in the Pogue Collection, likely belonging in Brent’s personal holdings. The coin’s connection to the Pogues was not publicized at the time of the main sale.

• PCGS PR55 #38997237: Philadelphia Mint; Captain John W. Haseltine; Koch & Co., Vienna; John W. Haseltine, March 1876, Lot 194 – $395; O.H. Berg; “The Berg Collection,” John W. Haseltine, May 23-24, 1883, Lot 568 – $740; George W. Cogan; Thomas Harrison Garrett, later, Garrett Estate; Robert Garrett; John Work Garrett; Johns Hopkins University; Bowers and Ruddy, March 1980, Lot 698 – $400,000; Pullen & Hanks, later with Sam Colavita; Pullen & Hanks, February 1982, Lot 1076 – $190,000; Sam Colavita; Mike Levinson, in trade for eight acres of land in El Paso, Texas; Pennsylvania private collection; Bowers and Merena, June 1986, Lot 1736 – $187,000; Rarities Group (Martin Paul); American Coin Portfolios (Dan Drykerman); Laura Sommer; California Collector. As NGC PR55 #1893703-001. Stacks Bowers, August 2014, Lot 13146 – $1,880,000. As PCGS PR55 #38997237. “The D. Brent Pogue Collection,” March 20, 2020, Lot 7304 – $1,440,000.

15. Davis Specimen

• PR40: Philadelphia Mint; probably, Captain John W. Haseltine; Robert Coulton Davis; John W. Haseltine; George M. Klein; W. Elliot Woodward, May 1888, Lot 1940 – $660; Robert Coulton Davis, via J. Colvin Randall, later, Davis Estate; John W. Haseltine; John M. Hale, later Hale Estate; R.H. Mull; Parke-Bernet Galleries, May 1950, Lot 221, $3,400; Henry P. Graves, later, Graves Estate; Stack’s, April 1954, Lot 1333 – $8,000; Ben H. Koenig; Stack’s, December 1960, Lot 576 – $28,000; Samuel Wolfson; Stack’s, May 1963, Lot 1394 – $36,000; Norton Simon; James H.T. McConnell, Jr., via Stack’s.

16. Ellsworth Specimen, a.k.a. Driefus-Rosenthal Specimen (Museum)

• PR40: Philadelphia Mint; unknown intermediaries; W. Julius Driefus; Isaac Rosenthal; Col. James W. Ellsworth; Wayte Raymond; Farran Zerbe, via Guttag Brothers; Chase National Bank; American Numismatic Society, acquired via donation in 1980.

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