1884 Trade Dollar Proof : A Collector’s Guide

By Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker for CoinWeek Notes …..
 

The Trade Dollar was introduced in 1873 to serve as an export silver trade coin at a time when Congress was pushing America towards a gold standard similar to that being adopted in Europe. From 1873 to 1877, annual Trade Dollar mintages grew year after year, with most production handled by the San Francisco Mint to facilitate trade in Asia. Over the veto of President Rutherford B. Hayes, the Bland-Allison Act became law in 1878. Bland-Allison reauthorized the production of the Silver Dollar for domestic use and set ambitious annual mintage requirements. This doomed the Trade Dollar, which from 1879 onward would be struck exclusively in Proof format for purchase by collectors.

While the size of the numismatic market in the 1880s was small by today’s standards, the Philadelphia Mint struck between 960 and 1,987 Trade Dollar Proofs each year from 1879 to 1883. These were sold to collectors at the time of issue, and the United States Mint would melt down unsold inventory to recover the bullion. No contemporary records of either the 1884 Trade Dollar Proof (10 pieces struck) or the 1885 Trade Dollar Proof (five) exist; collectors would not know of these coins until 1908 when Philadelphia coin dealer John W. Haseltine revealed their existence.

Haseltine was a known fence for spurious Mint releases. This would finally catch up with him in 1909 when the then-71-year-old dealer was set upon by federal agents who seized a package of 24 coins he had shipped to Treasury Secretary Daniel Manning’s son James for review. The Government claimed that Haseltine’s package contained coins that were illegally released Mint property. Still, a judge dismissed the suit, setting a precedent that seemingly protects the collecting of pattern and “pattern” coins.

The Haseltine connection and the sudden appearance of the 1884 and 1885 Trade Dollars led many collectors to believe that the issues were pieces de caprice – fantasy pieces. A decade later, a similar situation played out with the surprise discovery of the 1913 Liberty Head “V” Nickel.

Whether the 1884 Trade Dollar Proof was legitimately struck and legitimately released, legitimately struck and illegitimately released, or illegitimately struck and illegitimately released are questions that continue to be pondered by numismatic researchers.

Numismatist Carl W.A. Carlson discovered a reference to a single pair of dies for the 1884 Trade Dollar in A.W. Downing’s Mint Record Book that Downing used to keep track of dies used for production. According to Downing’s notations, this die pair was delivered from the Die Maker’s Room to the coining department on January 3.

The mystery deepens from there. The Mint Director’s Report tracks coinage over the fiscal year and suggests a total number of coins struck that far exceeds the number known. In addition to the 10 Proofs, silver-clad and copper die trials exist. These fantasy pieces would have been struck for collectors (on the sly) and first appeared at auction in the 1930s.

The first 1884 Proofs were delivered to the Cash Room on January 19, and it is supposed that this delivery included an unknown number of 1884 Trade Dollar Proofs. It is believed that an order not to sell the Trade Dollars and to destroy them came through, but 10 were retained by Philadelphia Mint Superintendent A. Loudon Snowden.

One of the first individuals outside of Snowden to own an 1884 Trade Dollar Proof was collector William Hartman Woodin, who may have taken possession of multiple examples in 1910. Woodin would later serve as the Secretary of Treasury under Franklin D. Roosevelt. Woodin is responsible for creating a carveout for numismatic collectors when the Federal Government issued an Executive Order prohibiting private gold ownership in 1933.

A clearer picture of 1884 Trade Dollar Proof provenance does not take shape until the late 1930s.

The 1884 Trade Dollar Proof was ranked #78 in Jeff Garrett and Ron Guth’s 100 Greatest U.S. Coins (4th Ed., 2014). It is a classic American rarity that derives its charm from the mystery of its origin and a prohibitively tiny mintage. Fewer 1884 Trade Dollars exist than 1804 Draped Bust Dollars or 1894-S Barber Dimes. Only the 1885 Trade Dollar Proof, with its mintage of five, is more elusive.

The Eliasberg 1884 Trade Dollar surpassed a million dollars at a public auction in 2019. That coin is bested by one grade by the Dunham specimen. Most examples grade PR63 or better and only the Olson specimen, graded PR50, meets the technical requirements of being an impaired Proof.

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Market Data and Noteworthy Specimens

Top Population: PCGS PR66CAM (1, 10/2024), NGC PF63CAM (2, 10/2024), and CAC PR66CAM (1:0 stickered:graded, 10/2024).

1. PCGS PR67: The Dunham Specimen. Ex Philadelphia Mint Superintendent A. Loudon Snowden, 1884; unknown intermediaries; William Forrester Dunham, sold with his collection to the following in 1939; B. Max Mehl (into his inventory, although few people knew this); “The William Forrester Dunham Collection,” B. Max Mehl’s, June 1941, Lot 1150 – $315; Floyd T. Starr; Starr estate; “The Floyd T. Starr Collection,” Stack’s, October 1992, Lot 844 – $176,000; Jay Parrino (trading as “The Mint”); Goldberg Auctioneers, October 2000, Lot 1784 – Passed; Jay Parrino, marketed at $950,000; Heritage Auctions November 2003, Lot 8312; Jay Parrino.
2. PCGS PR66 #43707600: The Eliasberg Specimen. Ex Philadelphia Mint Superintendent A. Loudon Snowden, 1884; William H. Woodin, 1910 (presumably); H.O. Granberg, exhibited at the 1914 ANS Exhibition as part of a full set of trade dollars; “The H.O. Granberg Collection” B. Max Mehl, July 1919, Lot 128; Virgil Brand; Armin Brand, sold September 1, 1942; unknown intermediaries, possibly Stack’s in 1942; Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr.; “Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection,” Bowers and Merena, April 1997, Lot 2353 – $396,000; Spectrum Numismatics; Legend Collection; private collection; As NGC PF66 #675308-009. Heritage Auctions, January 10, 2019, Lot 4552 – $1,140,000. Now PCGS PR66 #43707600.
3. PCGS PR65 CAC #3674141: The “Adolphe Menjou” Specimen. Ex Philadelphia Mint Superintendent A. Loudon Snowden, 1884; unknown intermediaries; Clinton Hester; “The Adolphe Menjou Collection” Numismatic Gallery, June 1950, Lot 2040 – $765; Benjamin Stack (Imperial Coin Company) advertised an 1884 trade dollar in The Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine, March 1955, along with an 1885 trade dollar; W.G. Baldenhofer; “The Farish-Baldenhofer Sale,” Stack’s, November 1955, Lot 1039 – $2,200; Ben Koenig; Stack’s, December 1960, Lot 698 – $6,500; “The Samuel W. Wolfson Collection Sale, Part II,” Stack’s, May 1963, Lot 1541; Dan Messer; Jack Clauson and Joel Rettew; Quality Sales Corporation’s (Abner Kreisberg and Jerry Cohen), November 1976, Lot 426 – $52,500; Danny Arnold; Bowers and Merena, September 1984, Lot 2342; John N. Rowe, III; L.R. French, Jr.; “L.R. French, Jr. Collection,” Stack’s, January 1989, Lot 201; Anthony Terranova; Larry Whitlow; Denver Coin Company; Jay Parrino (“The Mint”); Superior, October 2000, Lot 3576 – $264,500; Legend Collection. As PCGS PR65 CAC #3674141. Jack Lee estate; “The Jack Lee Collection, III,” Heritage Auctions, November 3, 2005, Lot 2281 – $603,750. Legend on insert; private collection; John Albanese; private collection. As PCGS PR65 CAC #3674141. Heritage’s FUN Signature Auction of January 2014, Lot 5311 – $998,750; “Bruce S. Sherman Collection,” Heritage Auctions, January 15, 2025, Lot 4339 – $1,140,000. “Legend” on insert.
4. PCGS PR64+CAM #38553561: The Amon G. Carter Specimen. Ex Philadelphia Mint Superintendent A. Loudon Snowden, 1884; William H. Woodin, 1910 (presumably); Edgar H. Adams, advertised in the March 1915 issue of The Numismatist; Waldo C. Newcomer; B. Max Mehl, 1931, on consignment but not sold; consigned from the Newcomer Collection to J.C. Morgenthau & Co.’s 348th Sale, May 1935, Lot 431; “Colonel” E.H.R. Green; Burdette G. Johnson, circa 1943; “Jack V. Roe Collection,” B. Max Mehl, June 1945, lot 627 – $665; possibly Percy A. Smith; per the July 1946 issue of The Numismatist, presumably consigned to the following; B. Max Mehl, May 1950, Lot 896; Amon Gamaliel Carter, Sr.; Amon G. Carter, Jr.; “Amon G. Carter, Jr. Family Collection,” Stack’s, January 1984, Lot 440 – $45,100; “E. Horatio Morgan Collection,” Stack’s Bowers, March 19, 2020, Lot 3215 – $552,000.
5. PCGS PR64 CAM: The Atwater-Neil Specimen. Ex Philadelphia Mint Superintendent A. Loudon Snowden, 1884; unknown intermediaries; “William Cutler Atwater Collection,” B. Max Mehl, June 1946, Lot 377 – $800; “the Will W. Neil Collection,” B. Max Mehl, June 1947, lot 296 – $551; “Robert C. Pelletreau Collection,” Stack’s, March 1959, Lot 1054 – $3,300; Jerry Cohen; unknown intermediaries; Julian Leidman, Mike Brownlee and Hugh Sconyers, exhibited this coin and an 1885 Trade Dollar Proof at Stack’s bourse table at the 1974 ANA Convention and offered for $165,000. The 1884 Trade Dollar Proof sold immediately after to the following, along with an 1885 Trade Dollar; James Halperin; New England Rare Coin Galleries’ Fixed Price Lists of December 1974 and February 1975 at $75,000; New England Rare Coin Auctions’ 31st Annual New England Numismatic Association Convention Sale, November 1975, Lot 639 – $39,000; Mulford B. Simons, Jr.; Hanks and Associates, April 20, 1985, Lot 351; unknown intermediaries; RARCOA, August 1989, Lot 327; Jay Parrino; Superior, August 1990, Lot 1163; Jay Parrino; Superior, May 29, 1991, Lot 987; “The L.K. Rudolf Collection,” Stack’s, May 2003, Lot 2174 – $258,750; Bowers and Merena, May 2004, Lot 328 – $310,500; private collection; American Numismatic Rarities, August 2006, lot 855 – $400,000.
6. NGC PR64: The Rettew Specimen. Ex Philadelphia Mint Superintendent A. Loudon Snowden, 1884; unknown intermediaries; private collection, late 1940s, and consigned to the following as part of an assembled 1884 Proof set; Stack’s, August 1976, Lot 723 – $34,000 (set); Joel D. Rettew; Midwestern medical doctor; Heritage Auctions, March 1996, Lot 6513; Mid-American Rare Coins (Jeff Garrett); Richmond Collection; “The Richmond Collection, Part II,” David Lawrence Rare Coins, November 2004, Lot 1568 – $310,500.
7. PCGS PR63+CAM CAC #40273617: The Sprinkle Specimen. Ex Philadelphia Mint Superintendent A. Loudon Snowden, 1884; unknown intermediaries; “Colonel” E.H.R. Green; Burdette G. Johnson; James Kelly; Kelly to Frank F. Sprinkle, via private treaty, June 24, 1944 – $375; “The Frank F. Sprinkle Collection,” Stack’s, June 1988, Lot 106; Larry Whitlow; Dana Linett; Early American Numismatics, October 1988, Lot 461; RARCOA, August 1990, Lot 845 – $46,200; Mark Chrans; Stack’s, March 2002, Lot 795 – $126,500; private collection; Kevin Lipton; Legend Numismatics; private collection; Bowers and Merena, January 2003, Lot 569 – $138,000; “Important Selections of the Bob R. Simpson Collection, Part V,” Heritage Auctions, April 23, 2021, Lot 4151 – $480,000. Simpson novelty insert.
8. PCGS PR63 #14279405: The Farouk-Norweb Specimen. Ex Philadelphia Mint Superintendent A. Loudon Snowden, 1884; unknown intermediaries; King Farouk of Egypt; “The Palace Collections of Egypt,” Sotheby’s, February 1954, Lot 1679; Ambassador and Mrs. R. Henry Norweb; “The Norweb Collection, Part II,” Bowers and Merena, March 1988, Lot 1847 – $57,200; American Coin Portfolios (Dan Drykerman); private New York collection; Bowers and Merena Galleries, privately, March 20, 1992; Q. David Bowers (personal collection), March 23, 1992; Summit Rare Coins (Chris Napolitano); Morris Silverman; As PCGS PR63 #6565680. “The Morris Silverman Collection,” Heritage Auctions, April 25, 2002, Lot 4131 – $138,000; U.S. Coins (Kenny Duncan); private Nevada Collection; Pinnacle Rarities; private collection; As PCGS PR63 #14279405. Heritage Auctions, January 2017, Lot 5735 – $423,000; “The Poulos Family Collection,” Heritage Auctions, August 14, 2019, Lot 3778 – $336,000; Heritage Auctions, July 13, 2021, Lot 3048 – $396,000.
9. NGC PF63: The RARCOA Specimen. Ex Philadelphia Mint Superintendent A. Loudon Snowden, 1884; unknown intermediaries; Chicago estate, possibly Virgil Brand; RARCOA (Ed Milas); World-Wide Coins (John Hamrick); Steve Ivy; Robert Marks Collection; Bowers and Ruddy’s Rare Coin Review No. 15, 1972; Hollywood Fixed Price List at $24,975; Bowers and Ruddy, February 1974, Lot 734 – $30,000; Donald Apte and Mulford B. Simons; Mulford B. Simons purchased Apte’s stake in the coin for $42,500; private Southern collection. Heritage Auctions, March 15, 1996, Lot 6513 – $50,600.
10. PCGS PR50: The Olsen Specimen. Ex Philadelphia Mint Superintendent A. Loudon Snowden, 1884; unknown intermediaries; Fred Olsen; ‘The Fred Olsen Collection,” B. Max Mehl,  November 1944, Lot 997; George Sealy Ewalt; “George Sealy Ewalt Collection,” Stack’s, November 1965, Lot 42 – $3,600; Calvert L. Emmons, M.D.; “The Dr. Calvert L. Emmons Collection,” Stack’s, September 1969, Lot 814 – $5,000; private collection at $16,000; Western Numismatics (Jan Bronson); Steve Ivy, August 1980, Lot 2643; RARCOA, July 1984, Lot 1809; Fred L. Fredericks; “L.W. Hoffecker Collection,” Superior, February 1987, Lot 1446A; Eugene Worrell; “The Worrell Collection,” Superior, September 1993, Lot 1324; “‘The Dr. Jon Kardatzke Collection, Part I,” Goldberg Auctioneers, February 2000, Lot 1470 – $86,250.

*Pedigree information derived from pedigree research published by Stack’s Bowers, Heritage Auctions, and Walter Breen.

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Coin Specifications

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