Draped Bust Dollar, Heraldic Eagle (1798-1804) | CoinWeek

By Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker for CoinWeek Notes …..
The Draped Bust Dollar design debuted in 1795 as part of the United States Mint’s standardization of coinage. The new design, executed by artist John Eckstein, featured a full-bosomed portrait of Liberty as a mature woman with long flowing hair. The reverse borrowed from the Flowing Hair type but added detail to all of the design elements and was an overall improvement on the Robert Scot original.

In 1798, the Mint introduced the Heraldic Eagle reverse on the silver dollar coin. The design was adapted from the heraldic design used on the Great Seal of the United States. Following its adoption on the dollar, the coin was introduced on Draped Bust Dimes in 1798, Draped Bust Half Dimes in 1800, Draped Bust Half Dollars in 1801, and Draped Bust Quarters in 1804. The design was implemented earlier on Capped Bust Quarter Eagles in 1796 and Capped Bust Half Eagles and Eagles in 1797.

Though the silver dollar was the primary coin of the U.S. monetary system, the large coins were often exported and melted as bullion, with few circulating after 1800. Acknowledging this, President Thomas Jefferson halted production of the denomination after 1804, and none were produced for circulation until the introduction of engraver Christian Gobrecht’s Liberty Seated design in 1836.

The Famous 1804 Dollar

The Draped Bust, Heraldic Eagle Dollar series includes one of the rarest and best-known coins in the entire U.S. coinage history, the 1804 Draped Bust Dollar.

The United States Mint produced circulation strike dollar coins in 1804. But it’s almost certain that these coins were struck using 1803-dated dies, for two reasons: circulation strike silver dollars dated 1804 have never turned up, and the suspension of silver dollar production mentioned earlier.

That 1804 Draped Bust Dollar Proofs exist at all is because the State Department requested Proof Sets to be made in 1834 to present to the King of Siam and the Sultan of Muscat. At the time, neither dollars nor $10 gold eagles were being produced. Therefore, to complete the special diplomatic sets, both denominations were made with new 1804-dated dies–the last date these obsolete designs would have been struck. In numismatic parlance, this version of the 1804 Draped Bust Dollar is called “original” or “Class I“.

Class II and Class III dollars are restrikes produced two decades later without the knowledge or approval of Mint Director James Ross Snowden. The Class II coin is unique, with the only known example transferred from the United States Mint Cabinet to the Smithsonian Institution, where it was recently on public display at the Value of Money exhibit. Class III coins were produced by Mint workers, spirited out, and sold to some of the leading collectors of the era.

The handful of Class I and Class III pieces are avidly sought when infrequently available, at prices that are among the highest for any U.S. coin.

How Much Are Heraldic Eagle Reverse Draped Bust Dollars Worth?

Several thousand Draped Bust, Heraldic Eagle Dollars are listed in certified coin population reports, though some varieties are represented by fewer than 150 examples. No Proofs are known to have been minted from 1798 through 1804, but Proofs or Specimens dated 1801, 1802, and 1803 were produced for collectors in the mid-1800s and are considered by some to be novodels or fantasy pieces (see our brief commentary on the 1804 dollar above).

Prices for circulation strikes are moderate only through low VF grades, getting more expensive in About Uncirculated and extremely expensive in Mint State. All Proof examples are expensive, with prices at or near one million dollars as Gem. The 1804 Draped Bust Dollar, considered the most desirable U.S. coin rarity by many, sells for several million dollars in all grades.

Extended Coverage on CoinWeek

• Guess the Grade of This 1803 Draped Bust Silver Dollar

CoinWeek Editor Charles Morgan featured an 1803 Draped Bust Dollar in this episode of the popular and often imitated Guess the Grade series of videos.

• The Silver Dollars of Our Founding Fathers

Coin dealer Jeff Garrett explains three of the many ways to collect early silver dollars from the nascent United States.

• Million-Dollar Coins, Part 2: U.S. Silver Dollars & Trade Dollars
• Pogue Family Coin Collection Part 18 – Half Dollars and Bust Dollars Fare Well in 4th Auction
• Million-Dollar Coins in ANA Auctions, Part 1

CoinWeek contributor and rare coin specialist Greg Reynolds examines the market of the recent past for ultra-high-end Draped Bust Dollars with important pedigrees.

Heraldic Eagle Draped Bust Dollar Counterfeit Detection

• An “Old” 1799 Draped Bust Dollar – Jack Young’s Fun With Fakes
• From the Dark Corner: An “Authenticated” Suspect Counterfeit 1799 Bust Dollar
• Struck Counterfeit Coins: A Family of Struck Fake Draped Bust Dollars
• Struck Counterfeit Coins: A Second “Family” of Struck Fake Draped Bust Dollars

Jack Young and the “Dark Side” group discuss their encounters with several counterfeit Heraldic Eagle Draped Bust Dollars online and provide collectors with extensive diagnostics.

• Counterfeit Coin Detection – 1802 Draped Bust Silver Dollar

Major third-party grading service NGC gets in on the action with this article on a fake 1802 silver dollar.

Draped Bust Dollar, Heraldic Eagle Design

Obverse:

The obverse prominently displays Liberty in the center of the coin, her long flowing hair swept backward down her neck and tied at the back with a ribbon. Folded drapery is placed across the bust and over her shoulder. Six-pointed stars–seven to the left of Liberty and six to the right–the word LIBERTY at the top, and the date at the bottom form a circle inside the denticulated or beaded border.

Reverse:

The reverse features a left-facing eagle, wings outstretched with the tips extending nearly to the denticulated or beaded border. A shield covers most of its body, and the eagle holds in its beak a loop of a ribbon that displays the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM, positioned in front of the right wing and back of the left. The eagle’s sinister claw (viewer’s right) clutches several arrows, and the dexter claw (viewer’s left) holds an olive branch. The legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA nearly circles inside the rim, the words separated by the eagle’s wingtips and tail. Above the eagle are 13 small six-pointed stars in two arcs, six at the top and five below, with an additional star on each side of the eagle’s head. Some 1798 (possibly 1799 as well) issues have the stars arranged in two diamond-shaped groups of six each, the stars in straight lines, one group left and one right of the eagle’s head, and a single star in the middle. This arrangement is known as a “Cross Pattern“. Above the stars, below the words STATES OF, is an arc of clouds. All coins were produced at Philadelphia and have neither mintmark nor denomination.

Edge:

The edge of the Heraldic Eagle Draped Bust Dollar is lettered with the inscription HUNDRED CENTS ONE DOLLAR OR UNIT separated by decorations or ornaments between the words. The one known existing Class II 1804 piece (others were made but recalled by the U.S. Government) has a plain edge.

Varieties

Many varieties are known, including examples from every production year, but most are minor die variations. Well-known varieties include the 1798 Cross Pattern and Arc Pattern Reverse Stars; the 1799 15-star reverse, with the two extra stars left on the die but nearly covered by enlarged clouds; the 1800 AMERICAI, with a mostly but not completely removed extra letter A; the 1799/8 and 1802/1 overdates; and the 1804 restrikes.

Coin Specifications

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Additional References

Bowers, Q. David. The Experts Guide to Collecting and Investing in Rare Coins. Whitman Publishing.

–. A Guide Book of United States Type Coins. Whitman Publishing.

–. The Rare Silver Dollars Dated 1804. Bowers and Merena Galleries.

–. with John Dannruther (editor). A Buyer’s Guide to Silver Dollars & Trade Dollars of the Unite States. Zyrus Press.

Breen, Walter. Walter Breen’s Encyclopedia of U.S. Coins. Doubleday.

Ferguson, Mark. The Dollar of 1804: The U.S. Mint’s Hidden Secret. Numisma Press.

Guth, Ron, and Jeff Garrett. United States Coinage: A Study by Type. Whitman Publishing.

Newman, Eric P., and Kenneth Bressett. The Fantastic 1804 Dollar. Whitman Publishing.

Taxay, Don. The U.S. Mint and Coinage. Arco Publishing.

Yeoman, R.S., and Jeff Garrett (editor). The Official Red Book: A Guide Book of United States Coins. Whitman Publishing.

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