The Draped Bust dollar is a
United States dollar coin
The dollar coin is a United States coin with a face value of one United States dollar. Dollar coins have been minted in the United States in gold, silver, and base metal versions. Dollar coins were first minted in the United States in 1794.
D ...
minted from 1795 to 1803, and was reproduced, dated 1804, into the 1850s. The design succeeded the
Flowing Hair dollar, which began mintage in 1794 and was the first silver dollar struck by the
United States Mint
The United States Mint is a bureau of the United States Department of the Treasury, Department of the Treasury responsible for producing coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce, as well as controlling the movement of bull ...
. The designer is unknown, though the distinction is usually credited to artist
Gilbert Stuart
Gilbert Stuart ( Stewart; December 3, 1755 – July 9, 1828) was an American painter born in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Rhode Island Colony who is widely considered one of America's foremost portraitists. His best-k ...
. The model is also unknown, though
Ann Willing Bingham has been suggested.
In October 1795, newly appointed
Mint Director Elias Boudinot
Elias Boudinot ( ; May 2, 1740 – October 24, 1821) was an American Founding Father, lawyer, statesman, and early abolitionist and women's rights advocate. During the Revolutionary War, Boudinot was an intelligence officer and prisoner-of-wa ...
ordered that the legal fineness of 0.892 (89.2%) silver be used for the dollar rather than the unauthorized fineness of 0.900 (90%) silver that had been used since the denomination was first minted in 1794. Due largely to a decrease in the amount of silver deposited at the Philadelphia Mint, coinage of silver dollars declined throughout the latter years of the 18th century. In 1804, coinage of silver dollars was halted; the last date used during regular mint production was 1803.
In 1834, silver dollar production was temporarily restarted to supply a
diplomatic mission
A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually denotes ...
to Asia with a special set of
proof coin
Proof coinage refers to special early samples of a coin issue, historically made for checking the dies (as in demonstrating that something is true) and for archival purposes. In modern times, proofs are often struck in greater numbers, especi ...
s. Officials mistakenly believed that dollars had last been minted with the date 1804, prompting them to use that date rather than the date in which the coins were actually struck. A limited number of
1804 dollar
The 1804 dollar or Bowed Liberty Dollar was a Dollar coin (United States), dollar coin struck by the United States Mint, of which fifteen specimens are currently known to exist. Though dated 1804, none were struck in that year; all were minted i ...
s were struck by the Mint in later years, and they remain rare and valuable.
Background

Coinage began on the first
United States silver dollar, known as the
Flowing Hair dollar, in 1794 following the construction and staffing of the
Philadelphia Mint
The Philadelphia Mint is a branch of the United States Mint in Philadelphia. It was built in 1792 following the Coinage Act of 1792, in order to establish a national identity and the needs of commerce in the United States, and is the first and ...
. The
Coinage Act of 1792
The Coinage Act of 1792 (also known as the Mint Act; officially: ''An act establishing a mint, and regulating the Coins of the United States''), passed by the United States Congress on April 2, 1792, created the United States dollar as the count ...
called for the silver coinage to be struck in an
alloy
An alloy is a mixture of chemical elements of which in most cases at least one is a metal, metallic element, although it is also sometimes used for mixtures of elements; herein only metallic alloys are described. Metallic alloys often have prop ...
consisting of 89.2% silver and 10.8% copper. However, Mint officials were reluctant to strike coins with the unusual fineness, so it was decided to strike them in an unauthorized alloy of 90% silver instead. This caused depositors of silver to lose money when their metal was coined. During the second year of production of the Flowing Hair dollar, it was decided that the denomination would be redesigned. It is unknown what prompted this change or who suggested it, though
numismatic
Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals, and related objects.
Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also inclu ...
historian R.W. Julian speculates that
Henry William de Saussure, who was named
Director of the Mint on July 9, 1795, may have suggested it, as he had stated a redesign of the American coinage as one of his goals before taking office. It is also possible that the Flowing Hair design was discontinued owing to much public disapproval.
The Draped Bust dollar would finally be succeeded by the
Seated Liberty dollar in 1840.
Design
Though the designer of the coin is unknown, artist
Gilbert Stuart
Gilbert Stuart ( Stewart; December 3, 1755 – July 9, 1828) was an American painter born in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Rhode Island Colony who is widely considered one of America's foremost portraitists. His best-k ...
is widely acknowledged to have been its creator; Mint Director
James Ross Snowden
James Ross Snowden (December 9, 1809 – March 21, 1878 ) was an American politician from Pennsylvania who served as a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives representing Venango and Clarion counties from 1838 to ...
began researching the early history of the United States Mint and its coinage in the 1850s, during which time he interviewed descendants of Stuart who claimed that their ancestor was the designer. It has been suggested that Philadelphia socialite
Ann Willing Bingham posed as the model for the coin. Several sketches were approved by Mint engraver
Robert Scot
Robert Scot (October 2, 1745 – November 3, 1823) was a Scottish-American engraver who served as Chief Engraver of the United States Mint from 1793 until his death in 1823. He was succeeded by William Kneass. Scot designed the popular and ...
and de Saussure and sent to
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
George Washington
George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
and
Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...
to gain their approval.
After approval was received, the designs were sent to artist John Eckstein to be rendered into plaster models; during that time, plaster models were used as a guide to cutting the dies, which was done by hand. Eckstein, who was dismissed by Walter Breen as a "local artistic hack" and described by a contemporary artist as a "thorough-going drudge" due to his willingness to carry out most painting or sculptural tasks at the request of clients, was paid thirty dollars for his work preparing models for both the obverse Liberty and reverse eagle and wreath. After the plaster models were created, the engravers of the Philadelphia Mint (including Scot) began creating hubs that would be used to make dies for the new coins.
Production
It is unknown exactly when production of the new design began, as precise records relating to design were not kept at that time. R.W. Julian, however, places the beginning of production in either late September or early October 1795, while Taxay asserts that the first new silver dollars were struck in October. In September 1795, de Saussure wrote his resignation letter to President Washington. In his letter, de Saussure mentioned the unauthorized silver standard and suggested that Congress be urged to make the standard official, but this was not done. In response to de Saussure's letter, Washington expressed his displeasure in the resignation, stating that he had viewed de Saussure's tenure with "entire satisfaction". As de Saussure's resignation would not take effect until October, the president was given time to select a replacement.

The person chosen to fill the position was statesman and former congressman
Elias Boudinot
Elias Boudinot ( ; May 2, 1740 – October 24, 1821) was an American Founding Father, lawyer, statesman, and early abolitionist and women's rights advocate. During the Revolutionary War, Boudinot was an intelligence officer and prisoner-of-wa ...
. Upon assuming his duties at the Mint on October 28, Boudinot was informed of the silver standard that had been used since the first official silver coins were struck. He immediately ordered that this practice be ceased and that coinage would begin in the 89.2% fineness approved by the Coinage Act of 1792. The total production of 1795 dollars (including both the Flowing Hair and Draped Bust types) totalled 203,033. It is estimated that approximately 42,000 dollars were struck bearing the Draped Bust design. Boudinot soon ordered that production of minor denominations be increased. Later, assayer Albian Cox died suddenly from a stroke in his home on November 27, 1795, leaving the vital post of assayer vacant. This, together with Boudinot's increased focus on smaller denominations, as well as a lull in private bullion deposits (the fledgling Mint's only source of bullion), caused a decrease in silver dollar production in 1796. The total mintage for 1796 was 79,920, which amounts to an approximate 62% reduction from the previous year's total.
Bullion deposits continued to decline, and in 1797, silver dollar production reached the lowest point since 1794 with a mintage of just 7,776 pieces. During this time, silver deposits declined to such an extent that Thomas Jefferson personally deposited 300
Spanish dollar
The Spanish dollar, also known as the piece of eight (, , , or ), is a silver coin of approximately diameter worth eight Spanish reales. It was minted in the Spanish Empire following a monetary reform in 1497 with content fine silver. It w ...
s in June 1797. In April 1797, an agreement was reached between the Mint and the
Bank of the United States. The Bank agreed to supply the Mint with foreign silver on the condition that the Bank would receive their deposits back in silver dollars. The Mint was closed between August and November 1797 due to the annual
yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia; that year's epidemic took the life of the Mint's treasurer, Dr. Nicholas Way. In November 1797, the Bank deposited approximately $30,000 worth of French silver. In early 1798, the reverse was changed from the small, perched eagle to a heraldic eagle similar to that depicted on the
Great Seal of the United States
The Great Seal is the seal of the United States. The phrase is used both for the Seal (emblem), impression device itself, which is kept by the United States secretary of state, and more generally for the impression it produces. The Obverse and r ...
. The agreement reached with the Bank of the United States along with other bullion depositors (including Boudinot) led to an increase in the number of silver dollars coined; mintage for both the small and heraldic eagle types totalled 327,536. Mintage numbers for the dollar remained high through 1799, with 423,515 struck that year.
Toward the end of the 18th century, many of the silver dollars produced by the Mint were shipped to and circulated or melted in China in order to satisfy the great demand for silver bullion in that nation. In 1800, silver deposits once again began to decline, and the total silver dollar output for that year was 220,920. In 1801, following complaints from the public and members of
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
regarding the lack of small change in circulation, Boudinot began requesting that silver depositors receive smaller denominations rather than the routinely requested silver dollars, in an effort to supply the nation with more small change. Production dropped to 54,454 silver dollars in 1801 and 41,650 in 1802, after Boudinot was able to convince many depositors to accept their silver in the form of small denominations. Although silver bullion deposits at the Mint had increased, Boudinot attempted to end silver dollar production in 1803, favoring half dollars instead. Mintage of the 1803 dollar continued until March 1804, when production of silver dollars ceased entirely. In total, 85,634 dollars dated 1803 were struck. Following a formal request from the Bank of the United States, Secretary of State
James Madison
James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...
officially suspended silver dollar and
gold eagle production in 1806, although minting of both had ended two years earlier.
1804 dollars

In 1831, Mint Director
Samuel Moore filed a request through the Treasury asking president
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...
to once again allow the coinage of silver dollars; the request was approved on April 18. In 1834,
Edmund Roberts was selected as an American commercial representative to Asia, including the kingdoms of
Muscat
Muscat (, ) is the capital and most populous city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the population of the Muscat Governorate in 2022 was 1.72 million. ...
and
Siam
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
. Roberts recommended that the dignitaries be given a set of
proof coin
Proof coinage refers to special early samples of a coin issue, historically made for checking the dies (as in demonstrating that something is true) and for archival purposes. In modern times, proofs are often struck in greater numbers, especi ...
s. The State Department ordered two sets of "specimens of each kind
f coins/nowiki> now in use, whether of gold, silver, or copper". Though the minting of dollars had been approved in 1831, none had been struck since 1804. After consulting with Chief Coiner Adam Eckfeldt
John Adam Eckfeldt (June 15, 1769 – February 6, 1852) was an American worker and official during the first years of the United States Mint. A lifelong Philadelphian, Eckfeldt served as the second chief coiner of the Mint, from 1814 until 183 ...
(who had worked at the Mint since its opening in 1792), Moore determined that the last silver dollars struck were dated 1804. Unknown to either of them, the last production in March 1804 was actually dated 1803. Since they believed that the last striking was dated 1804, it was decided to strike the presentation pieces with that date as well. It is unknown why the current date was not used, but R.W. Julian suggests that this was done to prevent coin collectors from being angered over the fact that they would be unable to obtain the newly dated coins.
The first two 1804 dollars (as well as the other coins for the sets) were struck in November 1834. Soon, Roberts' trip was expanded to Indo-China
Mainland Southeast Asia (historically known as Indochina and the Indochinese Peninsula) is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to th ...
(then known as Annam) and Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
, so two additional sets were struck. The pieces struck under the auspices of the Mint are known as Class I 1804 dollars, and eight of that type are known to exist today. Roberts left for his trip in April 1835, and he presented one set each to the Sultan of Muscat and the King of Siam
The monarchy of Thailand is the constitutional monarchy, constitutional form of government of Thailand (formerly ''Siam''). The king of Thailand (, historically, ''king of Siam''; ) is the head of state and head of the ruling Chakri dynasty.
...
. The gift to the Sultan of Muscat was part of an exchange of diplomatic gift
A diplomatic gift is a gift given by a :diplomat, politician or leader when visiting a foreign country. Usually the gift is reciprocated by the host. The use of diplomatic gifts dates back to the ancient world and givers have competed to outdo e ...
s that resulted in the Sultan presenting the Washington Zoo with a full-grown lion and lioness. Roberts fell ill in Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...
and was taken to Macao
Macau or Macao is a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most densely populated region in the world.
Formerly a Portuguese colony, the ter ...
, where he died in June 1835. Following Roberts' death, the remaining two sets were returned to the Mint without being presented to the dignitaries.
Collecting
Most coin collectors became aware of the 1804 dollar in 1842, when Jacob R. Eckfeldt (son of Adam Eckfeldt) and William E. Du Bois published a book entitled ''A Manual of Gold and Silver Coins of All Nations, Struck Within the Past Century''. In the volume, several coins from the Mint's coin cabinet, including an 1804 dollar, were reproduced by tracing a pantograph
A pantograph (, from their original use for copying writing) is a Linkage (mechanical), mechanical linkage connected in a manner based on parallelograms so that the movement of one pen, in tracing an image, produces identical movements in a se ...
stylus over an electrotype
Electrotyping (also galvanoplasty) is a chemical method for forming metal parts that exactly reproduce a model. The method was invented by a Prussian engineer Moritz von Jacobi in Russia in 1838, and was immediately adopted for applications in ...
of the coins. In May 1843, numismatist Matthew A. Stickney was able to obtain an 1804 dollar from the Mint's coin cabinet by trading a rare pre-federal United States gold coin. Due to an increase in the demand for rare coins, Mint officials, including Director Snowden, began minting an increasing number of coin restrikes in the 1850s. Several 1804 dollars were struck, and some were sold for personal profit on the part of Mint officials. When he discovered this, Snowden bought back several of the coins. One such coin, which Snowden later added to the Mint cabinet, was struck over an 1857 shooting thaler
A shooting thaler ( ; ; ) is a silver coin in thaler size minted to commemorate a Schützenfest (French: ''Fête de tir'') or free shooting (German: ''Freischiessen'', French: ''Tir libre'') in Switzerland.
In a narrow sense, Swiss ''Schützenta ...
and became known as Class II, the only such piece of that type known to exist today. Six pieces with edge lettering applied after striking became known as Class III dollars.
By the end of the 19th century, the 1804 dollar had become the most famous and widely discussed of all American coins. In 1867, one of the original 1804 dollars was sold at auction for $750 ($ today). Seven years later, on November 27, 1874, a specimen sold for $700 ($ today). In the early 20th century, coin dealer B. Max Mehl began marketing the 1804 dollar as the "King of American Coins". The coins continued to gain popularity throughout the 20th century, and the price reached an all-time high in 1999, when an example graded Proof-68 was sold at auction for $4,140,000.
References
Bibliography
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