A Famous 1804 Dollar Alteration

If you ever have the opportunity to purchase a silver dollar dated "1804" that you think is the real thing, struck at the U.S. Mint, get it checked out by qualified individuals before spending big money. Very convincing counterfeits and alterations have been made over the years. An excellent resource is the American Numismatic Association Authentication Bureau, 818 North Cascade Avenue, Colorado Springs, CO 80903-3279. Phone: 719-632-2646.

The story of one example of a convincing alteration is given here, we call it "The Granberg Specimen." A silver dollar dated "1804" turned up in 1906, in the days when little was known about these coins. It was purchased by H.O. Granberg of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, who at the time built one of America's greatest coin collections. In 1908 he also purchased The Idler Specimen, one of today's fifteen "recognized" 1804 silver dollars. Later, in 1911, Mr. Granberg became Chairman of the American Numismatic Association.

Early in 1906 H.O. Granberg was offered a silver dollar dated "1804" by Carl Strout of the Pinkerton Detective Agency in Spokane, Washington. Before purchasing the coin Granberg had to be convinced it was genuine. The coin was sent from Pinkerton's Spokane office to H.W. Bearce, General Superintendent of the Pinkerton Detective Agency in Philadelphia, with instructions to have it tested at the U.S. Mint.

Pinkerton employee, Charles F. Dahlen, took the dollar to the U.S. Mint on May 3rd, 1906, and later wrote a report of his findings, shown below. He saw the Curator of the Mint and was taken to the Chief Engraver, "who gave the dollar what he termed 'a severe test,' by heating the "4", and endeavored to pick and knock it off, but it remained fast."

In the words of Mr. Dahlan, "At the conclusion of the test, I asked the Chief Engraver if he now considered it a genuine 1804 dollar. He replied that the fact that it had stood the heating test 'was a great deal in its favor.' He refused to make a statement that it was genuine or that it was his opinion that it was genuine."

The Curator then examined this dollar. Again in the words of Mr. Dahlen, "He refused to state, verbally or in writing, whether or not it was genuine. He said that the fact of its having stood the heat test was a great deal in its favor; that if the owner tried to market the dollar he would probably find that the coin dealers would declare it not genuine on account of the border, thus [where he drew a picture of the border with long dentils extending into the field of the coin] as they (coin dealers) claim that the original 1804 dollars bear a border [he drew another picture showing small rounded dentils]."

       

Granberg later wrote: "I thoroughly convinced myself of its genuineness before I purchased the 1804 Silver Dollar in 1906 by having it very carefully examined with a powerful Glass by T.L. Camparette Curator of the United States Mint and also to test the genuineness of the date by giving the 1804 Dollar an extremely white Heat Test by the United States Mint. The examination and Heat Test and its weight, edge, lettering and everything else pertaining to it, proves beyond a doubt that it is not only a genuine Dollar of 1804 but that it is a Dollar of 1804 - Struck in 1804."

Granberg purchased this dollar for $100.00 in 1906, a significant sum at the time. Here's his receipt:



In 1913, H.O. Granberg sold part of his coin collection. The collection was cataloged and sold by the famous B. Max Mehl, who later sold other "real" 1804 Dollars for world record prices. Mehl states in his catalog,

"Mr. H.O. Granberg, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the American Numismatic Association, whose collection is herein offered, is too well known among the Numismatic Fraternity to require an introduction as to his numismatic interests. The result of his many years of active interest in numismatics is shown in the collection which he is now selling because of his specializing in other numismatic lines.

The collection of United States silver is, I believe, the most complete ever offered. The gold, of which there are upward of four hundred lots, represents the efforts of years of labor and can seldom be excelled for completeness. Every series of U.S. coinage of the Philadelphia and all branch mints include some of its greatest rarities."

If you're knowledgeable about rare U.S. coins, besides the "Granberg Specimen" of an 1804 Dollar, this collection contained, as highlighted by Mehl: the "First Complete Set of Trade Dollars" including the 1884 (10 minted) and 1885 (5 minted), an 1823 quarter, and a half eagle of 1832 with twelve stars, one of just six known today.

The catalog devoted two and a half pages to the "Granberg Specimen" of the 1804 Dollar, and featured this coin as the only coin on its cover!

The prices realized for this sale listed this 1804 Dollar as "withdrawn" from the auction. Today we know it's an alteration from an "1800" dated silver dollar. Die characteristics unquestionably identify it as an 1800 silver dollar, and if you're knowledgeable about varieties it's a "Bolender-1." The alteration was done by a process known as "chasing." The coin was heated and a tool was used to move the metal of the orignal coin to change the shape of the last "0" in the date to the shape of a "4"! Therefore, the "4" in the date could not be picked or knocked off in the 1906 heat test at the U.S. Mint.

The "Granberg Specimen" of the "1804 Dollar" was passed on to one of his sons who enjoyed showing it off and telling stories about the coin. The family, including children, grandchildren and great grandchildren saved newspaper clippings about 1804 Dollars when they sold. These clippings traced prices of 1804 Dollars all the way up to $400,000 as the family watched their "bank accounts" grow! This author was asked to sell the coin and had to break the news to the family that the coin is an alteration. This was not a pleasant task, especially when their attorney was called in!

The condition of this coin is a low grade. It appears to have been cleaned and lightly polished, and a large "X" was lightly scratched into the reverse:

The book, The Fantastic 1804 Dollar, by Eric P. Newman and Kenneth E. Bressett, quotes an April 23rd, 1906 letter from DeWitt Smith, a well known collector, written to Mr. Carl Strout, whom Granberg purchased this coin from. "One thing I have noticed, when anyone (dealer or collector) has one to sell, he thinks it is genuine, but when some other party has one to sell, the same man will discredit it."