James
Vila Dexter bought his 1804 Dollar from an auction of The Chapman Collection,
May 14th and 15th, 1885 in Philadelphia. S.H. and H. Chapman claim they
purchased this rarity for $216 on October 13th, 1884 from an auction by
Adolph Weyl in Berlin, Germany. The catalog, shown below, did offer an
1804 Dollar for sale, as verified by the photo of the coin on its front
page and the catalog description inside. But some numismatists question
whether it's the same 1804 Dollar the Chapmans sold to Dexter in their
auction the following year. The coin is listed as lot 159 in the Weyl catalog.
Eventhough
skeptics doubt it's the same coin Dexter actually bought from the Chapmans,
this catalog, which recently surfaced in 1996 and is only one of two known,
shows there is a resemblance between the photograph and the "Dexter
Dollar". The photograph is of poor quality, but upon careful scrutiny,
every detail resembles the Dexter Dollar. Softly struck areas compare identically,
and a tell-tale minute nick on the first hair strand by the shoulder appears
on both coins. However, in the Weyl photograph, minute rough spots appear
around some of the details, such as letters, and a tiny die crack shows
as a small raised ridge off the front of the bust. Eric Newman and Ken
Bressett, in their book, The Fantastic 1804 Dollar, state
they believe the photograph was actually taken of an "electrotype",
which is a copy made of the real coin.
Noted authorities Q. David Bowers and Ken Bressett examined this catalog for the very first time at the American Numismatic Association convention in Cleveland, Ohio in March, 1997. They both concluded that the photograph of the 1804 Dollar in the Weyl catalog was actually of a plaster cast of the coin.
A short description (in German) in the Weyl catalog states that the coin shown in the photo is an exact replication of Lot No. 535 of the Cohen Collection auctioned in New York in 1875. However, the 1804 dollar known as the Cohen specimen, is much lower in condition than the mint state Dexter specimen. The Cohen coin is quite worn, grading Very Fine. Today the Cohen 1804 dollar is on exhibit at the American Numismatic Association Museum in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
With that background in mind, on July 29th, 1885 Ed Frossard, a prominent coin dealer from Irvington-on-Hudson, New York wrote to J.V. Dexter:
"In reply to your favor of this day, making some inquiries concerning the 1804 dollar bought by you through Mr. Scott at Chapman Bros. Phila. sale, I beg say: That although I knew that Mr. Weyl, Berlin, Prussia would not at the time of his sale guarantee the 1804 dollar he sold & which Chapman Bros. claim to have bought there, I was, in my own mind, convinced, until the moment I saw the dollar at Phila. that it must be a rare find from Europe etc (see article March Numisma herewith sent)"
"As soon as I saw the piece I decided in my mind that it must be a restrike and that opinion I now entertain. On the day succeeding the sale of the Chapman's 1804 Dollar I had personal interviews with the director of the U.S. Mint & two well trusted coin dealers & from what all said, though they did not agree on every point, I have not the slightest doubt now & have not had since my visit at Phila. that the 1804 dollar in question was struck by parties who borrowed the old 1804 dies at the Mint and restruck a number of dollars of which this is unquestionably one using old U.S. silver dollars with lettered edge as planchets, so as to preserve the lettered edge, characteristic of the early issues."
"From a well-known dealer, a man of the highest integrity of character (who would never touch or buy one) the fact was elicited that from 25 to 100 had been struck, and that as many as 4 were offered to him at one time, I think he said @ $25.- but as stated above, he would not buy. I will further state that the names of the parties who struck these dollars are known & that the fact of their having been struck must in my opinion have been known to the Chapman Bros."...
..."Excuse haste of this, but I hope that I have made myself understood as condemning the 1804 dollar as bought by you, as far as being an issue of 1804. It is a restrike from (probably) recut dies made in 1868 or 1869 & could easily be proved to be such in a Court of Justice."
J.V. Dexter took Frossard's advice and brought suit against the Chapmans the following year to force them to back up their guarantee that the coin is genuine. He hired a Philadelphia lawyer, Thomas DeWitt Cuyler, and put up money to cover costs. Both sides assembled witnesses and the trial was scheduled for February 14th, 1887.
Attorney Cuyler wrote Dexter on January 15th, 1887:
"...I have had a talk with Col Snowden and the result has an important bearing on the case. He states he will sware that the dollar is genuine and that the three government experts employed at the Mint for such purposes will also so swear at the trial. Now Col Snowden has been chief coiner of the Mint for twenty years and the others named have been also there for a long period. I cannot help but feel that the practical effect of their testimony would be to give a verdict for the defendent. Our testimony consists chiefly of dealers who are more or less interested and which would have but little weight against such evidence as above mentioned. To be sure a verdict for the defense would establish the genuiness [sic] of the dollar so far as a jury trial can. But would this be the most satisfactory way of so establishing it. Would not any dealer or expert in coins insist in examining the evidence upon which the jury based their verdict and then drawing his own conclusion. On the other hand would not a certificate from such an authority as Snowden and the other experts be of much more value than any verdict...I am not satisfied of the wisdom of trying such a case before a jury."
An interesting comment regarding the importance of this case is found in a February 4th, 1887 letter to Dexter from Mr. Bromley of Attorney Cuyler's office:
"The case however is now generally known as pending throughout the Numismatic world and while the result will depend upon the finding of a jury, whatever the result may be, there can be no question but that the coin will be made famous."
As the trial date approached, Dexter and his attorney had to decide whether to accept Certificates of Genuineness from officials of the Philadelphia Mint or to proceed with the trial. The following telegraph sent just days before the scheduled trial shows they were still undecided.
On February 15th, 1887, the day after the scheduled trial, Cuyler wrote Dexter regarding settlement of the case:
"I beg to say that acting upon your instructions I have discontinued the above suit after taking certificates from Col Snowden and the Officials of the Mint that the coin in genuine. These certificates are strong and very valuable as to the value of the coin...I believe you have arrived at a very wise solution of the matter."
Three certificates were obtained from four Philadelphia Mint officials:
1. Col. A. Loudon Snowden, Register, Chief Coiner and Superintentent of the U.S. Mint from May 7, 1857 through July 1, 1885. His certificate signed February 10th, 1887.
2. Jacob B. Eckfeldt, Curator and Assayer of the Mint, and R.A. McClure, Curator of the U.S. Mint collection. They signed the same certificate, dated February 11th, 1887.
3. Patterson DuBois, Assistant Assayer of the Mint. He signed his certificate February 14th, 1887.
All three "Certificates of Genuineness" used similar language. They stated that Mr. Dexter's 1804 Dollar resembles in all details the 1804 Dollar in the Mint collection which has always been considered genuine. Snowden went one step further than the others stating that these dollars were coined in the year 1804, even though he must have known the truth! It's curious to note that he also stated in his 1887 certificate that the 1804 Dollar in the Mint collection has been held by the Mint for more than forty five years. That means at least since 1842!
View and Read the "Certificates of Genuineness" from the U.S. Mint Officials in Philadelphia:
Dexter celebrated his settlement of the case and his coin made famous by having documentary works of art created, probably in that same year, 1887. For a look at these museum-quality works, see this Web site's page about the Original Dexter Dollar Documentary Works of Art from 1887.