New World Record Auction
Price Set
at $1.8 Million April 8th, 1997!
Coin collectors first learned of the existence of the 1804 Dollar in 1842 in a publication entitled, A Manual of Gold and Silver Coins of All Nations, by Jacob R. Eckfeldt and William E. DuBois, assayer and assistant assayer of the U.S. Mint. Only an illustration of the coin was shown, no description or explanation was offered.
Matthew A. Stickney, an advanced collector from Salem Massachusetts, wanted to maintain the completeness of his collection of chronologically dated coins, and he needed a silver dollar dated "1804" to do that. Known to Mint officials, he called at the Mint on May 9th, 1843 where he proceeded to make an exchange for the duplicate 1804 Dollar in the Mint collection.
Mint officials were pleased to make that exchange for coins not found in their collection. At the time, 1804 silver dollars weren't considered valuable, but among other coins given by Stickney in the exchange, the Mint received a gold "Immune Columbia" piece, the only example known to exist. This coin can be seen in the National Coin Collection now on display at the Smithsonian Institution.
This 1804 Dollar remained in possession of Mr. Stickney and, after his death, his daughter, until 1907 when it was sold at auction. From that time it has resided in four prominent collections, the latest being the Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. collection. Mr. Eliasberg purchased the Stickney 1804 Dollar in the sale of the Atwater Collection, on June 11, 1946, setting a world' record price for a single silver coin at $10,500!
After More Than 50 Years the Famous Stickney 1804 Dollar Was Sold in the Eliasberg Sale on April 8, 1997!
Billed as the "The Most Important (Numismatic) Event in 1997" the Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection Part II auction sale made the Stickney 1804 Dollar available to another purchaser for the first time in over 50 years. Just as in 1946 when it was last sold, another record price was set by this coin, but this time it set a world's record price for any coin sold at auction!
The "hammer price" was $1,650,000, but a 10% buyer's charge added to all lots sold in the auction brought the final sales price to $1,815,000! The coin was purchased by Greg Roberts of Spectrum Numismatics which also owns the King of Siam proof set. The underbidder was Jay Parrino who set a world record price last year in the Eliasberg Part I sale by purchasing a 1913 Liberty nickel, one of just five known, for $1,485,000.
The importance of this pedigree for an 1804 Dollar cannot be overstated. It's been part of the great Eliasberg Collection, which is the only complete collection of United States coins ever formed! Add to this the fact that this is the only 1804 Dollar to be traced from today directly back to the U.S. Mint on May 9th, 1943!
Info - Purchase Silver Replica | Info - Purchase Historic Print
Photos courtesy of Auctions By Bowers and Merena, Inc.