A. the “discovery” of this coin in Germany in 1884?
B. the microscopic “D” hidden in its reverse?
C. Mint records show that 19,570 silver dollars were coined in 1804, but only 15 1804-dated silver dollars are known?
D. the Dexter Dollar was struck at the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia in the 1834-1835 period?
E. the Dexter Dollar is the very coin that in 1941 professional numismatist B. Max Mehl named “The King of American Coins”?
F. the Dexter Dollar sold for the world-record price of $990,000 in 1989, becoming the very first coin to sell at the million-dollar level?
G. the last auction sale of the Dexter Dollar was at $3,290,000 in 2017?
H. all of the above?
(Answer: all of the above.)
Mark Ferguson in 2006 at the Denver ANA Convention after my talk about the Dexter Dollar. Brent Pogue was kind enough to bring the Dexter Dollar to Denver for my talk. Thank you Brent! At the time, I was the Market Analyst for Coin World’s Coin Values magazine.
The Dexter 1804 silver dollar is one of the world’s great “story coins.” Without its story, this coin would be just another high-grade proof, Draped Bust silver dollar.
This is the story of the Dexter Dollar, as told by “The Dexter Dollar Collection of Historic and Important Numismatic Literature and Works of Art.”
A much more complete story can be found in my book, The Dollar of 1804 – The U.S. Mint’s Hidden Secret…as revealed by the true story of the “Dexter Dollar,” The King of American Coins. You can purchase a copy of the book at the end of this story.
The Dexter Dollar story presented on this website is original content meant to display the Dexter Dollar Collection. A more complete story of the rarity is presented in the book. I’m always looking for new discoveries and items to add to the Dexter Dollar Collection.
I’m always looking to buy historical items related to the Dexter Dollar. If you have something that you think might be a fit for the Dexter Dollar Collection please contact me at: mark@1804Dollar.com
The creation of 1804-dated silver dollars began with an 1834 Presidential Directive sent to the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia. The text of that letter has been published by several authors, but I’ve never seen a picture of the original letter published. I visited the National Archives in Philadelphia where I obtained a photo of the original letter.
Click the button below to view a copy of the 1834 Presidential Directive by email.
The very rare 1884 Adolph Weyl auction catalog featuring an 1804 silver dollar
Featured on the cover of this Adolph Weyl auction catalog of October 13, 1884 is an 1804 silver dollar that has since become known as the “Dexter Dollar.”
This was the first time American collectors became aware of the existence of this 1804-dated silver dollar.
The sale was held in Berlin, Germany. How did the dollar get from the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia to Berlin, Germany? That mystery is still unsolved.
“Probably the most significant event concerning 1804 dollars in the decade of the 1880s took place in Berlin, Germany in October 1884, when coin dealer Adolph Weyl offered a previously unknown specimen of the 1804 in lot 159 of his 46th Auction.”
–Heritage Auctions, from its August 9, 2013 sale of the Mickley 1804 dollar
For generations, numismatists believed the dollar was “planted” in the 1884 Weyl sale to cover-up its acquisition by the Chapman brothers from the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia.
In their 1962 book, The Fantastic 1804 Dollar, authors Eric P. Newman and Kenneth E. Bressett wrote, “The Chapmans needed a foreign source for a newly acquired 1804 dollar to aid its legitimacy, for the initial appearance of one in Philadelphia would further embarrass Mint officers and would detract from its selling price. It could be sent to a foreign dealer for pretended inclusion in an auction and bought back by the owner. It would then have a fancy foreign pedigree.”
Because that tale was published by two experts on the subject, it was believed to be fact by the coin collecting world. But more than 50 years later – in 2014 – I discovered the real truth in the archives of the American Numismatic Society in New York City. As you’ll see ahead, the dollar was purchased legitimately by the Chapman brothers from the 1884 auction in Germany.
The October 13, 1884 Weyl catalog itself is a major numismatic rarity. There are only 4 of these 1884 Weyl catalogs known, one of which is part of The Dexter Dollar Collection of Historic and Important Numismatic Literature and Works of Art, exhibited in part on this website. Provenance: I purchased this 1884 Weyl catalog in a private transaction from George Frederick Kolbe, Numismatic Bookseller, at the 1996 Denver American Numismatic Association convention.
According to a 2016 Coin World article, “The Oct. 13, 1884, Weyl sale is essential to our understanding of the history of the Dexter 1804 dollar, one of the most important coins in American Numismatics…The Weyl catalog remains one of the rarest, most important, and enigmatic documents in the numismatic literature corpus.”
Samuel Hudson Chapman & Henry Chapman, Jr.
The purchasers of the 1804 silver dollar from the 1884 Weyl auction were Philadelphia coin dealers Samuel Hudson Chapman and Henry Chapman, Jr. They paid $216 for the coin.
After the sale, the Chapmans expected to receive the coin so they could examine it before making payment, but Weyl wanted payment before shipping the coin.
During the next four months, several letters were exchanged between Weyl and the Chapmans to work out a solution. They finally agreed on Weyl shipping the coin to the German Consul in Philadelphia to whom the Chapman brothers made payment after the coin arrived.
The Dexter Dollar Collection contains 8” X 10” photographs of the four letterpress copies of letters sent from S.H. and H. Chapman to Adolph Weyl during late 1884 and early 1885 regarding their purchase and shipment of the 1804 silver dollar. I discovered these letters in the archives of the American Numismatic Society in New York City in 2014, where they remain permanently archived. My discovery busted the myth numismatists came to believe, that the dollar had been “planted” in the Weyl sale.
After receiving the 1804 dollar, the Chapmans went to great lengths to research it. They compared the coin to the 1804 silver dollar in the U.S. Mint collection in Philadelphia. They wrote to other owners of 1804 dollars seeking to compare their coin to other examples known, including celebrated collector Matthew A. Stickney’s 1804. In an April 1885 letter to Stickney, the Chapmans stated, “We are cataloguing this one for a sale at auction.”
Title page of the 1885 Chapman Collection catalog with Plate I bound in the name of the collection from which J.V. Dexter purchased his 1804 dollar is: Catalogue of the Chapman Collection of Fine Ancient Greek and Roman, English, Foreign and American Coins and Medals. United States Coins, Including 1804 Dollar. In a letter to a client the Chapmans stated, “We have been so closely occupied getting the catalog out, working every evening until 10 and sometimes 11 o’clock…”
The first page and a half of the Chapman catalog description of the 1804 silver dollar they were selling.
Unlike the three-line description of the dollar in the Weyl catalog, the Chapmans devoted a full two-and-a-half pages to describing the coin. Their description provided a roster of the seven 1804 silver dollars known, describing them as, “the King of American rarities – the 1804 dollar.”
This 1804 being the latest example to surface, the Chapman’s description listed it as, “7. S.H. & H. Chapman, purchased October 13th, 1884, at the sale of a fine collection in Berlin. We have written to Mr. Weyl, the cataloguer, for information as to its previous ownership, but have not yet received his reply.”
Remainder of the description and Plate II illustrating the 1804 silver dollar in the center of the page
Virtually the entire page on the left completes the Chapman’s description of the 1804 dollar they were selling. Plate II on the right exhibits the 1804 dollar in the center of the page – lot #354. In an unusual move, the prices realized list that’s bound into this version of the 1885 Chapman catalog states, “354..1000.00 Scott & Co. for J.V. Dexter.”
I obtained this catalog from the H.O. Granberg library, which I purchased in 1983. Granberg was Chairman of the American Numismatic Association from 1911 to 1914 and President of the ANA from 1915 to 1916. Granberg owned the Idler specimen of the 1804 dollar. During the 1990s the Idler 1804 was donated to the ANA where it’s now on display in the ANA museum in Colorado Springs, just feet away from Granberg’s safe where the dollar used to live, which I donated to the ANA in 2010.
J.W. Scott
“When the 1804 Dollar was reached everyone gave a subdued Ah! and waited in suspense to see the result.
“A call was made of $500 but the auctioneer not hearing, Mr. Scott bid $300 when the former was repeated and the bidding began, two or three others bidding simultaneously $600 and continuing to $800 when Mr. Scott broke to $5 & $10 bids. $810 next $850; Scott about $875, then 900 [sic], Scott $910 and stubbornly to $980 when Mr. Scott said $985, the next $990 when we instructed the auctioneer not to take less than $10, and Mr. Scott said ‘$1,000.’
“The room broke into hearty applause clapping hands and stamping their feet, the auctioneer said, ‘Gentleman are you done? I want to get all I can for this coin. You won’t have another chance for an 1804 in a hurry.’ He paused and after looking around, knocked it down to Mr. Scott, the room again applauding. After two succeeding lots had been sold Mr. Scott stood up and addressing the auctioneer said, ‘I think as the 1804 dollar is such an important piece the name of the buyer should be announced and I bought it for Mr. J.V. Dexter.’”
–Excerpt from a June 1, 1885 letter from S.H. and H. Chapman to James Vila Dexter
J.W. Scott wrote Dexter on May 19, 1885, a few days after the sale. He stated, “I executed your order to the best of my ability but could not get the 1804 under 1000.00. I know there was a bid of 850.00 and also one of 900.00 in the room but I believe the other 100 was run up on me by Chapman. I was half a mind to drop it on them, as I do not believe in letting people run up prices in the own sale but as I think the dollar worth the money, (it is I think the best one known) I continued to the 1000. If the bidding had been from other parties I would have gone another 50.00 to secure it.”
–Excerpt from a May 19, 1885 letter from J.W. Scott to J.V. Dexter
The July 1885 issue of J.W. Scott’s The Coin Collector’s Journal stated, regarding the 1804 silver dollar J.W. Scott bought at the Chapman sale, “This rare coin, which is one of the finest of the seven specimens known, was purchased by the proprietors of the COIN COLLECTORS JOURNAL, Messrs. Scott & Co., on account of Mr. J.V. Dexter, for the sum of $1,000, the highest price ever actually paid for a single coin….We congratulate Mr. Dexter upon this most valuable addition to his cabinet.”
The Dexter Dollar Collection contains copies of: six short mainstream newspaper articles Dexter saved about 1804 dollars and his purchase, two letters from J.W. Scott after the sale, Dexter’s Scott & Company invoice for 42 coins he purchased from the Chapman sale, receipt for payment of the dollar from the auctioneer, six articles about the Chapman sale of the 1804 dollar.
James Vila Dexter
James Vila Dexter was a prominent banker from Denver, Colorado. He also owned business interests in ranching, mining and real estate. Historians considered him to be Colorado’s first millionaire. He lived the part and was known as a generous and affable man with a sense of humor.
James V. Dexter was born at sea near New Orleans, Louisiana on August 14, 1836. He died suddenly at age 62 on May 23, 1899 at Valley View Springs, Colorado, a resort spa he owned, leaving a large estate for his heirs to deal with.
He collected many things, but coins, precious stones and fine art were his primary passions. A newspaper account of his life stated, “At one time seven rooms in one of his buildings, the Bank block at Sixteenth and Arapahoe streets, were filled with rare bric-a-brac from every part of the world. Notably, his article de vertu, or prized object, was his 1804 silver dollar.”
Dexter has not been known in numismatic circles as an accomplished coin collector. However, because his collection was sold privately, no record of his collection was left behind in the form of an auction catalog. But J.V. Dexter built a very important collection of early American gold coins and much more. Inventory books of his collection still exist, showing that he owned rare issues, some that were not contained in the U.S. Mint collection at the time. One of Dexter’s notable rarities was a 1792 Birch cent, one of just four known in the 1880s. He purchased it in the same sale as the 1804 dollar. Now there are six to seven known, according to A Guide Book of United States Coins, also known as the “Red Book.”
From the day after Dexter’s purchase of the dollar, newspaper stories appeared across the country telling of the coin’s high price. In those days, Dexter’s $1,000 purchase price was the equivalent of about a year’s income for the average worker. The news started a treasure hunt across the country, with people searching for 1804-dated silver dollars.
Additional articles appeared for months after the sale in numismatic journals about Dexter’s purchase and about 1804-dated silver dollars in general. Dexter also exchanged letters with several coin dealers and collectors in the east who had experience with 1804 dollars.
S.H. and H. Chapman letter of June 3, 1885 guaranteeing Dexter’s 1804 dollar genuine – from the 1941 Dunham Collection catalog. The original letter, which was passed from owner to owner, was presumed lost in the 1980s.
S.H. and H. Chapman letterpress copy of June 3, 1885 letter guaranteeing Dexter’s 1804 dollar genuine – exact copy from Chapman letterpress copybook at ANS
A couple weeks after the sale, on June 3, 1885, the Chapman brothers wrote J.V. Dexter stating that they guarantee the 1804 dollar he purchased from their sale to be genuine and as described. The letter also indirectly guaranteed the dollar to be an original, not a restrike.
Presumably, this letter was prompted by an inquiry from Dexter. Notice that the letterpress copy shown above is an exact copy of the letter that appeared on the S.H. and H. Chapman stationary. This letter illustrates how the letters from the Chapmans to Adolph Weyl were exactly copied to the letterpress copybook, now in the archives of the American Numismatic Society in New York City.
In spite of these reassurances from the Chapmans, Dexter became skeptical that the coin was an 1804 silver dollar from the original striking in the 1834 to 1835 period, rather than a restrike from the 1858 to 1860 period. At the time, knowledge about 1804 dollars was evolving and rumors, not based on fact, circulated through the numismatic community.
On August 5, 1885, coin dealer Colvin Randall replied to an inquiry from Dexter, stating, “During the last 13 years there has been placed quietly on the market (U.S. & Europe) between 40 & 50 of the restrikes – The first one was offered me 12 years ago for 300 – which I declined to purchase. I consider it only a question of time when they will find their level, & sell for 25 to 50.00 each – all they are worth I think. The doll sold in the late Phil’a Sale I have nothing to say about, except that I did not want it at any price.”
Randall’s comments served to support a more aggressive stance taken by numismatist Edouard Frossard on July 29, 1885, when he replied to an inquiry from Dexter with these comments, “As soon as I saw the piece I decided in my mind that it must be a restrike and that opinion I now entertain…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.”
Frossard ended his letter by egging Dexter on to take action, “Excuse haste of this, but I hope that I have made myself understood as condemning the 1804 dollar 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.”
Wow! These guys weren’t fooling around, but they were wrong! Dexter’s 1804 dollar is an original.
In an attempt to diffuse the situation, J.W. Scott wrote Dexter on February 26th, 1886 stating, “Of the 1804 dollar we purchased for you of the Chapmans there can be no doubt of its genuineness. Soon after the sale a silly story without the slightest foundation in fact was circulated by some enemy of theirs in the hopes of doing them an injury and possibly of securing your trade. The result appears to have been simply to disgust you with collecting and putting you to great expense for nothing. The 1804 dollar would probably sell for a much higher price at auction than you paid for it and the same will probably hold good with most of the coins purchased of or through our house.”
The Dexter Dollar Collection contains copies of the Frossard and Randall letters that were obtained from the Colorado Historical Society in 1989, where the originals remain permanently archived. Those letters were to be used as evidence in the legal action described below. Copies of three numismatic journal articles that are relevant to the letters are included in the collection.
Acting on false advice, J.V. Dexter hired Philadelphia attorney Thomas DeWitt Cuyler, who filed suit against S.H. and H. Chapman on March 15, 1886, claiming fraud and deception. The suit asked for damages in the amount of $5,000.
I obtained copies of the legal documents in this case from the court system in Philadelphia sometime during the 1990s or 2000s. Copies of four legal documents, regarding this case, are part of the Dexter Dollar Collection.
On April 5, 1886, after the lawsuit was filed, Frossard wrote Dexter, remarking, “I can only approve of your determination to test the genuineness of the 1804 dollar.” However, he back-tracked on calling the coin a restrike, “If proved to be an original genuine issue its value cannot be overestimated while if the contrary it would no doubt lose all its interest in your eyes & collectors generally.”
During the next 11 months, several letters were exchanged between Dexter and Attorney Cuyler’s office in building their case. Witnesses were discussed and, in some cases, contacted. Similarly, the Chapmans built their case and recruited officials from the U.S. Mint to testify on their behalf.
The case was scheduled for trial on February 14th, 1887.
In a January 15th, 1887 letter to Dexter, Attorney Cuyler wrote:
“Dear Sir:
In re Chapman Bros.
I wrote you to New York that the case was down for trial on Feb 14th and will be reached early in the week. I have had a talk with Col Snowden and the result has an important bearing on the case. He states he will swear 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 [sic]. 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. Snowden is willing to give a certificate and I presume the others would be also. Or would it not be better instead of a jury trial to refer the case say to Snowden and a lawyer to detirmine [sic] they to choose a third if necessary. The fact is that in looking over the notes prepared by my Mr Bromley for the trial I am not satisfied of the wisdom of trying such a case before a jury. I do not think you would reach satisfactory results whatever way the verdict went. Then too you must bear in mind that a good many of our experts will probably considerably modify their testimony when they come to go into the witness box and possibly some will fail to attend at all. I should be glad if you would give this your early consideration and advise me of your conclusions. Would it not be well to talk it over with our mutual friend Mr. Wolcott.
Very truly,
Thomas De Witt Cuyler
J.V. Dexter Esq.”
With the trial just days away, Attorney Cuyler telegrammed Dexter on February 9, 1887. He was looking for a decision, “Snowden & mint Experts will certify that coin was struck from original dye [sic] and in all respects is as genuine as one in mint. Davis, great Expert here says Coin is a genuine as mint one & as genuine as one recently sold by him for twelve hundred and states he can sell yours for one thousand. Trial comes up Monday. Shall I take Certificate mentioned & abandon Case [?] wire answer if we are to try you must Come on at once.
Thos. DeWitt Cuyler”
The following letter from Attorney Cuyler to J.V. Dexter sums up the disposition of the case.
“Philadelphia Feb. 15th. 1887
Dear Sir:
Dexter vs. Chapman
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 is genuine. These certificates are strong and very valuable as to the value of the coin when it is considered that they come from entirely disinterested sources. These gentlemen would have testified in the manner indicated by their certificates upon the witness box and would have been corroborated by other strong testimony. While our testimony would have been reliable coming from Messers Frossard, Smith and Proskey still these gentlemen or at least two of them are dealers and would not have had sufficient weight before a jury to overcome the positive evidence which would have been brought forward by the Chapmans. I believe you have arrived at a very wise solution of the matter. Dr Davis of this City a collector in whom every one seems to place confidence states that your coin is worth $1500.00 with the certificates and believes he can get this price for you if you wish to sell. Of course you will still hear adverse criticism of the coin but in such a matter all will never be convinced and my advice to you would be to dismiss the attacks upon the dollar from your mind and insist in view of the examinations made and the certificates that you have a genuine coin beyond question. Mr. Brown the Counsel for the Chapman Bros states that the suit has injured their business greatly and asks if you would object to giving them a letter that you hold the certificates and that you dismissed the suit satisfied as to their honesty in the transaction. So far as I can ascertain they appear to have a good reputation in this City. You are not in any way bound to do this but of course it would be a kindly act if you feel so disposed. I send you today by express the dollar and the certificates. I enclose your memorandum of my fees and disbursements. I shall be very glad to see you if you stop over in the City when you are again East. I am,
Very truly,
Thomas De Witt Cuyler
James V. Dexter Esq.
P.S. I enclose the certificates in the letter instead of sending them by express with the dollar.”
A short article, entitled “That 1804 Dollar,” published in the February 1887 issue of The American Numismatist, edited by Charles E. Leal, summed up what the numismatic world knew of the lawsuit: “The case of Dexter versus Chapman Bros., which was to have been tried on February 14th, at Philadelphia, has been postponed. This trial is of more than ordinary interest to Numismatists as it is to determine whether the 1804 Dollar offered and guaranteed as authentic at one of Chapman’s sales, a year or more ago, was a genuine issue of that date, or not. It is maintained by all experts that no Dollars dated 1804 were struck in that year; but it is an established fact that they have been struck on several occasions since 1827, from differently engraved dies.”
This volume of The American Numismatist has been part of the Dexter Dollar Collection since the 1990s. I received it from numismatist W. David Perkins.
How could there be a better outcome for Dexter’s lawsuit? J.V Dexter’s 1804 dollar has been declared to be a genuine coin by officials of the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia where it was coined. In addition, he received three “Certificates of Genuineness” signed by four officials of the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia:
Each certificate included similar statements to the following, from A. Loudon Snowden’s certificate, “I have a very full and thorough knowledge of the Coins preserved by the said Mint and now forming what is termed the ‘Mint Cabinet of Coins’, among which is a certain Silver Dollar of the year 1804 coined in that year, which Silver Dollar has been in the possession of the authorities of said Mint for more than Forty five years; I have also seen and examined a certain other Silver Dollar of the said year 1804 sold by the Chapman Brothers of the City, County and State aforesaid to one James V. Dexter, of Denver, Colorado, and am sufficiently familiar with it to express an opinion, and do hereby certify and declare that a comparison of said last mentioned Coin with the one in the Mint first above described, shows that the figures, characters, lettering, edging, etc., etc., on said Coins are absolutely the same, and that the Coin belonging to Mr. Dexter is a counterpart of the one now in the Mint; I do hereby further certify and declare that in my judgment both of said Coins are genuine Coins, coined at the same time and from the same dies and collar, and that no differences exist between them with the slight exception of the weight, in which respect the Mint Dollar is about one half grain lighter than the one now owned by Mr. Dexter and which is within the legal tolerance allowed by law.”
Interestingly, Snowden’s certificate stated that the 1804 dollars were “coined in that year.” The other certificates did not make that statement.
Sadly, the certificates, which had accompanied the coin from owner to owner, went missing in the 1980s. Both, the late D. Brent Pogue, a former owner of the Dexter Dollar, and I, attempted to locate these certificates. Neither of us were successful and Brent told me he believes they were lost prior to the coin selling for the then record-high price of $990,000 in 1989.
However, two records of these certificates have survived. When the Dexter Dollar was sold in 1941 by dealer B. Max Mehl from his sale of the W.F. Dunham Collection, Mehl pictured the certificates in the auction catalog. The following images are from that catalog:
The only other record of these Certificates of Genuineness comes from James Vila Dexter, himself. He was obviously pleased with the outcome of his legal ordeal over his 1804 Dollar. After it was settled, Dexter commissioned the creation of a documentary work of art, circa 1887, that exhibits hand-drawn, pen and ink replicas of all three certificates, plus three additional documents. George Kolbe called this piece a “printer’s proof,” judging by the marks in each corner.
The documents replicated in this work:
After his 1804 dollar was returned to him and he had received its Certificates of Genuineness from the U.S. Mint officials, James V. Dexter wanted to celebrate his treasure. He collected fine art and commissioned a beautiful work of art to showcase his dollar.
Dexter also wanted to tell the story of 1804 dollars in the art. Knowledge about 1804 dollars was still being discovered at that time and much was still unknown about their “disappearance.” U.S. Mint records state that 19,570 silver dollars were coined in 1804; but just 15 are known.
The story was clipped from a newspaper article published in THE BEE in Washington, D.C. entitled, “The Lost Dollar.” The story states:
“The dollar of 1804 has become exceedingly scarce, and the last sale of a fine specimen was made at one thousand dollars. Of this dollar, according to the returns of the United States Mint records, 19,570 pieces were struck, and with the exception of a few, were all exported to Africa to pay the sailors and soldiers engaged in the war against Tripoli.”
The ornately lettered story in the work of art provides an accurate word-for-word transcription of the story in the newspaper article. The source of the story is an 1880 book by Ivan C. Michaels, Ph.D., M.A. entitled, The Current Gold and Silver Coins of all Nations.
In Chapter II, Michaels states, “In giving the history of the United States, special attention has been paid to the official records of the U.S. Mint and the matchless collection in the coin cabinet of that institution. At the same time, I have to acknowledge, with gratitude, the highly valuable assistance received from Messrs. W.P. Kirk and R.A. McClure, gentlemen in charge of the U.S. Coin Cabinet in Philadelphia, Pa.”
R.A. McClure, curator, was one of the signors of Dexter’s Certificates of Genuineness. My guess is that Michaels repeated an 1804 dollar disappearance story that had been handed down through officials at the U.S. Mint.
While today’s belief is that the 19,570 silver dollars were dated 1803 as a result of striking them with the previous year’s dated dies, the U.S. in fact paid a $60,000 ransom to the ruler of Tripoli on June 19, 1805 to free more than 300 American sailors who were crew of the USS Philadelphia. They were held for 19 months after being captured in the Tripoli harbor in 1803. There is no proof for either scenario – 1803-dated dies or the ransom – however, the 1803-dated dies is the most likely history.
The artist was Charles Stoll, a Denver artist, draftsman and lithographer who was also proficient at “engrossing” or ornamental lettering. With the precision of a draftsman, Stoll created fine lines, ornate lettering and an accurate reproduction of the dollar in the composition.
Presumably, J.V. Dexter displayed his celebratory work of art at his Denver bank, the Union Deposit and Trust Company, where he kept his collections.
Presumably, J.V. Dexter displayed his celebratory work of art at his Denver bank, the Union Deposit and Trust Company, where he kept his collections.
These unique works of art – “The Dollar of 1804” and “The 1804 Dollar” are part of the Dexter Dollar Collection. They’re the objects that started this collection. I obtained them from the late son and wife of H.O. Granberg during the late 1980s.
They lived in Denver, and while I do not know exactly how the Granberg’s obtained the artworks, they had a close connection to Charles Stoll, the artist. First, the Granberg family had an interest in 1804 silver dollars because the family had owned one – the Idler specimen, now owned by the American Numismatic Association. H.O. Granberg was Chairman of the Board of the ANA from 1911 to 1914 and President from 1915 to 1916.
Henry, H.O. Granberg’s son, worked for the City of Denver at the same time Charles Stoll worked for the City, both in the engineering department. Stoll would have been nearing retirement age, while Henry Granberg would have been near the beginning or middle of his career.
Accompanying James Vila Dexter’s “The Dollar of 1804” work of art, was this red display case. As the artwork and the display box were together and the details of the case so similar to that illustrated in the art, this was most likely the display case used as a model for the work of art. There are two holes cut in the inside top, just like those in the art. As a professional artist, Charles Stoll knew enough to embellish the case with a lock to show value and importance of the contents of the display case.
The most likely provenance of the red display case is James Vila Dexter, Charles Stoll, Henry Granberg, Mark Ferguson. The works of art would have a similar pedigree.
As part of the package, along with the art and the display case, were clippings of old newspaper articles. The one from The Bee, entitled “The Lost Dollar, that contained the story told in the art, word for word, most likely came from James V. Dexter, himself, and was used for the story in the creation of the work of art.
James Vila Dexter’s sudden death on May 23, 1899 at age 62 was quite a blow to his family – his wife, two daughters and a son-in-law. Dexter had a large estate to deal with that included business interests, real estate and his collections of coins, jewels and fine art.
On September 1, 1900 the three heirs signed an agreement in which Dexter’s widow, Josephine Beemer Dexter, and his daughters, Adda Maria Dexter and Harriett Dexter Parvin, split the estate. Josephine took ownership of the real estate, while the daughters took ownership of the collections of jewels and coins.
Roland G. Parvin, Dexter’s son-in-law, took an interest in the coins, and sought to add to the collection. But Parvin sold many of the coins and received several offers to buy the 1804 Dollar. In early 1903 the Chapmans offered Parvin $700 cash for the dollar, but Parvin responded that he refused two other offers for $1,000 from a Chicago dealer and $1,400 from a collector.
Later that year, Parvin received an inquiry from a collector from Portland, Oregon – H.G. Brown. Brown had an extensive collection that included Colonial coins, early copper coins, small denominations, silver dollars, gold coins, rare territorial gold and foreign coins and he wanted to add an 1804 silver dollar.
A few letters were exchanged between Brown and Parvin, negotiating the price and terms, and a deal was struck on November 5, 1903, with Brown agreeing to buy the Dexter Dollar for $1,800. The following day, The Denver Republican and The Denver Evening Post reported the sale at a record $2,000. Apparently, Roland Parvin was well-connected and sought publicity for the coin.
H.G. Brown owned a gambling house in Spokane, Washington, but “Doc” Brown, as he was known, moved to Portland, Oregon in 1903, because legislation was passed in Washington making gambling a felony. In Oregon, he opened a resort on the coast.
In July 1904 Brown actually wrote R.G. Parvin asking for a loan and offering the 1804 as collateral. His letter stated he was “getting my bumps during these dull summer months, with no relief in sight until – say September.” It is now known whether Parvin answered the letter, but it is evident that a loan was not made.
Later that year Brown consigned his whole collection to dealer Lyman Low who auctioned the collection in November 1904. He then moved to Panama to try to cash in on the local economy while the canal was being built. That didn’t work out and he drifted back to Spokane, then San Francisco where he committed suicide with a revolver on April 8, 1912.
Pictured is the title page of the Lyman Low catalog of The Collection of H.G. Brown. It is from the Low catalog that’s part of the Dexter Dollar Collection.
From the Foreword of B. Max Mehl’s June 3, 1941 auction catalog of The W.F. Dunham Collection:
“The ‘Dunham Collection,’ for a period of more than a half century was probably the best known privately owned Numismatic Collection in the country. This was due to his constant and active interest in numismatics, also to his broad vision and numismatic knowledge. He recognized the importance and the potential values of the greater American rarities early in his collecting career and lost no time in acquiring these rarities at the very first opportunity. In 1904, he made a special trip to New York to attend the H.G. Brown Sale in order to acquire the 1804 Dollar.”
B. Max Mehl first met William Forrester Dunham in 1910 in Chicago, where Dunham lived. More from the Foreword of the catalog:
“He handed Mrs. Mehl a box of candy, and he handed me a box, the contents of which he invited me to examine, admonishing me to do so very carefully.
“I recall there were several important American numismatic rarities, but just what they were I do not now recall for the reason that the ‘shining light’ of the little lot was no less than the ‘King of American Coins,’ the 1804 Dollar! The first I had ever seen.
“Being young in numismatics (and in years), at the time, but always having heard of the great 1804 Dollar, you can imagine the thrill I then and there experienced of so unexpectedly meeting a famous collector and seeing for the first time this great coin and having the privilege of handling it!”
Thirty-one years later, after fulfilling his lifelong dream of cataloging the W. F. Dunham Collection, B. Max Mehl summed up the 1804 Dollar with a defining quote:
“The KING of AMERICAN COINS
The United States Silver Dollar of 1804
“In all the History of Numismatics of the entire world, there is not today and there never has been a single coin which was and is the subject of so much romance, interest, comment, and upon which so much has been written and so much talked about and discussed as the United States Silver Dollar of 1804.”
“While there may be coins of greater rarity, (based upon the number of specimens known), – but none are so famous as the Dollar of 1804! This is due to the fact that this great coin was the first coin of United States mintage to have been recognized as the rarest coin of the United States, from the very beginning of American Numismatics, more than One Hundred years ago. And it is today, as it always has been, the best known and most sought-after coin, not only among collectors, but among the public in general as well.”
William Forrester Dunham was a pharmacist by trade and was active in numismatics his whole life. He was a charter member of the Chicago Coin Club and served as Chairman of the Board of the American Numismatic Association.
W.F. Dunham passed away on October 12, 1936, at the age of 79. His collection was to have been given to the Field Museum in Chicago, but somehow Mehl was able to purchase the collection outright in 1939.
Again, from the catalog’s Foreword,
“Although I have had the pleasure of handling some of the most famous and valuable Numismatic Collections during the past forty years, but no Collection has afforded me the thrill which this Collection has. It is the realization of a lifelong ambition.
“In a Collection of this magnitude it is quite impossible to enumerate all of the great and lesser rarities in the Foreword…In short, I feel justified in stating that this is not simply a Coin Sale Catalog, but really and truly a ‘Library of Numismatics.’”
A complete set of B. Max Mehl’s 1941 catalog of The W.F. Dunham sale consists of the following: an ornately-designed brochure with the 1804 dollar illustrated on its cover, two letters that accompany the brochure, a solicitation for ordering the catalog of the sale and the price list, a welcome letter that accompanied the catalog, the prices realized list, a return envelope and the shipping box. Not pictured is a simple flyer selling enlarged photographic prints of the 1804 dollar.
This boxed set of the Dunham catalog is part of the Dexter Dollar Collection. I purchased it from a dealer sometime during the 2000s.
A letter that came with the brochure stated:
“Here is the beautiful brochure announcing the great Sale we have all been waiting for, that of the celebrated Dunham Collection. This is the most important numismatic announcement in forty years. This Collection, as a whole, is the most important collection of its kind ever offered in the nearly 150 years of American Numismatics.”
The brochure stated:
“Of course, the outstanding coin in this Series is the 1804 Dollar. Undoubtedly the most famous and best known rarity of our entire coinage, and one of the most famous coins of the entire world. This will be the first time in eighteen years that a specimen of this great coin has been offered at auction. The full history, minute description, copies of affidavits of genuineness, dramatic description of the scene in the auction room when this coin was purchased in 1885 by John W. Scott for Mr. Dexter, will be fully given in the catalog. It will be the most complete description of this great coin that has ever before been published.”
This presentation copy of the Dunham catalog is now part of the Dexter Dollar Collection. I purchased it from the Stack’s Bowers Galleries sale of the D. Brent Pogue numismatic library on August 7, 2020. Both Pogue and Charles M. Williams, to whom this catalog was presented, are former owners of the Dexter Dollar. Here is the Stack’s Bowers catalog description:
“Rare and Historic Presentation Copy of the Dunham Sale
Presented to Charles M. Williams
A Piece of 1804 Dollar History”
“Mehl, B. Max. Catalog of the Celebrated Numismatic Collection formed by William Forrester Dunham, Chicago, Illinois. June 3, 1941. Fort Worth. Very Fine. Octavo. Handsomely hardbound in deep maroon full leather, lettered in gilt on the front cover and spine, including the name of the recipient of this copy, Charles M. Williams, at the lower right. Sporadically illustrated throughout, with silvered and gilt highlight illustration pages of the two key rarities, the Dexter-Dunham 1804 silver dollar, and the 1822 half eagle. In addition, there are six fine enlarged photographic plates featuring the obverses and reverses of the three highlight coins bound in, these include the 1804 dollar, the 1822 half eagle, and the Proof 1855 Kellogg & Co. $50 gold. The original prices realized list is laid in, as is Mehl’s presale promotional brochure, A Prospectus of the Celebrated William Forrester Dunham Numismatic Collection, giving a thorough overview of the offerings, and a solicitation for catalog orders.
“This is an exceptional copy of this celebrated sale, presenting the one collection that Mehl most hoped to be able to catalog and sell from the time he first met Mr. Dunham in 1910, and one he considered a highlight of his career. It is inscribed in his hand on the lower front flyleaf, “To my esteemed friend / Mr. Charles M. Williams / With every good wish / B. Max Mehl,” and dated April 29, 1941.
“As alluded to in the subhead above, this catalog is a piece of 1804 dollar history, as it was Charles M. Williams, a collector of Cincinnati, Ohio, who arranged to purchase the Dexter-Dunham specimen of the 1804 silver dollar from the Dunham collection for $4,250, prior to the actual mail bid sale, which the entirety of the Dunham sale was otherwise.
“Interior solid and clean with just a trace of light wear at the foot of the spine. Armand Champa’s bookplate inside the front cover as it was in Kolbe’s 1981 sale, this being a volume Champa sold long before our own celebrated four-part sale of his important library in 1994 and 1995.
“Ex Charles M. Williams; Armand Champa; George Frederick Kolbe, June 1981, lot 903.”
Brent Pogue’s regular issue catalog of the Dunham sale was also purchased in the Stack’s Bowers sale and is now part of the Dexter Dollar Collection.
Charles M. Williams was an insurance executive with the Western and Southern Life Insurance Company of Cincinnati, Ohio. Williams owned many important rarities, including the unique 1873-CC No Arrows Seated Liberty Dime, which was the last coin Louis Eliasberg acquired to complete his collection of one of every coin issued by the United States. In addition to the 1804 dollar he purchased from the Dunham Collection, he also purchased the 1822 $5 gold coin from the collection. It’s one of three known, with the other two permanently impounded in the Smithsonian Institution.
The Charles M. Williams collection was purchased in 1949 for $250,000 by Cincinnati coin dealer Sol Kaplan, who partnered in the transaction with Abe Kosoff and Abner Kriesberg of Numismatic Gallery of Beverly Hills, California. Williams wanted to remain anonymous and the collection was auctioned by Numismatic Gallery under the name Adolphe Menjou, a famous actor.
Photo courtesy of D. Brent Pogue
To see a closeup of the microscopic “D” click photo.
The private buyer of the Dexter Dollar from the dealers who purchased the Charles M. Williams collection was Harold S. Bareford, a lawyer who became General Counsel for Warner Bros. Pictures. Bareford reportedly paid $10,000 for the rarity in 1949.
He held the dollar for many years, with Stack’s auctioning the Bareford Collection in 1981. The catalog description for the Dexter Dollar included this important news:
“No description of the Dollar, however, would be complete without mentioning a most interesting detail that tells much about collector pride of ownership. Curiously enough the detail in question was first discovered by Harold Bareford himself and had never been noticed by any of the previous owners or dealers through whose hands the coin had passed. On the reverse a microscopic “D” has been lightly stamped into the second cloud from the right. It is now largely obscured by the coin’s natural patina. For all practical purposes, the “D” is virtually invisible.
“When Mr. Bareford discovered this interesting countermark an inquiry was immediately undertaken. B. Max Mehl, still active, was able to confirm that neither he nor any of those familiar with the coin whom he had known personally had been aware of the mark, including William F. Dunham, whose collection Mehl had sold in 1941. But even more important, the very clear illustration in the Chapman’s May, 1885 catalogue shows that no initial was stamped on the coin at the time of its sale to Mr. Dexter. The only possible solution to this mystery is that James V. Dexter caused this almost invisible mark of his ownership to be impressed on the Dollar.”
But there’s still a question floating around the hobby:
Whodunit? Dexter or Dunham?
Counterstamped ‘D’ on 1804 dollar still a mystery
That was the headline of a July 12, 1989 story published on the front page of Coin World, written by William T. Gibbs, news editor. Gibbs put forth the argument that the “D” could have been stamped into the coin by William F. Dunham who was known to have counterstamped hard times tokens with a similar “D”.
In a scene that must have resembled the May 14, 1885 Chapman salesroom, on Friday evening, October 24, 1981, the Dexter Dollar was aggressively bid up, selling in the Stack’s New York City auction, at $280,000! The buyer of the Dexter Dollar was Chicago coin dealer Ed Milas of Rarcoa, who reportedly bought it for a client.
Milas was involved in liquidating the Continental-Illinois Bank Hoard of about a million and a half Morgan silver dollars. He sold them through dealers Dr. George Vogt, who owned Colonial Coins in Houston, Texas, and Leon Hendrickson, who owned SilverTowne in Winchester, Indiana.
Subsequently, Vogt and Hendrickson became the new owners of the Dexter Dollar. First Dr. George Vogt purchased the coin from Ed Milas, then Leon Hendrickson bought it in 1985 from Vogt for a reported $500,000.
“I guess it’s just kind of a dream once you can buy something like this,” coin dealer and collector Leon Hendrickson was quoted by Coin World as saying. During his ownership, he had fun showing the dollar off at coin shows around the country. But a health scare during the winter of 1988 caused him to rethink his collections and he decided to sell the Dexter Dollar. He consigned it to the Rarcoa portion of Auction ’89, held on July 7th and 8th, 1989 in Chicago.
At the time, Jeff Bernberg of Rarcoa was quoted in Numismatic News as saying, “We feel this might be the first coin to make a million dollars. The market’s gone absolutely crazy. There’s so much new, fresh money coming and there are new price records being set at every auction. The timing just seems to be right for a million dollar coin – and if there’s going to be one, an 1804 dollar should be the coin.”
Excitement in the hobby grew during the weeks leading up to the auction. When the day arrived, tension built in the auction room. By chance, I happened to sit right behind the underbidder, whom I knew but had no idea he was going to bid on the dollar. We conversed and traded a few jokes. The sale was personally exciting to me, in that I had just tied together Dexter’s 1887 artworks I had recently acquired with this 1804 dollar and the Dunham catalog.
The Dexter Dollar:
The first coin to sell for $1,000 at public auction (1885).
The first coin to sell for the $1,000,000 level at public auction (1989).
Numismatic News reported:
“Bidding opened at $375,000, and it was a contest between Sconyers [Hugh Sconyers] and Gerald Bauman of MTB Banking Corp. after a third bidder dropped out at $660,000.
“The pair exchanged bids in $25,000 increments until Bauman dropped out with a final offer of $875,000, $25,000 less than the winning offer.
“Auctioneer Dennis Forgue called for a break to allow the media to interview Sconyers and Leon Hendrickson, former owner of the coin. Bidding did not resume for nearly 15 minutes.
“Hendrickson came over to Sconyers immediately after the bidding ceased. He reached out to the new owner of the coin, shook his hand and said, ‘you’ve got a heck of a coin.’
“’I thought it would bring $1 million,’ he said, ‘and I could see the coin bringing $2 to $2.5 million in five years. I’ll probably never own another coin of this magnitude, and I’m happy for Hugh.”
Coin World reported, quoting Gerald Bauman, the underbidder:
“’I felt going into this sale that $600,000 to $650,000 would buy the coin. I was surprised to see a lot of interest at that level,’ Bauman said. ‘I thought I had the coin at $750,000, but Hugh Sconyers bidding purchased the coin at a very healthy level. I feel it was an excellent purchase in that the high price paid for the coin is excellent publicity for the coin and the fund.
“At $750,000, Bauman had the top bid, but Sconyers continued to raise the bid until Bauman conceded. Sconyers later said that American Rare Coin Fund had a ‘predecided limit prior to the auction’ on how much they were willing to bid on the coin. Sconyers would not comment on what that amount was.
“The seller of the coin, Leon Hendrickson, an Indiana collector and dealer, purchased the coin in 1985 for $500,000.
“’I’m happy with the price,’ Hendrickson said. ‘I mean, sure, I’m disappointed that it didn’t bring the million to be the first coin to ever sell for that…I think it very easily could have done that. But I’m happy with it.’
“Hendrickson described the atmosphere at Auction ’89 as ‘fantastic…I felt the crowd was really in the mood of the coin. I think the whole coin field is really happy to see this happen, it’ll help the whole industry to see a coin get that much excitement.’
“American Rare Coin Fund’s plans for the 1804 dollar remain undecided. Sconyers said there are no plans for immediate sale. He mentioned the possibility of exhibiting the rare silver dollar.
“’We’d like to make the coin available for the general public to see. We’d like as many people to enjoy the coin as possible,’ Sconyers said.
“Hendrickson, reflecting on the sale of the coin, said: ‘I’ve really enjoyed owning it. I think it’s one of the finest coins that you can possibly ever own.’”
In a private telephone call a few weeks after the sale, I asked Hugh Sconyers why he didn’t bid the extra $10,000 to make it a million-dollar coin. His reply, “I’d rather have the $10,000.” Most coin dealers thought he should have bid the extra money for the publicity for the coin.
In 1989, the coin market reached a peak in prices for some areas like Morgan dollars and by spring 1990 the coin market suffered a crash. During the early 1990s, the Dexter Dollar was sold to an anonymous “Northern California” collector for an undisclosed price.
The Dexter Dollar next appeared in the Superior Auction Galleries July 1993 Baltimore auction, where it failed to sell. Reportedly, the consignor bought the coin back for $700,000 when bidding stalled at $675,000.
The dollar appeared again in the May 30-31, 1994 Superior Auction Galleries sale, where the catalog stated, “Per request of our consignor, bidding will commence at $575,000.” Once again, it failed to sell.
Coin dealer Harlan White of Old Coin Shop in San Diego, California, purchased the Dexter 1804 privately after the sale, as agent for collector Bruce Holecek. He told Coin World the price exceeded the $575,000 floor the consignor set at which bidding was to begin. However, he told me the price was $500,000 with himself making a commission of $5,000.
Mr. Holecek told me he had wanted an 1804 dollar since he was a youngster. Finally, he bought one and remarked, “It was the Dexter Dollar!” After he received the coin, he studied the dollar again and again over a weekend, then he put it in the bank where it stayed until he decided to sell it six years later (tripling his money!).
Two more 1804 dollars sold during the 1990s for record-high prices. First, the Stickney specimen, from the Eliasberg Collection, sold in a 1997 Bowers and Merena auction for $1,815,000 – another world record price paid for a single coin sold at public auction.
Two years later, the same firm sold the Walter H. Childs Collection, which contained the finest known 1804 silver dollar – the Proof 68 Sultan of Muscat specimen. Mack and Brent Pogue – father and son – won the coin in the auction for a new world record price for a single coin sold at public auction: $4,140,000.
That price was exciting news for the coin market! It more than doubled the previous price record for a single coin sold at public auction – for another 1804 silver dollar.
Brent Pogue’s personal hardbound copy of Stack’s 65th Anniversary Sale catalog with a personal note from the Stack family as a gift. The Pogue family purchased the Dexter 1804 Dollar in the sale.
The following year – 2000 – the Dexter Dollar was put up for sale in Stack’s 65th Anniversary Sale.
According to the seller, Bruce Holecek, the sale had nothing to do with the previous year’s record price. According to what he told me, he realized that the 1804 dollar had been just sitting in the bank since right after he received the coin, so he decided to sell it.
Stepping up to the plate, at the sale, were Mack and Brent Pogue – father and son – who put in a bid on the day of the sale and then went to dinner. According to what Brent told me, their intent was to help protect the record price they paid the year before for the Sultan of Muscat/Childs specimen and to get the bidding started. So, however the sale went, they ended up buying the Dexter Dollar – by mistake, for $1,840,000!
They were a bit disconcerted over their purchase, but as it turned out, Brent and Mack really liked 1804 silver dollars and their purchase of the Dexter Dollar worked out very well for them. Now they owned two. But then, Brent purchased a third 1804 dollar several years later – a Class III example. The Childs and Dexter 1804 dollars, that the Pogues purchased previously, are Class I examples.
For reasons that are personal, the Pogue family shocked the numismatic world by deciding to sell their collection. Stack’s Bowers Galleries conducted the sale with multiple auction sessions between 2015 and 2020 in cooperation with Sotheby’s.
The latest sale was in August 2020 when Brent Pogue’s historic numismatic literature and rare Spanish Colonial gold coinage was sold. According to Stack’s Bowers, “Total prices realized for the D. Brent Pogue Collection now exceed $131,980,000, reaffirming its status as the most valuable numismatic collection ever sold.”
The Dexter Dollar was sold in Part V of The D. Brent Pogue Collection on March 31, 2017 in Baltimore, Maryland. The auction lot opened at $2,600,000 and hammered at $2,800,000, for a total sales price of $3,290,000 after the buyer’s fee was added.
The buyers were coin dealers John Albanese of CAC and Kevin Lipton. The pair owned the coin for just 24 to 48 hours before selling it to collector Bruce Morelan, a partner in Legend Rare Coin Auctions.
Now, Bruce is selling his collection, including the Dexter Dollar. The Bruce Morelan Collection will be sold on October 8, 2020 by Legend.
The story of 1804 silver dollars has many facets. Several books tell the story of these famous coins and the best known of these is the classic 1962 book by Eric P. Newman and Kenneth E. Bressett entitled, The Fantastic 1804 Dollar.
The book was on the presses and due to be released within days when David F. Spink, of London, and James C. Risk gave a talk at the Detroit ANA convention entitled, “New Facts About an Old U.S. Coin.”
Author Ken Bressett was in the audience for the talk. As soon as it was finished, he literally went to a pay phone, called the printer and exclaimed, “Stop the presses!” He knew they had to rewrite the book.
Spink spoke first, showing slides of a newly discovered proof set from 1834 that contained a silver dollar and $10 gold Eagle dated 1804. The other coins were dated 1834.
Spink stated, “I could not avoid the conclusion that I had located what may well be the earliest existing United States Proof Set…The particular Dollar you see projected on the screen has never before been known to exist. It is a new 1804 specimen with a pedigree indicating without any question that it was struck in 1834 or early 1835, two years earlier than the earliest date a substantial body of numismatic opinion has ever believed it could have been struck. This coin conforms in all respects to the other so-called originals with the plain 4 in the date and the Type 1 reverse. I think you will agree that we now have on solution, if not the solution, to the mystery of its existence, the exact date when it was struck and the reason for striking it.”
Spink described the case as such, “This case is beautifully made and stamped on the cover with an American Eagle. It is rather a dark golden yellow – a point I will ask you to remember because it is an important one – and the case is held closed by a fluted gold thumb piece.
“When the two sets were ordered for the King of Siam and the Sultan of Oman it was specified that one case should be in yellow and one in crimson leather. This particular case was certainly never crimson but, before it became darkened by age was undoubtedly yellow. The Heraldic color of the Royal House of Siam is yellow, and there is no doubt that apart from the question of sequence, this was the set desired for the King of Siam.”
Click here to view a copy of the 1834 Presidential Directive by email.
After the presentation, Ken Bressett stated to Numismatic News, “The existence of this proof set case is not important solely for the fact that a new 1804 dollar has been discovered, it is important because this proves that proof or even specimen sets of United States coins were issued as early as 1834, it proves the existence of another specimen of the 1804 eagle which heretofore had been thought to have been struck around 1850 and this then dates it to 1834 with certainty. It now makes a total known in gold. The discovery of three of these specimens this set also proves or at least indicates that there is a possibility that the controversial 1804 dollar was not issued by mint employees surreptitiously as was previously thought but there is a possibility that because of the complex legal matter involved in the President authorizing this set to be struck that the original issue of this coin may in some sense be a legal coin.”
Several copies of the “page proofs” of The Fantastic 1804 Dollar were bound with the same cover as the rewritten book. Those copies are rare. Researchers believe there were 42 copies bound. A recent census has shown that 34 are known.
Two primary differences exist between the first printing and the rewritten book. The original chapter, “The Diplomatic Gift Delusion,” was rewritten and given a new title, “The Diplomatic Gift Background.” Secondly, the first printing has no photo of the King of Siam proof set on page 70, as does the second version.
A copy autographed by both authors is part of the Dexter Dollar Collection. The book is also inscribed with this quote, “Bound page proofs ready for correction, and correct them we did!”
First Printing:
“The Diplomatic Gift Delusion”
Second Printing:
“The Diplomatic Gift Background”
The Dexter Dollar Collection also contains an original wrapped package of six new copies of The Fantastic 1804 Dollar. I obtained this “brick,” as I like to call it, from Phil Bressett, son of author Kenneth Bressett.
I began researching the Dexter Dollar that day in June 1989 when I received my copy of the June 13th issue of Numismatic News and saw the headline “Dexter 1804 dollar going on block.” I recalled the Dexter name on one of the 1804 dollar works of art I had acquired not long before.
I hurried to my bank where I had the artworks stored, and sure enough, the more attractive piece stated, “Property of James V. Dexter / Denver, Colo.” Reading the hand-lettered facsimiles of the documents in the other piece, I wondered what they represented.
I recalled having seen an old auction catalog with some pictures of letters in it. I called the ANA library and borrowed, by mail, a copy of the 1941 W.F. Dunham Collection catalog. Upon receiving it, I compared the letters pictured in the catalog to the hand-lettered copies of documents in my artwork and bingo! – they matched. Wow!
Now I wondered, what was the story behind these documents? Since that day in 1989, I’ve been researching and piecing this story together. I discovered several letters in the James V. Dexter collection of documents at the Colorado Historical Society in Denver. Through them, the story of the lawsuit came in focus.
Over the years, I made many more exciting discoveries in the Dexter Dollar story. Of course, the most important was discovering and acquiring James Vila Dexter’s 1887 works of art. The second most important discovery – and some might argue that it’s the most important – was my 2014 discovery at the American Numismatic Society in New York City of the letterpress copies of the letters the Chapman brothers wrote to Adolph Weyl in Germany. These letters dispelled the widely circulated myth that was published in The Fantastic 1804 Dollar that the 1804 dollar had been “planted” in the 1884 Adolph Weyl sale. The letters proved the Chapmans legitimately purchased the dollar in the Weyl sale.
Now, the most important unanswered question about this coin is: how did, what’s now known as the Dexter Dollar, get from the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia to Berlin, Germany and when?
My research binder pictured below has been built over more than 30 years of pursuing the story of the Dexter Dollar. The binder contains copies of all the relevant documents, letters, photos and newspaper articles that I have found. There are a few original pieces in this binder, but most are photocopies, simply because the originals are permanently archived in libraries and museums.
Each document in the binder is held in a sheet protector. The documents measure a full three inches thick.
This is the end of highlights from The Dexter Dollar Collection of Historic and Important Numismatic Literature and Works of Art. The collection contains much more material than the highlights that are shown here. There are numerous copies of documents permanently held by institutions, relevant publications, books and photos.
I am always looking for important, new material to add to the Dexter Dollar Collection. If you have something that you think would be of interest, please contact me at: mark@1804Dollar.com.
Mark Ferguson
P.O. Box 177
Oshkosh, WI 54903-0177
You may never be able to own an 1804 dollar, but you can own an authentic piece of its history! Enjoy a limited-edition print of James V. Dexter’s personal work of art commemorating his famous silver dollar, circa 1887.
I published 1,804 limited-edition prints of this work of art in 1989, just after the Dexter Dollar sold for a new world record price of $990,000. It has since sold for $3,290,000.
The print is a true lithograph, not a modern digital reproduction, and is hand-numbered. The lithograph was printed on archival paper and is mounted on artist’s foam core board and shrink wrapped. You’ll be able to display your print just as it is or frame it to your liking.
Your print will be accompanied by an autographed copy of my book: The Dollar of 1804 – The U.S. Mint’s Hidden Secret…as revealed by the true story of the “Dexter Dollar,” The King of American Coins. The book goes into much more detail about the story of the Dexter Dollar than is presented on this website.
Also, included is a copy of the book, The Fantastic 1804 Dollar Tribute Edition by Eric P. Newman and Kenneth E. Bressett. You’ll be able to learn the in-depth story of all 1804 silver dollars, including the background of each of the 15 known specimens.
BONUS: Your own silver replica of the Dexter 1804 Dollar encapsulated by Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC). The dies for this replica were created from a laser scan of a photo of the actual Dexter Dollar, taken by professional photographer and numismatist James Simek for the Auction ’89 catalog. Even the microscopic “D” hidden on the dollar’s reverse is embedded in this replica.
Add your Dexter 1804 Dollar silver replica to your collection, or carry it around to show off to friends and family and tell them the Dexter 1804 Dollar story. The replica is one troy ounce of .999 fine silver.