1794 Silver Dollar - 1794 Early $1 PCGS VF30. The 1794 Silver Dollar is a coin of great historical significance. The present 1794 Silver Dollar  is a lovely example for the grade. Libertys hair, forehead, cheek and point of bust are lighter than the surrounding areas. The reverse is a mixture of steel-grey and tan. The central devices are lighter than the periphery. The coin is graded VF30. In keeping with this designation, the hair above Libertys forehead is slightly worn and the hair on the side of the head shows some detail. The lower hair is fairly well defined, more in accord with a higher grade. There is a small planchet flaw on the reverse near the rim at about 10:00, which is allowable at this grade level. Otherwise the fields are essentially clean and free of distractions by the standards of the issue. As nearly always found there are some adjustment marks, but they are much lighter than usual.

The coin is unevenly struck, which is typical for the date. The usual weakness, as a result of axial misalignment caused by a slight bend in the shaft of the die, is seen on the left side affecting the date and the left stars on the obverse, and UNITED STATES on the reverse. This weakness often makes the details illegible. In the present coin the date is only partially seen, but the 4 is discernable. We also see most of stars 1 to 4, and all but the top tip of stars 5 to 8. The dentils on the left side are missing. On the reverse we see most of the letters of UNITED and OF AMERICA. There are clash marks present on both sides of the coin. It is unknown when the dies clashed, but it is likely that the dies clashed very early in the cycle of striking the 1794 dollars; it may also mean that more later die state dollars survived because a large number of those struck early in the process were melted at the Mint as unacceptable strikings. Like the uneven strike, these clash marks do not detract from the grade.

All 1794 dollars trace their pedigree to David Rittenhouse, the first Mint Director. He gave the bullion to strike the coins from his own stock of silver. The early United States Mint was dependent on private deposits of precious metals. Rittenhouse deposited $2,001.34 worth of silver on August 29, 1794 so that silver dollar striking could begin. Using Rittenhouses bullion and one set of dies, 2,000 silver dollars were struck. Of these, 242 were found unacceptable and were either remelted or used as planchets for the next years run. All 1758 dollars were delivered to Rittenhouse on October 15th, and it was his responsibility to distribute the 1758 dollar coins since he had deposited the bullion.

The 1794 dollar is a coin of great historical significance. It was authorized by our governments first law, which was the Mint Act of 1792. This act created our monetary system for which the dollar is the basic unit. Minting the 1794 dollar was part of the beginning of our national coinage, and it was an assertion of our independence as well.

The dies were made by Robert Scot, the Mint Engraver. The obverse of the coin shows a profile of a young woman facing right. She is emblematic of the Goddess of Liberty. Her hair is loosely tied behind her head. This feature evolved from the Flowing Hair Liberty portrait that was featured on Joseph Wrights Libertas Americans medal of 1783. Over time Liberty was turned to the right and was shown without the liberty pole and cap. However, the basic idea of Libertys hair free flowing, is similar to the earlier concept. Above her head is the word LIBERTY, and the date is below. There are fifteen stars in accord with the number of states that made up the Union in 1794, eight to the left and seven to the right. The reverse, which is similar to the Flowing Hair Half Dime and Half Dollar, shows the very first use of the bald eagle on a US coin. Our national bird is perched on a rock within an encircling wreath tied with a bow. The eagles wings are spread as it looks to the right. The legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is in an arc around the eagle. Except for its edge lettering, the coin has no denomination-- something that might appear as a sign of ineptitude on the part of early Mint employees to someone familiar with United States coinage of the 21st century. The omission was intentional, however, since United States coinage was new to the world market of the 18th century, and the term Dollar would have been unfamiliar to merchants of the day. Like European coinage of the time, silver and gold pieces were valued by their weight and fineness so the denomination was largely irrelevant.

Prior to the issuance of silver coinage, only copper coins were made because neither the Chief Coiner, Henry Voigt, nor the Assayer, Albion Cox, could post the $10,000 bond required to be responsible for gold and silver. Thomas Jefferson recommended to President Washington that this bond requirement be reduced. Washington agreed, and in 1794 Scot was able to produce dies for the cent, half dollar, and the dollar coins. Since there was no standardized hubbing, individual punches were used for numbers, letters, the stars, and leaf punches. The edge was lettered HUNDRED CENTS ONE DOLLAR OR UNIT with decorative designs in between the words

It is estimated that about 140 examples of this date survive out of the 1,758 dollars that were struck on a hand-turned screw press at the Mint in Philadelphia. The only day of production for dollar coins that year was October 15th. Rittenhouse provided the silver bullion because he wanted production to begin as soon as possible. Even those 1794 Dollars that were acceptable for distribution show many of the difficulties the early United States Mint had with coinage operations. Virtually all of the known examples are softly struck to one degree or another at the left obverse and reverse border, as is the present coin. This is due to the Mints use of a press that was intended for smaller-size coins, as well as the fact that the dies eventually slipped and became misaligned in the press. Additionally, many 1794 Dollars display adjustment marks that represent the Mints filing down of overweight planchets to make them confirm to the legally specified weight range for this issue. While these adjustment marks are often innocuous, as on the present coin, they are sometimes so numerous as to severely compromise one or more elements of a coins design.

Before the Revolutionary War, coins from many European nations circulated freely in the American colonies along with decimal coinage issued by the various colonies. Chief among these was the Spanish silver dollar coins (also called pieces of eight or eight reales) minted in Mexico and other colonies with silver mined from Central and South American mines. These coins, along with others of similar size and value, were in use throughout the colonies. They remained legal tender in the United States until 1857. The dollar was intended to replace the Spanish, English, Dutch and French coins that dominated the commerce of the Confederation era. It was authorized on April 2, 1792 in an act that also created the United States Mint and our nations coinage. Because it was the Unit, the silver dollar was the most important coin created and the basis of the nations monetary system. All other coins struck, and all paper money as well, are either fractional parts or multiples of the dollar.

Coin Collectors have pursued the 1794 silver dollar from the earliest days of the hobby. It is the most important and one of the rarest silver dollars. An example of this date was featured in the first all coin auction sale held in this country, the Roper Sale (M. Thomas and Sons, February, 1851), lot 22, item number 4. The charisma of this coin cannot be overemphasized. Many collectors choose this date over the much less expensive 1795 dollar when putting together a type set. Of course its position as first-date-of-issue is but another reason for advanced collectors to obtain this date. Regardless of striking quality or level of preservation, a 1794 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar is extremely important in numismatic circles, and the ownership of even a low-grade and/or impaired example is the mark of an important collection.

All 1794 Flowing Hair Dollars are rare in all conditions.