Remember When: The First Morgan Dollars

By Q. David Bowers, Chairman Emeritus

The First Morgan Dollars

We all love Morgan silver dollars. Or, at least many of us do. First struck on March 11, 1878, they were made each year through 1904, then again in 1921. Today, the Guide Book of United States Coins lists about 100 basic varieties, most of which are available in Mint State for very reasonable prices. There are exceptions, of course, but for relatively little expense a very nice collection of dozens of the more available varieties can be made.

We share this news item printed the day after the first pieces were coined, from the Chicago Daily Tribune, March 12, 1878:

THE FIRST DOLLAR

It was coined yesterday afternoon at 3:17.

Philadelphia, March 11. There had been no announcement of the time for beginning the coinage of the new silver dollars at the Mint, so it was by accident that your correspondent, dropping in at 2 o’clock this afternoon, was the only press representative there to see the first of the new coinage made. The dies were finished soon after noon, and the first pair was placed in the largest coining machine, used for double eagles. A little time was spent and half dozen planchets spoiled before the dies were exactly adjusted. Then Albert Downing, foreman of the coining room, put a polished planchet under the press, and, giving the wheel a single revolution, the first dollar was stamped. It was removed by hand, and critical examination developing flaws, the pressure was readjusted and another put in.

Ten more were then coined, but the eleventh was found to be defective, and this, as well as the first, was at once defaced and returned to the melting room. The first twelve having been struck on polished planchets were removed by hand, to prevent indentation, and each enclosed in an envelope numbered to show the order of coinage. The first goes to the President, and the second to Secretary Sherman. The first was struck at 3:17, and at 3:35 the steam was turned on and the dollars began merrily clanking into the box at the rate of eighty a minute.

Tomorrow two more pairs of dies will be finished, and another machine put to work, turning out $150,000 of the new shiners a day. The dies for the San Francisco and Carson mints will be ready then, and will be forwarded at once. The first delivery will be made on Thursday. The Secretary has as yet made no orders for the first issue of the new coinage, but it is believed that it will be issued only for gold coin, because it will command the same price readily.

Orders are already in for millions from storekeepers who want them for advertising purposes. Whatever silver finds its way into the Treasury will be promptly paid out for the purchase of bullion for coining purposes.

From the Experts: Pasto – “Constitutional” Coins of a Spanish Royalist Emergency Mint

By David Thomason Alexander, Senior Numismatist

Lot 23172 in Stack’s Bowers Ponterio’s November 2011 auction sale is a small silver coin of seeming crudity, which on careful examination proves to be an important relic of a stirring era, the struggles in Spain itself and in South America for independence. The coin is a silver 2 Reales dated 1822 with mintmark “P,” which was intended to identify Popayan in what is now Colombia, then part of the Spanish Province of the New Kingdom of Granada. A mailed laureate bust of King Charles IV dominates the obverse, but with a legend identifying his son, FERDND. 7. D. G. ET. CONST., Ferdinand VII by the Grace Of God and the Constitution. The use of a deceased monarch’s bust before new portrait punches arrived from Spain was a regular occurrence in Latin American mints, but this design combined use of the short-lived Constitutional title with the obsolete portrait.  

Spanish Liberals upholding Ferdinand VII during his Napoleonic captivity and occupation of his throne by Napoleon’s brother Jose had promulgated a Constitution at Cadiz in 1812, establishing a liberal monarchy. This move was violently opposed by the King himself and Spanish traditionalists and led to protracted civil wars. The Pasto 2 Reales would be the only coinage of any Latin American mint to use the Constitutional titles after Ferdinand “el deseado, the Desired,” was restored to his throne.

By 1822 most of the Spanish colonies from Mexico to Argentina were in revolt against Ferdinand. In what soon became known as Colombia, Simon Bolivar’s armies were advancing on the mint city of Popayan, and the Royalists tried to remove valuable coining machinery to Quito in what is now Ecuador, still under Royal control. The massive presses used for coinage of the crown-sized 8 Reales had to be abandoned. Presses for quarter-sized 2 Reales were taken and set up at the small city of Pasto, thus becoming the first coins struck in Ecuador. Strikes were hurried and distinctly crude, resulting in very uneven legends on both sides of this coin. The date on this Very Fine specimen is very lightly impressed but the portrait is unusually full. The coin records the roles and battles of Bolivar’s pro-independence forces, the resisting Spanish Royalists, and has the added echo of the constitutionalist versus absolutist struggles that convulsed the homeland, making it a coin of many attractions.

Crossing the Block: The Teich Family Collection, Part 1

The Teich family’s interest in collecting coins started in 1952 while on a family vacation. A single Indian cent carried by Dr. Samuel Teich, the father, fell to the ground and rolled under the counter in view of the owner of a simple rustic motel. This was a magical moment, as the owner, himself a numismatist, spent the next several hours sharing his collection with the family. The beginning of an exciting family hobby was at hand.

Shortly thereafter, while on a shopping trip to Gimbel’s in New York City, Dr. Teich and his wife Beatrice, stopped by the coin department, and their adventure began. They met Robert Friedberg, bought series coin albums for themselves and their three sons, began learning about American numismatics, and soon purchased from Freidberg some of the rare coins now offered in the Teich Family auction. Not long after, with the help and cooperation of Norman, Morton and Harvey Stack, they learned the finer aspects of numismatics, and began their long standing relationship with Stack’s. They developed into true connoisseurs, and placed emphasis on quality!

The entire family caught the collecting bug, and the sons searched through all their pocket change (and still do), as well as thousands of rolls obtained from local banks to find missing items for their albums (key coins of all kinds were in circulation if you were lucky enough to find them, and the search was exciting and tantalizing). However, emphasis soon shifted to acquiring high-quality classics, dating back to the early 19th century, including proofs, Choice and Gem Mint State specimens of many series, and more.

In the 1950s and 1960s, they were bidders and buyers in most of Stack’s auction sales, including famous collections whose names still echo in the halls of numismatics: the Empire Sale of 1957, the Pelletreau Sale of 1959, Milton A. Holmes in 1960, the record breaking Wolfson Sale in 1962 and many others.

Over the years, they assembled a museum-quality collection of United States proof sets from 1854 into the mid-19th century, as well as additional sets of proofs by series—Indian cents, two-cent pieces, three-cent nickel coins, Shield and Liberty nickels, and more.

In parallel the family expanded its collections to include high quality business strikes of Indian and Lincoln cents, Buffalo nickels, Mercury dimes, Standing Liberty and other quarter dollars, 20^th century gold, and other specialties. This grand family adventure may have been a unique situation in American numismatics.

Years passed, the sons discussed the family treasure and came to Stack’s Bowers Galleries to have us auction the coins that had been locked away—with the hope that they will provide great pleasure to a new generation of enthusiasts and connoisseurs. The Teich family invites you to share in the excitement of coin collecting, to relish the feeling of accomplishment in building a meaningful collection, and to delight in the hobby that has been an integral part of their lives for over 50 years.

Did You Know: Coin Collecting Challenge!

Test your knowledge on these five questions, and see how you do. Get three right and you are doing well!

1. The “Bugs Bunny” variety describes a:

a: Rabbit with long ears on an 1863 Civil War token issued in Cincinnati.

b: Half dollar of 1955 with a die defect at the teeth of Benjamin Franklin.

c: Low-mintage 1844 Liberty Seated dime.

d: Lincoln cent of 1962 with “whiskers” caused by die cracks.

2. Which one of these statements is correct?

a: A branch mint was proposed at The Dalles, a town in Oregon on the Columbia River. The building was constructed, but it never went into operation as a mint.

b: Dr. Henry R. Linderman, director of the Mint and a knowledgeable numismatist, put an end to restriking coins and the private production of rarities and during his administration made the Mint a model of rectitude.

c: The 2004 California quarter dollar features an American eagle as part of the reverse design.

d: Silver dollars dated 1804 are very rare today, as most were lost on a ship sunk off the coast of Africa, en route to deliver pay to American sailors.

3. Which one of these statements is not correct?

a: Chet Krause, one of America’s most acclaimed figures in the coin collecting hobby, established Numismatic News in 1952. It is still going strong today, along with its sister publication, Coins magazine.

b: Dr. George F. Heath, who established The Numismatist in 1888, was a medical doctor, mayor of Monroe, Michigan, and enjoyed long train trips. The magazine is still going strong today.

c: The first time that 1804-dated federal silver dollars were struck was in 1834.

d: The Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine was established in 1935 by Curt Teich and in the 1960s was edited by Walter Breen.

4. The 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair and its commemorative coins, as well as the 2005 Westward Journey series of nickel designs, were inspired by:

a: Westward expansion through the development of the transcontinental railroad.

b: The 1803 Louisiana Purchase and the 1804-1806 Lewis and Clark expedition.

c: The voyage of the Lady Washington and Columbia to the remote Pacific Northwest coast in the late 1780s.

d: Expansion of steamship commerce on the Mississippi and Missouri rivers in the early 19th century.

5. Well-known numismatist Eric P. Newman has done all of these things except which one?:

a: Received more Heath Literary Awards given by the ANA than has anyone else.

b: Owned all of the five known 1913 Liberty Head nickels.

c: Served as president of the American Numismatic Association.

d: Written books on subjects as diverse as the mysterious Good Samaritan shilling and the 1804 silver dollar.

Answers: 1-b, 2-a, 3-d, 4-b, 5-c

Remember Wen: Meet Me at the Fair! Part 2

Meet Me at the Fair!

Part 2 of 2

By Q. David Bowers, Chairman Emeritus

All Eyes on St. Louis

Following the 1900 Lafayette silver dollar, the next commemorative coins were produced in connection with the Louisiana Purchase Exposition held in St. Louis in 1904. These were commemorative gold dollars, each dated 1903 (the actual hundredth anniversary year of the Louisiana Purchase). One featured the portrait of Thomas Jefferson, who was the architect of the deal acquiring the land in 1803. The other showed President William McKinley, who had been assassinated in September 1901. Why McKinley was chosen is not particularly clear, except that the subject was probably thought to aid in the sale of the coins. To no avail. Although 250,000 coins were struck, amounting to 125,000 of each variety, only about 17,500 found buyers. An overabundance of promotion and hyperbole by entrepreneur and numismatist Farran Zerbe simply turned a lot of people off.

The St. Louis World’s Fair was a great success. Attractions ranged from the Ferris Wheel (relocated from Chicago) to the curious Hale’s Tours featuring trips through the Alps and elsewhere. The Mills Novelty Company of Chicago set up a penny arcade with all sorts of wonders available for anyone with a pocket full of coins. The Inside Inn, a hotel on the fair grounds, was popular. A hold-to-light postcard (look at it with a lamp in the background, and the windows in the building become illuminated) proved to be a key item for postcard enthusiasts. Do-it-yourself photography and automobiles, current nationwide fads, were popular aspects as well.

The Lewis and Clark Exposition

Next on the list of world’s fair commemorative coins are the 1904 and 1905 gold dollars made for the Lewis and Clark Exposition held in Portland in 1905. The mintage was just 10,000 each. This event attracted worldwide exhibits, but was small in comparison to the St. Louis and Chicago extravaganzas. Relatively few gold dollars were sold, as by that time the Louisiana Purchase gold dollars, which had been marketed by Zerbe at $3 each, had laid an egg and were available from coin dealers for less than the issue price.

An effort was made by Zerbe to have commemoratives struck for the 1907 Jamestown (Virginia) Tercentenary. This did not happen, although various medals were issued.

The Panama-Pacific International Exposition

In 1915 the Panama-Pacific International Exposition opened in San Francisco, a grand affair and worthy companion to the Columbian and Louisiana Purchase events. Art, science, history, technology, and other elements of society were showcased to fine advantage. For this world’s fair Farran Zerbe hit a home run, convincing the powers that be to offer a grand collection of five different commemorative coins. These included a half dollar, gold dollar, quarter eagle, and two varieties of $50 gold pieces. Again, sales estimates were overly optimistic, and many were melted. However, today the coins are highly prized and are numismatic favorites. The 1915-S gold $50 of round format, of which  1,500 were minted but only 483 were sold, stands today as the rarest of all commemoratives.

The Sesquicentennial Exposition

The final entry on the list of American world’s fairs that furnished a venue for commemorative coins is the 1926 Sesquicentennial Exposition held in Philadelphia in 1926, marking the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. For this event commemorative half dollars and quarter eagles were produced in large quantities. The designs were viewed as rather insipid, and sales were slow. In fact, even though the event was staged in the so-called Roaring Twenties, and money was everywhere, the event was not particularly popular, and many exhibitors registered losses, including displays of elegant automobiles for sale and a set-up by the J.P. Seeburg Piano Company showcasing its top-of-the-line Style H Solo Orchestrion.

Thus, the curtain came down on commemorative coins issued for American world’s fairs.

To be sure, the Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago in 1933 (where the 1933-D Oregon Trail half dollar was specifically sold, but this is a technical point), the World’s Fair in New York in 1939, another in 1964, and other world’s fairs took place (in Knoxville, for example) but none were featured on commemorative coins.

What might have been but wasn’t took place, or didn’t take place, in the early 1970s. It was thought that 1976 would be a grand opportunity for a world’s fair in Philadelphia to celebrate the nation’s Bicentennial. A lot of discussion was held, but then politics reared its ugly head, and some said the money would better be used for welfare or other purposes, discussions deteriorated, and nothing ever happened—by all accounts a great opportunity missed by Philadelphia as well as all of America. Today in 2008 I am not aware of any serious discussions of another world’s fair to be held in America.

Today a complete collection of silver commemorative coins relating to these world fairs in the United States is quite affordable and consists of an 1893 Isabella quarter plus 1892 and 1893 Columbian half dollars, a 1915-S Panama-Pacific half dollar, and a 1926 Sesquicentennial half dollar. The gold coins are considerably more expensive, particularly the Panama-Pacific $50 pieces, and consist of two varieties of 1903 gold dollars, the 1915-S gold dollar, quarter eagle, and two styles of $50, and the 1926 Sesquicentennial quarter eagle.

From the Experts: Cuba’s Historic 1937 A.B.C. Silver Peso

By David Thomason Alexander, Senior Numismatist

As the late dean of Cuban numismatics Thomas Lismore once wrote, “There cannot be many occasions in modern times when the coins of a 13 million issue have become such rarities.”  He was referring to the 1937 silver Peso of the Republic of Cuba, struck at the Philadelphia Mint with a bold design first introduced in 1934. The obverse presented a modernistic, streamlined half-length Liberty bust facing right toward a radiant 5-pointed star from the country’s Arms and its flag, la Estrella solitaria, the Lone Star. The reverse bore the Cuban Arms, statement of fineness and weight (those of a U.S. silver dollar) denomination and REPUBLICA DE CUBA.

This handsome type was first struck in 1934, following the violent overthrow of Cuban dictator General Gerardo Machado, president 1925-1933. Initially a nationalist and reformer, Machado (born 1871, died Miami 1939) had fought in the War of Independence against Spain, entered the political arena and served as president through the prosperous 1920s. With the arrival of the worldwide Depression he became increasingly authoritarian, relying on a brutally effective secret police force known as the Porra, and survived several attempts to overthrow his rule. He finally stepped down after a major uprising directed by an underground organization known only as the “A.B.C.” The existing Cuban coins with Arms and Star continued in circulation, and most of the new “A.B.C.” Pesos went into permanent storage at the Banco Nacional de Cuba to serve as backing for newly issued Silver Certificates.

Some 80 million silver Pesos were held in bank reserves until 1951, when most were sold for their contemporary value as silver bullion. The Bank, in keeping with the traditions of courtesy that permeated Cuban society before the Castro years, reserved a small supply of each A.B.C. date for future collectors. By some oversight, all bags of 1937 coins ended up on the Havana dock for loading aboard an anchored freighter, but workers dropped one of the sacks, which burst and scattered coins in all directions. Not all were recovered, and the few escapees are the source of virtually all 1937 Pesos accessible to collectors in 2011.  An attractive NGC AU-55 example of this historic coin is Lot 23181 in Stack’s Bowers Ponterio’s November 2011 Baltimore auction, a pleasing example of one of the great under-stated rarities of all modern Latin American coinage.

Crossing the Block: The MHS Collection

Stack’s Bowers Galleries is pleased to include in our November Baltimore auction the MHS type collection of copper, nickel and silver (1792 - 1964), a set currently ranked sixth by PCGS with a combined ranking of 53.88. The set, with the exception of the 1821 and 1834 Capped Bust quarters have been submitted for auction. The majority of the 19th-century coinage is in choice and gem Mint State condition.

Our consignor started collecting in the early 1960s along with his father. His father was a superior technical grader, never believed in paying anything higher than “5% back of bid,” and would delight in purchasing a coin from one dealer only to walk it across the bourse floor and sell it to another dealer for a small profit. The assembly of the MHS collection required stretching on the price, in some cases, significantly. Our consignor’s father, who had passed away, would not have approved.

The collecting interests of our consignor continued into the early 1970s with the completion of a 12- piece gold type set, mostly in Mint State except for the Type II gold dollar and the three dollar gold piece. Saturday afternoons during this period were also spent in the back office of a local coin shop searching through original rolls for high grade blast white Roosevelt dimes, Washington quarters and Franklin halves. The consignor stills collects with the same 15x loupe. This partially explains why the 12-piece gold type set is still a work-in-progress given his dislike for obvious surface marks, which are common even with high grade gold.

After attending a few of the FUN shows in the early 1980s (following the retirement of his parents to Florida), our consignor exited from collecting due to career demands. After encouragement from his wife (“you need a hobby!”), in 1997 he began a serious effort to complete a U.S. type set, which morphed into obtaining the pieces required for a PCGS registry set. He notes that his wife, who does not collect, can readily see surface flaws with an unaided eye; marks he would occasionally miss when using a 15x loupe. She prefers bright coins with “flash”, as does our consignor. Many of the coins in the collection are lustrous, with original toning, exceptional surfaces and terrific eye appeal. The set was completed in early 2009 with the purchase of the 1792 half disme in VF-25 and the 1839 Gobrecht dollar in Proof-45. The half disme is very difficult to find in an affordable grade with nice surfaces; the 1839 Gobrecht Original is one of 19 certified by PCGS. These were the two most difficult pieces to locate, a fact he realized well into the acquisition process.

Our consignor would like to thank those in the numismatic community who have helped in the completion of the collection: Gary Adkins, Katy Duncan, George Huang, Harry Laibstain and Mike Printz. Further, he is grateful to Gus Serematis, of Acropolis Coins, who purchased the majority of the consignor’s duplicates, thus permitting continued upgrading of the collection. Also John Pack of Stack’s Bowers Galleries has greatly assisted our consignor with prior and current auction submissions and with bidding recommendations for the Ex Loring/Rasmussen 1793 Liberty Cap cent in VF-20 and the 1839 No Drapery half dollar in MS-62. Finally, the consignor thanks his friend and colleague, Jon, from whom he learned the importance of date rarity; and of course his wife for her encouragement and support in this wonderful adventure. Our consignor plans to now focus his collecting efforts on a date set of small-size Bust quarters in Mint State 63 or finer grades and, of course, his 12-piece gold type set, which continues as a 40 year work-in-progress.