Q. David Bowers
"Of this amount there were stored, at the Philadelphia Mint, 1,326,751.51 standard ounces, costing $1,524,828.61, and, at the New Orleans Mint, 3,038,879.61 standard ounces, costing $5,020,361.61.
"The Act of March 3, 1891, directed the 'Secretary of the Treasury shall, as soon as practicable, coin into standard silver dollars the trade dollar bullion and trade dollars now in the Treasury, the expense thereof to be charged to the silver profit fund.'
"As soon as the mandatory coinage of silver dollars required by the Act of July 14, 1890, ceased by limitation of law, the conversion of the trade dollar bullion into standard silver dollars was commenced at the mints at Philadelphia and New Orleans.
"The total number of silver dollars coined from trade dollar bullion to November 1, 1891, has been $3,260,100, upon which seignorage has been $40,834.19. The coinage of trade dollar bullion into standard silver dollars will be completed during the present calendar year."
Trade Dollar Recoinage (1892)
The Annual Report of the Director of the Mint; 1892, by Edward O. Leech, contained more on the subject of trade dollar recoinage:
"The number of trade dollars redeemed under the Act of March 3, 1887, was 7,689,036, containing 6,687,690.61 ounces of standard silver of the coining value of $7,782,040 in silver dollars, from which there were coined, up to the close of the fiscal year 1891, $2,889,011 in subsidiary silver coins, containing 2,322,042.62 standard ounces, costing $2,668,654.88.
"In addition there was transferred from trade dollars remelted at the San Francisco Mint to the silver bullion account 16.97 standard ounces, costing $19.51, making a total amount disposed of up to June 1, 1891, 2,322,059.59 standard ounces, costing $2,668,674.39, leaving on hand June 1, 1891,4,365,661.12 standard ounces, costing $5,020,361. ..
"Of the balance of trade dollar bullion on hand June 1, 1891,4,364,311.87 standard ounces, costing $5,018,844.11, were consumed in the coinage of 5,078,472 silver dollars, while there will be sold in sweeps, 1,318.89 standard ounces, costing $1,517.08, leaving on hand December 31, 1890, when this coinage was completed, a fractional balance of .36 of an ounce, costing $0.42, which was transferred to the account of silver bullion purchased under the Act of July 14, 1890."
The same report showed that 1,543,856 1891 Philadelphia Mint dollars and 3,534,616 1891-O dollars were struck from reclaimed trade dollar bullion, totaling 5,078,472, as given above. These were not specifically identified as to varieties and were mixed with 1891 and 1891-O coinage struck from metal purchased under the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890.
U.S. "Trade Dollars" Made in 1949
In 1949, the United States desired to send silver trade coins to Chiang Kai-Shek and the Republic of China. New dies for an 1898-dated Mexico City Mint (Mo mintmark), assayer's initials AM, one-peso silver "dollar" were created. These differed from originals made in Mexico in 1898 in that originals had 139 beads around the reverse border, while restrikes had 134. The San Francisco Mint restruck 2 million 1898-dated Mexican one-peso coins, and the Mexico City Mint restruck 8,250,000 similar pieces.
Thus, in 1949 the San Francisco Mint produced 2 million silver "trade dollars."
The Trade Dollar Remonetized (1965)
A little known fact is that the Coinage Act of July 23, 1965, which provided for the production of clad coins, contained this wording (Section 102; italics ours): "All coins and currencies of the United States (including Federal Reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal Reserve banks and national banking associations), regardless of when coined or issued, shall be legal tender for all debts, public and private, public charges, taxes, duties, and dues."
Under this act, it seems that trade dollars were given the legal tender status that had been taken away in 1876, although probably no one in Congress was aware of the implication! Similarly, the 1884 and 1885 trade dollars are now legal tender as are, it would seem, all pattern coins.
Other Uses of Trade Dollars
Jewelers and others made unchopmarked trade dollars into "box dollars." Each box trade dollar (made from two specimens) has a hidden hinge at the top or left side of the reverse (or, rarely, the obverse). Within the hollowed-out obverse is a metal frame suitable for holding a miniature photograph. A small gap at the bottom or right allows the owner to open the box, or the back panel could be released by pressing one's thumb on a part of the reverse design near the rim, usually between the final S of STATES and the O of OF. Sometimes a monograph or brief inscription would be engraved on the underside of the lid by a jeweler. Two examples owned by Tony Terranova each had a man's photograph in the circular frame inside the coin, and an engraved inscription on the underside of the lid. Presumably, each man gave the trade dollar-locket to his sweetheart as a remembrance of him. Both date from the early 1890s.
Among several dozen such box trade dollars examined by Walter H. Breen, all but two had S mintmarks; the exceptions consisted of one each of Philadelphia and Carson City. Many have turned up in pawnshops, coin stores, antiques dealerships, and jewelry stores in California. This may indicate a West Coast origin. Box dollars were a popular souvenir at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition held in Chicago. Most box trade dollars seen today are well worn and are in grades ranging from Fine to Very Fine. Most are dated 1876, 1877, or 1878, with Typell reverses.
Claims that they were made to secrete opium or its derivatives are false; even without the photograph frame within, one box dollar would not hold a worthwhile amount of opium. Besides, opium derivatives were commonly available and lee gal at the time, 'and there would have been no reason to have made box trade dollars for this purpose. For example, Vin Mariani, heavily advertised worldwide in the 1890s and early 1900s, including via beautiful posters by famous French artists, consisted of wine laced with cocaine (as did Cocorico and other such potions), was widely available and was a favorite tipple of the Pope.
Box trade dollars were no doubt inspired by box talers, containing various miniatures (including printed and painted items), dating back to the eighteenth century, or possibly even earlier.
Another more unusual pastime of tooling involved trade dollars (and, more rarely; Liberty Seated silver coins, especially dollars). The result has acquired the name "potty coins." These show Ms. Liberty nude and seated on a chamberpot, On occasional examples made from trade dollars, she holds a roll of toilet paper instead of a branch. On one or tWQ known pieces, she has a male companion" and both engage in an x-rated activity not suitable for further description here, All of these alterations were made by tooling away parts of the obverse design.
Examples of "potty dollars" have appeared in a.few coin auctions since the 1880s. There is no way to establish the time of origin or the maker of any specimen, Styles of engraving range from hopelessly crude to masterly. The preponderance of trade dollars used for this purpose evidently testifies to the coins' unpopularity in domestic circulation, especially after their 1876 demonetization and subsequent recall. .
Still another; and rarer, Use of trade dollars was to make mechanical counters for games. These consisted of the obverse and reverse of a trade dollar, not from the same original coin, mounted within a frame consisting of a rim and reeded edge, probably also from a trade dollar, so that by placing one's hand at the center of the obverse and reverse, holding the counter in this fashion; and turning the edge, a series of numbers from 1 through 7 will appear in a circular opening in the left obverse field of the trade dollar.
One of these counters appeared in Lyman H. Low's sale of the H.G. Brown Collection, October 1l, 1904, where it brought n.75 (over twice the price of some of the Proof trade dollars in the sale!) and was described as follows: "1877-S An ingeniously constructed counter, probably to keep game with; made out of two dollars, Numbers 1 to 7 revolving." A pair of these counters, each with 1878 obverse and Type II Philadel phia Mint: reverse, 1876-7 business strike), was purchased by the author from Rossa & Tanenbaum in August 1992. The counters were in a fitted, velvet-lined leather presentation case bearing the imprint of A. Barrett & Sons,' 63 Be 64 Piccadilly, London. Each counter had "PAT. APP'D / FOR" stamped in the right reverse field. In the left reverse field of one was scratched the number 716, and on the other, 718. To the right of each number was scratched lettering, not decipherable, but resembling "uld/iiaj."