Q. David Bowers
• 7. 1854 Liberty Seated silver dollar. I selected the 1854 because it represents a mystery of sorts. Although 33,140 were minted (about twice as many as the 1844); dollars of 1854 are rarely seen in any grade, and even worn examples were considered to be rarities only four years after they were struck. Other Liberty Seated dollars have their secrets, and I could have picked another date (such as 1855) as well, but the 1854 will do nicely.
• 8. 1870-CC Liberty Seated silver dollar. I like the Carson City Mint. Without honor in its own country at the time-local silver producers did not like the mint-the Carson City facility has a fascinating history and turned out a short but very illustrious series of dollars of this design, the 1870-CC being the first. I am not alone in liking the Carson City dollar of this date; it has been the subject of several excellent studies and discussions published in The Gobrecht Journal.
• 9. 1878 7 "over other feathers" Morgan silver dollar. This is an absolutely fascinating coin. Why in heaven's name would a bunch of Mint officials get wrought up about eight feathers in the eagle's tail being "wrong"? No one cared about feathers in the tails of innumerable coins minted before then, and no one has cared since. I wondered about this, and while writing this book, concluded that the number of tail feathers was not a primary concern at all at the Mint in 1878. In fact, I concluded that there is no such coin as an 1878 "7 over 8 tail feathers." I renamed the variety "1878 7 over other feathers," for reasons mentioned in the section devoted to the issue. The whole story of the production of the 1878 dollar is almost beyond belief, and the result was a profusion of varieties that constitute either a numismatist's dream or nightmare, depending upon one's view. Anyway, the 1878 7/ other tail feathers is a nice representative souvenir of all of the goings on.
• 10. 1884-CC Morgan dollar. This issue should have been a rarity. Just 1,136,000 were minted in rough and ready Carson City, and by all rights most of these should have been melted long ago, and those that do exist should be in rather decrepit condition. However, would you believe that of this number, 962,638, amounting to 84.7% of the original mintage, were still in the hands of the Treasury Department after March 1964? It is true I And numismatists" are richer for it. Now, anyone can own a should-be-rare 1884-CC! While on the subject of 1884 dollars in general, I should mention the mysterious, unexplained 1884 Philadelphia Mint "dot" varieties. Certainly, these are fascinating to contemplate, and yet a few years ago I had never heard of them.
• 11. 1903-O Morgan dollar. Go back in a time machine to the summer of 1962, when the 1903-O had far and away the highest price of any Morgan dollar in the Guide Book. At $1,500 it outranked the 1893-S, 1895, and all others in price. Survey all of the leading dealers and collectors in the United States-in 1962 and see how many ever owned an Uncirculated 1903-O. You will be lucky if you can find even 10 people who had done so. Here, indeed, is a great rarity. In fact, in 1941 when B. Max Mehl offered the William Forrester Dunham Collection the 1903-O was singled out as one of its prime rarities. Lo and behold! In October 1962 hundreds of thousands of 1903-O dollars, each as sparkling and brilliant as the day it was made, were brought to light from Treasury vaults. Now, like the 1884-CC, anyone can own one. What a story could be written about the 1903-O alone!
• 12. 1921 Morgan silver dollar. This coin was made from hastily prepared, poor relief dies and was produced in a hurry. The result is arguably (but not much argument is needed) the worst silver dollar ever to bear the imprimatur of our country. And, it is the most common of all Morgan dollars. Ugly + common = interesting? Perhaps yes, perhaps no. However, I have included it as an example of how Uncle Sam shouldn't do things. Also, it was made under provisions of the 1918 Pittman Act, a blatant government give away of millions of dollars to the silver mining interests.
• 13. 1922 High Relief Peace dollar. Proofs of this coin, well struck and made for presentation or numismatic purposes, were everything the High Relief 1921 Peace dollar should have been, but wasn't. Of course, the 1921 Peace dollar was the first of its kind, so perhaps I should have picked it instead. However, the 1922 also has an aura of mystery which, in my opinion, always makes a coin more desirable. In fact, numismatists were not generally aware of the variety until the 1961! Collector (later, dealer) Lester Merkin dazzled and amazed onlookers when he displayed a piece from his collection at that time. As evidence that new discoveries are constantly being made, R.W. Julian revealed, after studying some earlier research notes in September 1992, that tens of thousands of 1922 High Relief Peace dollars were struck for circulation and then melted. Heretofore, numismatists assumed that only Proofs had been struck.
• 14. 1928 Peace dollar. This coin, a representative of the Low Relief Peace dollar design of 1922- 1935, has the smallest mintage in the series, but it is neither the rarest nor the most expensive today. It, too, has a special story, and the story is about cornerstones. More about this later in the section on 1928 dollars.