Q. David Bowers
Most Trade Dollars Exported
It was the intention of the law that trade dollars be exported, especially to China, and this seems to have been done in 1873. Very few could be found in domestic use at the end of the year. In November 1873 the governor of a southern Chinese province published a decree stating that the "American Eagle Dollar" had been properly assayed by experts in Hong Kong and found to be of full value. This gave the new coin the right to circulate in that province. He warned counterfeiters to leave the new coin alone.
During 1873 there were a number of complaints from all the mints about the quality of the trade dollar coinage, but little was done at the time. In the summer of 1874, however, Coiner A. Loudon Snowden formally complained to the superintendent about the coinage and the failure of several of the high points on the design, especially on the reverse, to strike up properly. According to Snowden, even Proof coins receiving two blows on the old screw press were subject to criticism. Pollock ordered Barber to investigate the matter and report back to him at the earliest opportunity.
It was not until late in 1874 that Barber began work to correct problems with the dies. The delay was due in part to the decision to introduce the short-lived 20-cent piece, the Anthony dollar of the nineteenth century. Senator John F. Jones of Nevada claimed that this new coin would prevent shortchanging shoppers but the real reason was simply another denomination to use silver, which, despite the trade dollar, was still accumulating faster than the mine owners wished.
Revisions of the Design
Most of the complaints about poor striking quality of trade dollars centered around the berries and claws on the reverse, so Barber concentrated on this area of the master hub. Barber's new reverse dies (collectors call these "Type 11") went to the various mints during 1875, but Barber notified no one about the change except the Philadelphia chief coiner. Despite the corrections there were still complaints, much to Barber's annoyance. For the time being Linderman let matters ride, as there were other, more important, concerns to be solved. Nevertheless, in 1876 Barber also revised the obverse (to what collectors call the "Type II" obverse). On certain known 1876 and 1876-S dies and all later obverses 1877-1885 the ends of Miss Liberty's scroll point down (rather than to the left), toward WE; RT and ST are apart (on the Type I they touch).
The 1873 law authorizing the trade dollar had stipulated that the coin was to have legal tender status in this country up to $5. There was never any intent that the coins should actually circulate, but the congressmen thought it would make the coin appear more proper in the Far East. It was a mistake, because by the middle of 1874 "trades," as they came to be known to the general public, were beginning to appear along the East Coast and in some parts of the Midwest.
Domestic circulation was almost a foregone conclusion, considering that the value of silver continued to drop on both international and domestic markets. In July 1873 there was about $1.05 worth of silver in the coin, but by the summer of 1874 this had slipped to under a dollar. With a face value of one dollar and a profit to be made at home, some bullion depositors sold their coins to wholesalers, who distributed them around the country. On July 22, 1876 Congress reacted to this swindle by abrogating the legal tender clause.
By August 1876 the value of silver in the trade dollar had slipped to 85 cents, a loss of 20 cents in three years. Now the pressure to dump trades in the American market was even stronger and by the end of 1876 perhaps as many as seven million pieces had found their way into domestic use. The public was becoming increasingly irritated, as it was obvious that bullion dealers were making large profits on the operation.
Meanwhile, in China matters were going rather slowly. Despite optimistic reports made in 1873, the progress was not that good. The use was increasing, but primarily in the South; very few were seen in the northern areas, where the Mexican 8 reales was still king. American consuls and commercial representatives did their best, but it was difficult for them to persuade the Chinese to accept anything new.
Reports of Problems at Carson City
In 1874 the trade dollar was added to the regular Proof set, which was priced at $3 in silver or $3.75 in paper currency. The trade dollar was also available separately, at the same price as in 1873, because of its special character. This suited collectors, and few complaints were now heard about Proof coinage policies. The trade dollar remained in the regular Proof set until 1878; in 1879 it was removed for the Morgan dollar, but could be purchased on an individual basis until 1883.
As early as the fall of 1873 the Treasury had received reports that Carson City was doing a poor job in striking trade dollars. Some of these complaints appeared to have been inspired by the rivalry between the two Western mint cities (San Francisco also received criticism for its work), but the Carson City reports were more serious and continuous. In December 1875 a special Treasury representative named J.F. Evans submitted an 1875-CC trade dollar which he said was evidence of shoddy workmanship.
The Treasury, after Evans' report, decided to send an expert to the Mint at Carson City to examine all the aspects of their coinage and operations, not just the trade dollar. M.Y. Davis, a member of the staff at the Bureau of the Mint in Washington, traveled to Nevada in March 1876. He found that the complaints were, on the whole, not justified and that Carson City was doing a good job.
The dollar submitted by Special Agent Evans turned out to have been in a Virginia City fire(!), and Davis thought it a trifle unfair to blame the coiner at Carson City for an act of God after the coin had left the mint. Davis did find that some unhardened dies were not holding up well, but this was equally the fault of Philadelphia and Carson City. (Dies were sent in an unhardened state to Carson City and finished there.) Davis recommended closer cooperation with Chief Engraver Barber. This solved the difficulty.
A "colorful" problem was also corrected with ease. Several of the trade dollars reserved for the Assay Commission were found to be discolored. Davis checked and it turned out that the assay coins were being put in packages wrapped with rubber bands and placed near a hot flue; the combination was enough to paint the coins some rather odd colors. The coins were soon stored elsewhere.
The year 1875 is famous for one of the more interesting trade dollars, the 1875-S/CC. Discovered in 1965, this was one of the earliest known overmintmarks in U.S. coinage. Two die varieties of the 1875-S/CC are known. They were either the case of a simple error at Philadelphia (the CC was punched first by mistake into each die) or there was a rush order for San Francisco and two CC dies already on hand were repunched for expediency. There were 27 reverses sent to California for the trade dollar coinage of 1875.