- PCGS #:
- 6908
- Designer:
- Robert Scot
- Edge:
- Lettered: HUNDRED CENTS ONE DOLLAR OR UNIT
- Diameter:
- 40.00 millimeters
- Weight:
- 27.00 grams
- Mintage:
- 7
- Mint:
- Philadelphia
- Metal:
- 90% Silver, 10% Copper
- Auction Record:
- $6,000,000 • PR65 • 12-09-2025 • Stack's Bowers
Rarity and Survival Estimates Learn More
| Survival Estimate | |
|---|---|
| All Grades | 7 |
| 60 or Better | 3 |
| 65 or Better | |
| Numismatic Rarity | |
|---|---|
| All Grades | R-9.6 |
| 60 or Better | R-9.8 |
| 65 or Better | R-10.1 |
| Relative Rarity By Type All Specs in this Type | |
|---|---|
| All Grades | 2 / 5 TIE |
| 60 or Better | 1 / 5 |
| 65 or Better | 1 / 5 |
| Relative Rarity By Series All Specs in this Series | |
|---|---|
| All Grades | 2 / 5 TIE |
| 60 or Better | 1 / 5 |
| 65 or Better | 1 / 5 |
Condition Census What Is This?
#1 PCGS PR65
Unknown; James A. Stack (purchased before his death in 1951); "The James A. Stack, Sr. Collection," Stack's Bowers, December 9, 2025, Lot 20006 - $6,000,000. Deep steel grey with hints of violet and maroon. Frosted devices. Planchet fissure across Liberty's throat. This coin was unpublished until 2025. |
|
#2 Est. PR63
Henry R. Linderman; Linderman Estate; "The Henry R. Linderman Collection," Lyman Low, June 1887 - Passed; Linderman Estate; J.W. Scott, February 1888, Lot 40 - $470; James Ten Eyck, later, Ten Eyck Estate; "The James Ten Eyck Collection," B. Max Mehl, May 1922, Lot 394; Lammot Dupont; Willis H. Dupont; unknown thieves; loaned to the American Numismatic Collection; National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution, by donation. |
|
#3 Est. PR60
Philadelphia Mint; William K. Idler; Captain John W. Haseltine; Stephen K. Nagy; Henry O. Granberg; William Cutler Atwater, later, Atwater Estate; "The William Culter Atwater Collection," B. Max Mehl, June 1946, Lot 214 - $2,875; Will W. Neil; B. Max Mehl, June 1947, Lot 31 - $3,125; Edwin Hydeman; Abe Kosoff, March 1961, Lot 994 - $29,000; Edwin Hydeman; World-Wide Coin Investments, Ltd. (John Hamrick and Warren Tucker); Bowers and Ruddy Galleries; Continental Coin Galleries; Mark Blackburn; Larry Demerer; Dr. Jerry Buss, via Superior Galleries; Superior Galleries, January 1985, Lot 1337 - $308,000; Aubrey and Adeline Bebee; American Numismatic Association, by donation. |
|
#4 PCGS PR58
Philadelphia Mint; Captain John W. Haseltine; John W. Haseltine, March 1876, Lot 194 - $395; John W. Hasletine; Phineas Adams; Henry Ahlborn; John P. Lyman; S.H. Chapman, November 1913, Lot 16 – $340; Waldo C. Newcomer; Col. Edward H.R. Green, later, Col. Green estate; A.J. Allen; Frederick C.C. Boyd; Percy A. Smith; B. Max Mehl; B. Max Mehl, May 1950, Lot 804 – $3,250; Amon G. Carter, Sr.; Amon G. Carter, Jr., later, Carter Estate; Stack’s, January 1984, Lot 241 – $198,000; John Nelson Rowe, III; L.R. French, Jr., later, French Estate; Stack’s January 1989, Lot 15 – $242,000; Rarities Group (Martin Paul); National Gold Exchange (Mark Yaffe); Heritage Rare Coin Galleries; Indianapolis Collection; unknown private collection; David Liljestrand; unknown Midwest collection; David Liljestrand; National Gold Exchange and Kenneth Goldman; Legend Numismatics; Phillip Flannagan; Bowers and Merena, November 2001, Lot 4303 – $874,000; Donald H. Kagin, Ph.D.; Bowers and Merena, August 2003, Lot 2026 – $1,207,500; West Coast collector, via Kevin Lipton; Heritage Rare Coin Galleries, $2,250,000; East Coast collector, private collector, March 2006 – $2,475,000; Heritage, April 5, 2009, Lot 2567 - $2,300,000; John Albanese, to "The Presidio Collection" collector; "The Presidio Collection," Heritage Auctions, January 14, 2026, Lot 3125 - $3,538,000. |
#5 PCGS PR55
Philadelphia Mint; Captain John W. Haseltine; Koch & Co., Vienna; John W. Haseltine, March 1876, Lot 194 – $395; O.H. Berg; “The Berg Collection,” John W. Haseltine, May 23-24, 1883, Lot 568 – $740; George W. Cogan; Thomas Harrison Garrett, later, Garrett Estate; Robert Garrett; John Work Garrett; Johns Hopkins University; Bowers and Ruddy, March 1980, Lot 698 – $400,000; Pullen & Hanks, later with Sam Colavita; Pullen & Hanks, February 1982, Lot 1076 – $190,000; Sam Colavita; Mike Levinson, in trade for eight acres of land in El Paso, Texas; Pennsylvania private collection; Bowers and Merena, June 1986, Lot 1736 – $187,000; Rarities Group (Martin Paul); American Coin Portfolios (Dan Drykerman); Laura Sommer; California Collector. As NGC PR55 #1893703-001. Stacks Bowers, August 2014, Lot 13146 – $1,880,000; D. Brent Pogue, later, D. Brent Pogue Estate. As PCGS PR55 #38997237. “The D. Brent Pogue Collection,” March 20, 2020, Lot 7304 – $1,440,000. It was not well-known that D. Brent Pogue owned this coin. It was sold after his passing. |
|
#6 Est. PR40
Philadelphia Mint; probably, Captain John W. Haseltine; Robert Coulton Davis; John W. Haseltine; George M. Klein; W. Elliot Woodward, May 1888, Lot 1940 – $660; Robert Coulton Davis, via J. Colvin Randall, later, Davis Estate; John W. Haseltine; John M. Hale, later Hale Estate; R.H. Mull; Parke-Bernet Galleries, May 1950, Lot 221, $3,400; Henry P. Graves, later, Graves Estate; Stack’s, April 1954, Lot 1333 – $8,000; Ben H. Koenig; Stack’s, December 1960, Lot 576 – $28,000; Samuel Wolfson; Stack’s, May 1963, Lot 1394 – $36,000; Norton Simon; James H.T. McConnell, Jr., via Stack’s. |
|
#6 Est. PR40
Philadelphia Mint; unknown intermediaries; W. Julius Driefus; Isaac Rosenthal; Col. James W. Ellsworth; Wayte Raymond; Farran Zerbe, via Guttag Brothers; Chase National Bank; American Numismatic Society, acquired via donation in 1980. |
Understanding the Class III 1804 Draped Bust Dollar
Collectible 1804 Draped Bust Dollars fall into two distinct groups: Class I "Originals," (#6907) and Class III "Restrikes" (#6908). The Class II (#41448), a restrike itself, is unique; it is known by only one example: a plain-edged coin overstruck on an 1857 Swiss Shooting Thaler. This unique specimen has never been in private hands and is permanently held in the National Numismatic Collection.
The Origins of Class I
The Class I coins were initially struck in 1834 for inclusion in diplomatic Proof Sets, requested by the U.S. State Department as gifts for foreign dignitaries. U.S. envoy to the Far East, Edmund Roberts, successfully delivered sets to the Sultan of Muscat in 1835 and to King Rama III of Siam (Thailand) in 1836 before his death in June 1836.
At the time the sets were ordered, the Mint did not produce silver dollars or gold eagles, as both denominations had been discontinued during the Jefferson Administration. Rather than deliver incomplete sets, the Mint opted to strike antedated dollars and eagles, using what they believed was the last issued date: 1804. Here, the Mint made a significant mistake: while gold Eagles were produced in 1804, all dollar coins recorded as having been struck that year were actually dated 1803.
A Secret Revealed and the Corruption That Followed
The mistake did not go unnoticed. The 1842 publication of A Manual of Gold and Silver Coins by Jacob R. Eckfeldt and William E. Du Bois included a pantograph reproduction of the coin, shattering the long-held collector belief that 1803 was the final date. In May 1843, renowned numismatist Matthew A. Stickney became the first private collector to secure an example, famously trading several rarities—including a unique gold Immune Columbia piece—for a duplicate 1804 Dollar held in the Mint Cabinet.
With the reserve of "official" Class I 1804 Dollars depleted, unscrupulous employees (such as the likely suspect, Theodore Eckfeldt) began surreptitiously producing unauthorized restrikes to sell for profit to eager dealers.
The Class III Restrikes
As for the Class III coins, the proprietors of the "Midnight Mint" inside the Philadelphia facility had refined their methods. They developed a lettered-edge version of the coin that they hoped would pass as a genuine 1804 Dollar, allowing them and their fence (likely Philadelphia coin dealer Captain John W. Haseltine) to profit from their Mint-made rarities. These restrikes, also struck after 1857, were fitted with edge lettering after striking, a process that left the coin surfaces slightly concave. Seven of these restrikes are known, with four purposefully worn to simulate circulation.
The Die Diagnostics
Regardless of its Class, every authentic 1804 Dollar was struck from the same polished obverse die and one of two polished reverse dies, designated Reverse X (for Class I) and Reverse Y (for Classes II/III). The difference is subtle and focused on the placement of the legend and the berries above the eagle:
"S" in STATES
- Reverse X (Class I): Slightly to the left of the gap between the two leftmost clouds
- Reverse Y (Classes II/III): Entirely positioned above the leftmost cloud
TOP-LEFT BERRY
- Revese X (Class I): Touches the leaf and is positioned higher than the top-right berry.
- Reverse Y (Class II/III): Centered between the leaves, nearly level with the top-right berry.
The James A. Stack 1804 Dollar : A Legend Discovered
James Aloysius Stack (1887–1951) was a prominent New York banker and commodity trader who assembled one of the most impressive collections of U.S. coins in history. Stack, who had no relationship to the famous coin dealers of Stack's and Stack's Bowers, was an active buyer throughout the late 1930s until his death. His holdings famously included a 1933 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle (#9195), which he turned over "under protest and under legal duress" to the U.S. Secret Service on June 20, 1945.
Stack was a collector with deep pockets and exquisite taste. Despite this, he is not as well known in numismatic history as some of his contemporaries. This is largely due to the specific dispersal instructions in his will: he requested his children not to break up the collection "until the youngest grandchild living at the time of my death shall reach twenty-five years of age." His children complied, and Stack coins re-entered the hobby's bloodstream piecemeal over the course of several named and unnamed auctions commencing in the 1970s and recurring sporadically through the 1990s and into the 21st century.
It was this complex dispersal that led to the December 9, 2025 offering, where the numismatic community learned that Stack had secretly acquired an unpublished example of the Class III 1804 Dollar. Vicken Yegparian of Stack's Bowers first reviewed the coin in 2023. This Stack 1804 Dollar is graded PCGS PR65 and is recognized as the finest known of the Class III coins. It sold for $6,000,000.
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