Don't take 1795 silver dollars
for granted
By Paul M. Green - Numismatic News
The 1795 silver dollar
seems to be an available date because of its 203,000 mintage,
but top-grade examples are hard to find.
The 1795 silver dollar's 203,033
mintage isn't very impressive. It suggests that it is available,
but that is relative to other silver dollars. When you compare
the 1795 to most coins from any other period, it's suddenly
a pretty tough coin and an important one as well.
In 1795 the United States
Mint was not up to speed. As the year dawned, the Mint had
produced only large cents, half cents, silver dollars and
half dollars. There may have been a small mintage of half
dimes in 1794.
The silver dollar situation
had been something of a failure. The 1794 mintage stood at
just 1,758 pieces. The Mint did not have the right equipment
to make silver dollars, so the 1794 attempt resulted in a
lot of rejected coins.
In 1795, however, the right
equipment had arrived and a more serious dollar mintage was
possible. The design would remain the same. The 1794 and 1795
are the only two years to feature the Flowing Hair obverse.
The 1794 is $55,000 in G-4,
and the 1795 is $1,250 for the two-leaves variety and $1,150
for the three-leaves variety. The price differences is greater
in Mint State, and that makes virtually all the type demand
focus on the 1795 because it is much less expensive.
There might be 5,000 or so
examples of the 1795 known today, but don't start getting
the idea that a nice XF or AU coin is easy to find. The average
1795 is going to be well circulated. The vast majority will
be no better than F-12 and many will fall below G-4. The United
States in 1795 was a tough and rural place. The people did
not place their coins in safe places, and their hands were
dirty with tough labor. A coin in circulation got a lot of
rough wear.
The coins were not always
perfect as they left the Mint. It was common for them to have
adjustment marks to make the planchet the right size. The
dies were not well detailed, and the strikes were many times
light in one area or another.
Certainly in top grade any
1795 is tough with or without the flaws. At NGC they show
about 22 examples in Mint State from 470 or more graded. The
PCGS total of over 1,400 has produced just 25 in Mint State.
Even in lower circulated grades
a 1795 silver dollar is a classic treasure of early America.
These were dollars made at a time when Washington and Jefferson
were active in the affairs of the nation.
These dollars represented
a large sum of money to the common people of the day who had
served in the ranks at a terrible cost in lives to bring American
freedom. A little honest wear from the time is almost more
interesting.
The 1795, while available,
is in higher demand than one might expect. Those who love
American history are likely to want an example. Just because
there are supplies, don't take them for granted.