A 1796 Bust Dollar with a Chinese Chopmark?

TLeverage

The following was recently posted onto GreatCollections, and I want to see what the members of our forum think of it. Certainly the earliest dated U.S. coin I know of with a Chinese chop. I know of three other pre-1800 Bust Dollars with chops, all with Heraldic Eagle reverses: a 1798 example, and two 1799-dated pieces, one each owned by Hal Walls and Frank Rose.

See link: http://www.greatcollections.com/Coin/478865/1796-Draped-Bust-Silver-Dollar-B-4-BB-61-Chop-Mark-Small-Date-Large-Letters-PCGS-Genuine-VF-Details

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CoinPhysicist

For those of us not aware, what is a 'chinese chop mark'?

TLeverage

@totally said:
For those of us not aware, what is a 'chinese chop mark'?

Any stamp, typically a Chinese character (but also including symbols, English letters, punches, etc.) applied by Chinese merchants to circulating silver coinage in order to determine if the piece was genuine silver (i.e., plated). They were in use primarily during the late eighteenth through the early twentieth centuries, and are known on a wide range of host coins, Mexican 8 Reales in particular. On U.S. coins, they are commonly found on Trade Dollars (a coin made for the express purpose of putting newly mined Amerivan silver into the international market), but are seen on other issues, predominately Seated Half Dollars, and specimens are known on dollar coins from Bust through Morgan, Gobrechts excluded (though all except Trades are very scarce to rare).

The large size of the chop on this example implies circulation in China well after minting, likely in the same time period as the Trade Dollar was in use.

CoinPhysicist

I see, thank you @TLeverage. The mark in question is the market next to the 'F' in 'OF', yes?

DDR

Very cool coin!

ricko

Nice example .... and somewhat unique since it is not a Trade Dollar.... Cheers, RickO

johnny9434

nice coin

lkenefic

Cool... that's the first non Trade Dollar I've seen with a chop mark.