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First double eagles struck March 12, 1850
RogerB
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According to this letter the first double eagles for circulation were struck March 12, 1850. Has anyone traced the two coins mentioned in the letter?
Mint of the United States
Philadelphia
March 12, 1850
Hon. William M. Meredith
Secretary of the Treasury
Sir,
The first coinage of double-eagles has been executed this day, and I send two of them, for the President and yourself.
They have been struck with all the force that could be asked, even to such a degree as to injure the dies, and yet the impression is not perfect. The face is still too much in relief.
Very respectfully,
Your faithful servant,
R.M. Patterson, Director
PS: It has been thought best to send the coins by Adams & Co.’s Express Line.
[RG104 entry 216 vol 08]
5
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Because it is over 100 years ago, and may very well be in some family's undiscovered inheritance, I think it unlikely that these coins will immediately come to light. I hope they do eventually, and shall be interested to see them.
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Very interesting. I knew that the dies for the 1849 double was sunken too deeply to make business strike coins. This series of correspondence prove it.
There is a segs presentation 1850 DE out there. If it is one of the two I don’t know
11.5$ Southern Dollars, The little “Big Easy” set
Very skeptical of anything labeled "specimen" or "presentation" or other such things. Such things must be accompanied with documentation - see the Baker Estate pieces for a meaningful example.
Cool. The text suggests a unique die pair. As far as I know there has been no die study of the 1850 $20s (although the B&M Bass catalog might prove me wrong).
The letters from later in December do not seem to infer more than a single die pair for 1849. But it's possible Peale made more than one pair for testing, then discarded everything.
As am I but it is worth a look
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/comment/11442694#Comment_11442694
11.5$ Southern Dollars, The little “Big Easy” set
I wonder how often pieces were struck (such as mentioned above) and given as 'presentation' or sample pieces to dignitaries. Also, would it always have been recorded - such as a new coin given to the Mint director? Just seems that it is more than possible that many coins may have been given out in this manner, perhaps with no records. Cheers, RickO
Sending one or more examples of new coins to the President and/or treasury secretary, before full production began, was a normal 19th century practice. There are many letters documenting this. I've posted a few of them here in the past. These are clearly intended for dignitaries and should be considered real "presentation" pieces. Many pattern pieces also were handled this way as the Mint Director needed approval to replace one design with another. Patterns were also sold for metal value or "face value" or in the case of copper bronze and other base metal versions, were given to the requester for the cost of postage.
However, without documentary support I don't feel there are many coins that can be legitimately called "presentation" or "specimen" pieces.
I know it is not possible, but the date on the letter looks like March 12, 1830.
Another cool piece of historical significance!
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When were the rest of the business strikes for 1850 started? Do we know that there's a delay from March 12 to some later date that would allow for the relief of the design to be reduced and new dies made? To say that it would be cool to see an 1850 "Head of 1849" $20 is an understatement.
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Here's the monthly list of coins reserved for the Annual Assay Commission. Typically 1 for every 1,000 gold pieces.
Note the silver dollar total (1/2,000 pieces) meaning not more than 4,000 1850 silver dollars were delivered.
Thanks for posting the link to the history of my 1850 Double Eagle that has been traced back to having been in the personal collection of its designer, James Longacre. It will be interesting to learn whatever more RogerB digs up from mint records.
Interesting stuff!
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Well, nice photo but not, in my opinion here or in the earlier thread, a "proof" or "master" coin or "specimen." But see a new thread just started showing that at least one master coin (a "proof" by today's definition) was made.
And yet special coins do exist. I once handled a 1799 Dollar that was better struck than the 1804 Linderman Proof I also handled.
Yes, there are coins that we see and we think they "look special." Maybe, and maybe not made for any special purpose. That "specialness" is TBD.
I tend to be very skeptical about any claims made of a special coin unless there is something to support that. A few weeks ago I posted a letter regarding the first production Morgan dollar from the NO mint. That letter was supported by newspaper reports, and if someone finds the coin in a family estate, we have a legitimate case for calling it "special" in some manner.
If roger had seen it he would have graded it no better than EF
11.5$ Southern Dollars, The little “Big Easy” set
Maybe.....maybe not.
Had completely forgotten about this old thread. FWIW, here is a more recent photo of the same pictured coin.
For anyone revisiting the original thread it may be of interest that Roger references an identified proof of the 1850. That coin is located in a Paris museum and apparently was made for part of a special set that was put together in approximately October of 1850. That in itself rules out the referenced proof was one of the two 1850 Double Eagles referenced in the OP's posted letter in his original post.
Of added note with regard to the initial first production of 1850 Double Eagles in March of 1850, there were more than just the two made as specifically referenced in the letter. Inasmuch as my 1850 Double Eagle has through auction records been traced back to having been retained in the personal collection of its designer, James B. Longacre, it may well have in fact been the first one minted.
Here is the added more recent photo:
The 1946 MS68 CAC Half Dollar shown in another thread sure looks "special" to many experienced numismatists, too, yet it's just a circulation strike.
Roger's point is well-taken and important. Special look alone isn't enough to infer special purpose.