1804 Silver Doller 'King of Fakes'
RWM
Posts: 206 ✭✭✭
5
RWM
Posts: 206 ✭✭✭
RWM
Posts: 206 ✭✭✭
Comments
I am not familiar with the R.L. Stuart name connected with the circa 1860 "Restrikes."
Coin World from 1963. Was in with some old news papers left for me in my garage when I came home from work. If there is any interest I will post coin prices later.
Nice read from the past. Thanks for posting it.
Heck yea. Post them prices.
Well, I suppose he was only 2/3 wrong...
The mint apparently is excellent at making coins look like real mint products!
I would love to see the prices.
Interesting...Mr. Adams felt rather strongly about the issue....
Cheers, RickO
I wonder if that's the first time the term "so-called dollars" was used.
One of the authors of "The Fantastic 1804 Dollar" told me that when the book was first written the intention was to denounce the 1804 dollars as Fantasies, hence the word "Fantastic." After it was finished but before it was printed, the King of Siam set was discovered, the true story of the Diplomatic nature of the Originals was restudied and confirmed, and the book was rewritten somewhat before publication. In my opinion the publication of the book then made the 1804 Dollar the most famous and desirable U.S. coin, though as we all know it is not the rarest.
The first use of the term is from over 50 years earlier in 1912 and credited to Thomas Elder in his 1912 catalog referring to a Louisiana Purchase Exposition silver President Roosevelt medal, now known as So-Called Dollar HK 308.
Nice!
The story I got was that Eric Newman was searching for the right adjective - "great," "famous," etc., when his wife Evelyn suggested "fantastic," without perceiving the double meaning. Eric seized on the word immediately. The book was titled prior to the King of Siam discovery. Despite the government's use of the coin as a diplomatic gift, Newman maintained the 1804s were illegitimate, since not coined within the letter of the law (the Mint legislation required the year of issue to be on the coin - though obviously there were many exceptions in practice).
Also note that the book publication (shortly after the 1962 ANA convention) followed a standing room only crowd (including many dealers who left bourse tables) at the 1961 ANA, where Newman denounced the Zerbe/Ostheimer 1804 and 1805 dollars as fakes. These two events, along with the David Spink & James Risk presentation on the King of Siam set at the 1962 ANA, greatly promoted the coin. Ironically, there was concern at the time that the Fantastic book would cause the coins to lose value (similar to the modern concern that a British origin of Continental dollars could cause a market devaluation). Just the opposite happened!
I think that the “Original” 1804 Dollars are great coins. If I could own one of the great rarities, the King of Siam Proof set would be my first choice.
The do-called 1804 Restrike Dollars do little for me. They were made at a time when ethics was little more than a word in the dictionary for the leading mint officials. They have a background that is similar to another of my least favorite famous rarities, the 1913 Liberty Nickel.
Instead of the moniker:
King of American Coins
I think the originals can be known as:
The American Coin for Kings! - they were really meant to only be given to kings! I think this is a great way to think about these.
And the restrikes can be known as:
The American Coin for Coin Collector Kings! - the collectors that could get these were the kings of collectors!