1801 $1 MS(PCGS#6893)

Summer 2026 Global Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

競売業者

Stack's Bowers

ロット番号

2124

グレード

AU58

価格

40,260

ロット詳細

BB Die State III. A visually stunning example with a distinct appearance that is both pleasing and memorable. The surfaces are dressed in rich, old toning in mauve-gray and steel-olive that yields to antique silver tinting in the protected areas around many of the peripheral design elements. The latter color is only really evident when the coin is viewed with the aid of direct lighting, at which angles it lights up at the left and right obverse and, especially, right reverse borders. The strike is superior for this challenging type, not 100% complete (early dollars rarely, if ever are), yet bold to sharp in most areas. Softly frosted and suitably lustrous with a pleasingly smooth appearance in hand.<p>By the time the new century rolled around, the price of silver had risen enough that the intrinsic value of a silver dollar was actually $1.03, prompting increased export and eventual melting. This situation would eventually prompt the Mint to suspend production of the denomination in 1804. Mint reports from calendar year 1801 state that 54,454 silver dollars were coined, however, the conventional wisdom is that a portion of this mintage were actually dated 1800. Bowers (2013) estimates that some 35,000 1801-dated dollars were struck in total for all known die varieties. Two obverse dies and four reverse dies were mated in four different combinations, with the BB-214 variety considered the scarcest of these pairings. This variety can be discerned by the partially broken lower right serif on the letter T punch - this punch becomes completely broken by the time this die is used on BB-213. The order of sequence that the four varieties were struck is uncertain, though it is quite likely that the BB-214 coins were actually struck in 1802.<p>While circulated examples can be found on a fairly regular basis, Choice AU survivors are elusive. As with the larger mintage earlier dollars, these coins were intended to supplement foreign crown-sized silver coins in circulation and see years of use in commerce. Most were not conserved at the time of issue and as a result of the estimated 1,800 to 3,500 survivors for all four die varieties, the vast majority are well worn, if not also impaired. Of the total number extant, between 400 and 750 are attributed to the BB-214 die pair. Bowers reports only two Mint State specimens, the balance of the notable specimens being Choice About Uncirculated, as here. Sure to be of interest to advanced early dollar specialists.