The famous 1794 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar is widely acknowledged as being the first ever silver dollar coin.
An example has just sold at auction for over $1m – one million times the coin’s face value.
How does a coin with a scrap value of just $12 for its silver content become for millionaires only?
It ticks all of the boxes for what to look for when buying a classic coin – rarity, condition and cultural value, but the fact that it’s believed to be the first dollar ever to be struck is what sets this coin apart.
If it is the first ever dollar, it would mean President George Washington himself would have personally inspected it.
At the very worst, it is one of 1,758 struck on 15 October 1794 at the fledgling Philadelphia Mint. Only about 130 of which survive today.
Incredibly, at $1m this coin is a bargain.
The finest example known sold 8 years ago and achieved $10m at auction. That was graded MS66, whilst the $1m coin was graded MS62.
The difference is obviously quite stark. An MS66 coin will be very well struck, with minimal marks or hairlines, whereas an MS62 coin will be a slightly weak or average strike with no trace of wear, but it will have more or larger abrasions than the higher graded coins.
The truth is, with only 130 examples known to exist, any version of the first ever silver dollar is worth getting excited about. The romance and history attached to this coin will make it one collectors and investors will always gravitate to.
If you’re interested…
I can’t offer you the first, but this is a fascinating set that tells the story of America from early to late 20th century in the form of four iconic Silver Dollars.
All four coins are struck in silver and are massive in size compared to today’s Dollars. They are:
- The Morgan Dollar – the coin of the Wild West being struck between 1878 and 1921.
- The Peace Dollar – the last silver dollar ever struck for circulation.
- The Eisenhower Dollar – the last large-size circulating Dollar and the coin commemorating the Moon landing.
- The 1986 Eagle Dollar – the first ever Silver Eagle, which is now the world’s most popular silver coin.
These coins witnessed some of the biggest events in US, even world history, spanning almost a century of circulation.