Trade Dollar (United States coin)
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| Dollar (United States) | |
|---|---|
| Value: | 1.00 U.S. dollars |
| Mass: | 27.2 g |
| Diameter: | 38.1 mm |
| Thickness: | 3.1 mm |
| Edge: | Reeded |
| Composition: | 90% Ag
10% Cu |
| Years of Minting: | 1873-1885 |
| Catalog Number: | - |
| Obverse | |
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| Design: | Lady Liberty seated holding an olive branch towards the west |
| Designer: | William Barber |
| Design Date: | 1873 |
| Reverse | |
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| Design: | A Bald Eagle holding arrows and an olive branch in its talons. Coin specifications minted below. 420 GRAINS, .900 FINE |
| Designer: | William Barber |
| Design Date: | 1873 |
The Trade Dollar was a silver dollar coin issued by the United States solely for trade in the orient with China, Korea, and Japan.
Contents |
[edit] History
The Trade Dollar was in response to other Western powers in Asia circulating large, crown size silver coins like Great Britain, Spain, and France. Trade Dollars were not circulated in the United States but were legal tender. The main reason for this was because Trade Dollars had a slightly higher silver content than the Seated Liberty Dollar and Morgan Dollar which were minted for circulation in America. As had been intended, many Trade Dollars ended up in the orient. Some of them have oriental chopmarks which were counterstamps from the orient. Many trade dollar coins of the western powers and of the large silver coins from China, Korea, and Japan have these chopmarks. Coins with chopmarks are worth less than those without. The United States Trade Dollar officially was terminated in 1887 and all, non-mutilated outstanding Trade Dollars were redeemed by the United States Treasury.
[edit] Mints
The majority of Trade Dollars were minted at the mints on the United States west coast at San Francisco and Carson City. Many dollars were also minted in Philadelphia including all Trade Dollar proofs. The mint mark was located on the reverse above the letter "D" in DOLLAR.
- Blank (P - Philadelphia Mint in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
- CC (Carson City Mint in Carson City, Nevada)
- S (San Francisco Mint in San Francisco, California)
[edit] Rarities
In the series of Trade Dollars, all coins are valuable, even chopmarked coins. The coins with the most value are the last six years, 1879-1885 (All at Philadelphia). These coins were all proofs and have much smaller mintages than other dates:
- 1879-P: 1,541
- 1880-P: 1,987
- 1881-P: 960
- 1882-P: 1,097
- 1883-P: 979
- 1884-P: 10
- 1885-P: 5
[edit] References
- Yeoman, R.S. A Guide Book of United States Coins Atlanta: Whitman Publishing, 2004
- Edler, Joel and Harper, Dave U.S. Coin Digest Iola: Krause Publications, 2004
[edit] External links
| Preceded by: Seated Liberty Dollar |
Trade Dollar Coin of the United States
Dollar Coin of the United States (1873–1885) Concurrent with: Seated Liberty Dollar (1873) Morgan Dollar (1878-1885) |
Succeeded by: Morgan Dollar |
| Obsolete United States currency and coinage |
| Topics: United States coinage | United States dollar | History of the United States dollar | Large denominations of currency |
| Currency: Compound Interest Treasury Note | Demand Note | Federal Reserve Bank Note | Gold Certificate | Interest Bearing Note | National Bank Note | National Gold Bank Note | Refunding Certificate | Silver Certificate | Treasury or 'Coin' Note | United States Note |
| Coins: Half cent | Large cent | Two-cent piece | Three-cent piece | Twenty-cent piece | Trade Dollar |
| Gold Coins: Gold dollar | Quarter Eagle ($2.50) | Three-dollar piece | Half Eagle ($5) | Eagle ($10) | Double Eagle ($20) |
