Dollars
The dollar first appeared in colonial america in 1794. The name was used in Spain and
was similar to the term Taler used in Europe at the time. The first design was the 'Flowing Hair'
used on other coins of that time but it was replaced in 1795 by the Draped Bust, which was made with
one major variation through 1803. These coins were 89% silver, 39mm or 40mm in diameter, and just
under 27 grams in weight, being the heaviest coin in the country. Then silver dollars were suspended until
1836, when the Gobrecht dollars appeared, something that was first thought by modern collectors to be a pattern
but recent research has revealed to be an actual circulated design. Unfortunately, however, these coins were made
in such small quantities that all are very expensive and the design does not show up in virtually all collector albums.
In 1840 the Seated Liberty appeared. This was followed by the Trade Dollar in 1873, and the Morgan in 1878, one of the
most popular coins in U. S. history. In 1921 the Peace dollar appeared, followed by the Eisenhower dollar 50 years later. In
1979 the dollar (Susan B. Anthony) was completely redesigned in an effort to encourage more usage of dollar coins but this
attempt largelyfailed and although one more design was made in 2000, the Sacagawea, the people of the United States have
demonstrated repeatedly through usage that they prefer paper money today for any and all denominations larger than 50 cents.
Gobrecht Draped Bust Liberty Seated Trade Morgan Peace Eisenhower Susan B. Anthony Sacagawea Eagles Commemorative dollars