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During the period from 1804 to 1835 no dollar coins were minted in the United States because the federal government had realized that too many of the ones made during the first 12 years of the new country were going overseas for trade and not coming back, likely because they had been melted down for their silver content. When the ban on minting of dollars was lifted in 1831 it took 6 years for the process to actually resume. In 1835 mint director Patterson had Christian Gobrecht prepare and submit a pair of dies based on designs of Thomas Sully and Titian Peale but due to contraversy on that and subsequent designs it was not until December of 1836 that the first coins were actually minted.
The first coins suffered damage to the reverse die's rim and therefore all of the 1836 dated examples were made from four different dies. |
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| This is my example of the Gobrecht silver dollars, and while this coin displays the date of 1836, it was actually minted in early 1837 and the old 1836 date die was used because the new one had not yet been made. This coin was minted from die number 4, of which only 600 examples were made. This coin was also damaged by a hole drilled into the top so that it could be worn on a necklace. After removal from that necklace, the coin was repaired by filling the hole and this allowed me to buy it with a huge discount. |
A total of only 1900 Gobrecht silver dollars were minted during 1936 to 1839. |
This is the reverse of the coin at left that I now have in my collection. Die number 4 showed the head of Liberty opposite of the F in OF and the eagle flying level. The Gobrecht silver dollars were struck again in the 1850's, 1860's, and early 1870's but my coin is certified as being one of the originals minted in the 1830's. According to the records, restrikes suffered cracks through parts of the obverse, and with die alignment III. |