Guide to Silver Dollars

The history of silver coin making in the US is a long and interesting one. Ever since 1794 when the government issued silver dollars for the first time, people have been keen on collecting these coins both for investment and personal purposes.

despite what the name indicates, Silver dollars do not actually have to be dollars. This is simply a term that somehow stuck and is used to refer to all coins made from silver in the USA.

Conversely, there are some people who hold firm to the idea that only those coins minted with a face value of one dollar can be termed as silver dollars, even though in actual fact those coins are worth a lot more than that in modern times.

One of the most sought after silver dollar coins amongst collectors is the 1804 silver dollar. In actual fact this coin has the date 1803 printed on it due to a mishap although the date of their first issue was definitely 1804.

Due to its initial popularity the 1804 silver dollar remained in circulation for many years and was actually reproduced some 30 years later. At this time the US had just begun its ascendancy as an international player with diplomatic relations with other countries all over the world. This coin was often given as an official gift to visiting dignitaries.

If you are hoping to get your hands on one of these coins today, you had better be prepared to pay for it. The last one that went up for sale a few years ago fetched more than three million dollars.

The seated liberty dollar was first minted in 1840. Although initially quite popular it was gradually replaced by more recent issues that came several years later.

The dollar came into circulation during a brief period of its life until the value of silver actually became worth more than the face value of the coin.

For a period of time silver dollars became a popular medium of exchange in the far east until a brief spell in the 1870’s when the prices of silver dropped again that the silver dollar came back into domestic use.

This unique silver trade dollar coin was actually produced in response to the trade coins of other Western powers. Foremost amongst the competitors were Great Britain, France, Mexico and Spain.

The Trade Dollar was far more valuable than the average dollar coin. This is because it was made using a higher silver content. This was purposely done in order to bring it at par with the global standard.

Most of the trade dollars issued ended up in Asia due to the growing international trade with those countries at that time. Al in all the trade dollar had a good reputation and was internationally accepted as a trustworthy medium of exchange.

These dollar coins were never circulated inside the United States. However they did have a face value of $5 in the market.

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