USA 1 dollar Trade Dollar 1881
USA, Philadelphia
Rarity
Extremely Rare
Attributes of Coins
| Region | USA |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 1 dollar |
| Krause number | KM# 108 |
| Mintage | 960 |
| Metal | Silver 0.900 |
| thickness | 3 mm |
| diameter | 37.8 mm |
| weight | 27.22 g |
Obverse:
Liberty
People
Star
Creators:
William Barber
IN GOD WE TRUST
LIBERTY
Reverse:
Bird
Coat of arms
Creators:
William Barber
420 GRAINS. 900 FINE.
E PLURIBUS UNUM
TRADE DOLLAR
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Introduction of Coins
When instant profits failed to materialize from the proof-only trade dollars of 1880, collectors scaled back their purchases this year. Still, the nearly 1,000 1881 proof trade dollars sold was a figure well above those for proofs of 1873-77. This is yet another relatively common issue among proofs of the coin type, but it is still eagerly sought for its proof-only status. Most survivors fall short of the PF-65 grade, but gems are available to satisfy more advanced collectors. Certified Cameo examples have likewise been certified in sufficient quantity, but Ultra Cameo pieces were rare when new and are even more so today. For much of this issue the dies were not set in perfect parallel, resulting in weakness at Liberty's and the adjacent stars, as well as some weakness evident opposite these features in the lowermost letters of TRADE DOLLAR. Quoting Walter Breen's work, Q. David Bowers noted in his 1993 dollar encyclopedia that some coins have slight doubling on their reverse. From the description provided this is likely just strike doubling, but little interesting is shown in varieties among proof collectors.Read More
