Draped Bust Silver Dollar

In 1795 Congress responded to widespread dissatisfaction of the Flowing Hair design that all denominations carried. Now Congress mandated that the eagle, the word LIBERTY, stars and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA must be on all coins.

Designer Robert Scot used a drawing by the then famous artist Gilbert Stuart to design the Draped Bust. The Draped Bust silver dollars were issued from 1795 to 1804. The composition of he coins is 89.24% silver and 10.76% copper. The Draped Bust silver dollar coin was minted at the Philadelphia Mint. There were several varieties of the coin, with the best major variety having the obverse stars configured with nine on the left and seven on the right, which was minted in 1797 and in 1798. There there were two reverses minted, one with 15 stars and the other with 13.

The Draped Bust Silver Dollars are hard to located and are highly desired by collectors.

There were two versions of the Draped Bust silver dollar struck in 1795. One featured the bust of Liberty very well centered on the coin and another with the bust too far on the left.

One of the most famous and valuable US coins is the 1804 Draped Bust silver dollar. These were actually minted 30 years after the date as special diplomatic gifts for visiting dignitaries to the United States. A very few of these were also minted as restrikes for collectors. There are only 15 known specimens of the coin today.