1874 Trade Dollar

[JASONKFLO]

This coin came in today.
1874 Philly Trade Dollar
I believe it to be authentic .
I paid 300.00 which I feel is quite a bit but at the same time there are not many 1874 for sale and most are higher priced so I think the value was there at the moment until I can acquire A XF/AU example .

Non magnetic . Sounds like silver on the ping test.
37.87 MM
between 27.1 and 27.2 grams
May bring it to a local coin shop to see if they have a sigma tester for more peace of mind .

Has luster around the devices , in the feathers and around the eagle.
I do not see signs of cleaning with a 10x loop though maybe further magnification is needed.
I am thinking its about VF-30/35 possibly dipped / cleaned
Reverse has lines in the denticles towards the bottom .

[JASONKFLO]

and

[JASONKFLO]

and last

[JASONKFLO]

And more

[alefzero]

I am pretty certain the obverse is the I16, used on C-5 and C-11. However, both of those were paired with different reverses that do not have a dot after FINE. Yours clearly does. The C-11 was presented me at the February Long Beach show by a collector from Flagstaff who is not Brent (fogie). I was on the fence as to the claim of no comma after GRAINS as there was a hit on the coin around there and enough wear to hide it. But it was clearly a different reverse than on the C-5 due to the unique differences in legend cracks. I might ask Brent to get the coin to study and photograph it for me to make sure the listing is rock solid. Will revisit the dozen or so raw C-5 ones I had imaged myself to see if they fall into one camp or the other as well.

Anyway, after that digression, your reverse (as previously said) is both unlisted and very interesting. I love those work die scratches in the lower denticles. It would represent a new variety. I will look to see if I might have imaged or have links to auction records for a higher grade one that simply didn't get into the listings. But you can see that even with some wear, these can still be pretty identifiable. Nearly a million of the date were struck, they are really not highly represented as well-struck mint state coins. If everything was even, one might expect to see maybe 20% as many of them as we see 1975-S BU Trade dollars (with a mintage around 4.5 million - top of my head, don't hold me to it). There just are not so many extant and strikes tended to exhibit weaknesses uncharacteristic of Philadelphia silver dollars of the era.

[JASONKFLO]

I am pretty certain the obverse is the I16, used on C-5 and C-11. However, both of those were paired with different reverses that do not have a dot after FINE. Yours clearly does. The C-11 was presented me at the February Long Beach show by a collector from Flagstaff who is not Brent (fogie). I was on the fence as to the claim of no comma after GRAINS as there was a hit on the coin around there and enough wear to hide it. But it was clearly a different reverse than on the C-5 due to the unique differences in legend cracks. I might ask Brent to get the coin to study and photograph it for me to make sure the listing is rock solid. Will revisit the dozen or so raw C-5 ones I had imaged myself to see if they fall into one camp or the other as well.

Anyway, after that digression, your reverse (as previously said) is both unlisted and very interesting. I love those work die scratches in the lower denticles. It would represent a new variety. I will look to see if I might have imaged or have links to auction records for a higher grade one that simply didn't get into the listings. But you can see that even with some wear, these can still be pretty identifiable. Nearly a million of the date were struck, they are really not highly represented as well-struck mint state coins. If everything was even, one might expect to see maybe 20% as many of them as we see 1975-S BU Trade dollars (with a mintage around 4.5 million - top of my head, don't hold me to it). There just are not so many extant and strikes tended to exhibit weaknesses uncharacteristic of Philadelphia silver dollars of the era.

Where is the best place to look at examples of the different obverses and reverses and attributions ?
I have been having a hard time finding anything online.

[alefzero]

Where is the best place to look at examples of the different obverses and reverses and attributions ?
I have been having a hard time finding anything online.

At the Registry. Here is the button, but there are also links to auction appearances and images if you bring up a census for any one variety there too.

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