David Stone of Heritage Auction published a nice article on the 1866 No
Motto Seated Liberty dollar. Reprinted with permission from The Intelligent Collector magazine (IntelligentCollector.com) - Spring 2021 issue. Thanks!
-Editor
With only two examples known to collectors today, the 1866 No
Motto Seated Liberty dollar is so rare that most collectors tend to
overlook the issue.
When discussing the rarest and most valuable U.S. coins, the
conversation usually focuses on more famous issues, like the
1804 dollar (15 examples known), the 1913 Liberty nickel (five
specimens extant) or the 1894-S Barber dime (nine survivors
known). The much more elusive 1866 No Motto dollar is seldom mentioned, as its public offerings occur so infrequently that the
coin remains out-of-sight and out-of-mind for most collectors. Its
availability is further diminished because one of the two known
specimens is impounded in the National Numismatic Collection
at the Smithsonian Institution, where no collector will ever
acquire it.
Against this backdrop of relative anonymity, Heritage Auctions
is offering the only available example of this overlooked rarity
in its April 2021 catalog of Important Selections from the Bob
R. Simpson Collection, Part V. Hopefully, this high-visibility
appearance will increase collector interest in the 1866 No Motto
dollar, one of the rarest issues in American coinage.
‘TRANSITIONAL' PATTERNS
The motto IN GOD WE TRUST was added to the design of the
regular-issue Seated Liberty dollar, half dollar and quarter in
1866. At some point, early pattern specialist Robert Coulton
Davis obtained a set of the three silver denominations dated 1866
that were struck without the motto. The coins were reportedly
"transitional" patterns, struck before the design change took
place, but most numismatists agree they were actually
fantasy pieces, struck specifically for sale to Davis.
Interestingly, Dick Osburn and Brian Cushing
have identified the obverse die as the same
one used to strike some proof With Motto
Seated Liberty dollars in 1866 (the OCP2 variety). Similarly, they identify the
reverse die as the same one used to
strike some extremely rare proof 1865
Seated Liberty dollars (the OC-P1
variety). The dies appear to be in
the same state during all these uses.
Since both obverse and reverse dies
were on hand in the Mint in 1866, it
is possible that the 1866 No Motto
dollars were actually struck that
year, but most numismatists believe
they were struck later, in the 1869-
1870 time frame.
Chief Coiner Archibald Loudon
Snowden was probably the man who
struck the 1866 No Motto coins for Davis.
He seems to have liked the idea so much that he struck a second example of the dollar for himself. Snowden
acquired a massive collection of patterns and other rarities during
his service at the Mint, which lasted for decades. He was able to
purchase the coins by exchanging an equivalent value in coins
or bullion for them, a practice that remained legal for Mint
employees until the 1930s.
R.C. Davis retained his set of No Motto coins for many
years, but the set was split up after his death in 1888. The
coins followed different paths until Willis duPont succeeded in
rejoining them all in 1961. The set was stolen, along with the rest
of duPont's collection, in a daring armed robbery in 1967. All
three coins were eventually recovered and returned to duPont,
with the dollar being the last to surface in 2004. Afterward, the
set was exhibited at the ANA Money Museum for an extended
period before being donated to the National Numismatic
Collection in 2014.
Snowden's dollar has an equally interesting history. Snowden
held on to his hoard of rarities until long after he retired, but he
began selling off some of his coins in the early 20th century. His
most notable transaction involved the two 1877 fifty-dollar Half
Union patterns in gold, which he sold to prominent collector
William H. Woodin for the unheard-of price of $20,000, through
John W. Haseltine and Stephen Nagy. The public became aware
of this transaction, due to some articles Edgar Adams published
in The Numismatist, and a strong feeling developed that the
coins should never have been released from government holdings.
After much legal maneuvering, Woodin agreed to return the Half
Unions to the Mint, Snowden kept the money, but surrendered
his hoard of numismatic treasures to Woodin in exchange. In
this manner, Woodin acquired examples of more than half the
patterns listed in the Adams-Woodin pattern reference that was
published in 1913, several 1884 Trade dollars, all five 1885 Trade
dollars and many other rarities, including Snowden's 1866 No
Motto dollar.
FAMOUS COLLECTIONS
Like many collectors over the years, William Woodin seems to
have underrated the 1866 No Motto dollar, as he soon sold it to
H.O. Granberg, along with the No Motto quarter and half dollar
he had acquired earlier. The new set was exhibited at the 1914
ANS Exhibition and later passed through the famous collections
of F.C.C. Boyd, "Colonel" Green and King Farouk, before
being split up again (the quarter and half dollar were eventually
acquired by duPont, to reconstitute the set). The Snowden dollar then appeared in a string of Stack's auctions in the 1960s, and
was finally featured in lot 31 of the Kennywood Collection
(American Numismatic Rarities, 1/2005), which realized a
substantial $1,207,500. The coin has been in Bob Simpson's
remarkable collection ever since.
Designated Judd-540 in the leading pattern reference, the
1866 No Motto Seated Liberty dollar is a sought-after prize for
advanced collectors of patterns and Seated Liberty dollars alike.
Dave notes that the photo of Robert Coulton Davis is courtesy of
Pete Smith and The E-Sylum. Looked familiar!
-Editor
To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
QUIZ ANSWER: ROBERT COULTON DAVIS
(https://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v15n10a08.html)
Wayne Homren, Editor
The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization
promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org.
To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor
at this address: whomren@gmail.com
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