CHOPMARKED TRADE DOLLARS

 
Chopmarked 1875-CC Trade Dollar

In the U.S., the Trade Dollar holds the distinction of being the heaviest of the American silver dollars at 27.2 grams (or 420 grains, as noted on the coin's reverse). Thanks to considerable confusion over the type's legal tender status and its practical value in the United States, the Trade Dollar was also the only coin to be demonetized by an act of Congress, in July 1876; however, they continued to be minted as business strikes designed for export to the Far East until 1878, and in proof format for years after.

In China, the Trade Dollar had a rather different experience, enjoying some commercial success as evidenced by the presence of chop marks on many surviving examples. As part of a practice dating back to the 17th century, Chinese merchants placed chop marks on many types that were commonly used in global trade. These private countermarks, used to verify a coin's silver content and acceptability, were utilized until as recently as the early 20th century. The great majority of Trade Dollars that received these chop marks ended up in Chinese melting pots where they became bullion, typically sycee ingots. The relatively small proportion of chopmarked Trade Dollars that survived U.S. government redemption and destruction for their silver content, spanning a variety of conditions, have become highly collectible and sought after by those who are entranced by the exotic history of these coins.

Unsurprisingly, the two key dates for chopped coins are largely the same as their non-chopped counterparts—the 1875 and 1878-CC. The 1878-CC has fewer than a dozen known examples sporting chopmarks. The 1875 is even more difficult, as nearly all purported 1875 specimens feature chop marks conveniently obscuring the mintmark area, or they are actually 1875-S issues with a known, overly-polished die that eventually caused the mint mark to disappear. Fortunately, the 1875 has many distinctive die features and is usually easily identified. Unfortunately, there are exceedingly few undisputed known examples; the true population is unknown, but is likely fewer than five coins. The well-known Legend Collection, despite holding many condition census coins, was never able to add a chopmarked example of the 1875 Trade Dollar to its PCGS Registry set.

Pricing varies for the type with chopmarks. Greysheet recently updated its price guides to reflect recent auction results and private transactions (see online price guide—Ed.), but the market for chopmarked Trade Dollars, while growing, is still relatively small. For common issues, such as high-volume dates from the San Francisco Mint, a 25% discount from a straight graded example is normal. But one of the charming features of the series is the individuality of chopped coins; no two are alike. Some coins can have one or two chops and be otherwise flawless, likely the result of a shroff marking a bag of coins, immediately replacing the coins in the bag, and then disbursing the contents as part of a commercial transaction. These coins can receive grades up to MS64, as chopmarked coins are considered ineligible to receive Gem grades by virtue of their ‘damaged' status. At the opposite end of the spectrum, examples can have so many chops that a coin can become bowled and barely identifiable. The quantity, placement, and, in some cases, design of the chops can heavily influence the discount (or premium) realized for the coin. Chopmarks can add value to a seldom-encountered date, particularly the aforementioned Philadelphia issues, which are common in un-chopped condition but extremely scarce with genuine chopmarks.

 

There are several books addressing chop marks and their history, but Chopmarks by Frank Rose (1987) and Chopmarked Coins–A History by Colin Gullberg (2014) are out of print in English, and can only be found on the secondary market, typically at a large premium. However, a fantastic new book covering the history of chopmarks and the many host coins they can be found on was recently released on Amazon: By Weight, Not by Coyne–An Introduction to Chopmarked Coins, by W. Taylor Leverage.

To read the complete article, see:
An Introduction to Chopmarked Trade Dollars (https://www.greysheet.com/news/story/an-introduction-to-chopmarked-trade-dollars)

To read earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
NEW BOOK: CHOPMARKED COINS - A HISTORY (https://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v17n27a03.html)
BOOK REVIEW: CHOPMARKED COINS: A HISTORY (https://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v17n35a07.html)
NEW BOOK: BY WEIGHT, NOT BY COYNE (https://www.coinbooks.org/v26/esylum_v26n24a03.html)

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