ON THE PROVENANCE OF THE 16TH 1804 DOLLAR

 

Condition, Preservation and Origin
The condition and high level of preservation indicate 1804 Dollar-No. 16 passed through very few hands. Instead and to this day, it occupied the dark corners of the netherworldly Numismatic Cabinet. This assertion implies it was not sold into the collector market of the mid-to-late 1870's, along with most of its Class III sisters. Instead, it was likely held close to its original purveyor. That would have been the Mint's Chief Coiner at the time, Col. Archibald Louden Snowden. From his position, the rogue Colonel produced all the Class III 1804 dollars and sold them through the Chapman Brothers and Capt. John W. Haseltine, the numismatic fences of the time. Nothing passed through the Mint's press room without his privy approval. Between 1867 and 1885, this is evidenced by his striking of the vast majority of pattern coins ever produced at the Philadelphia Mint, more than 1,100 and in numbers exceeding 20,000 pieces.

 

His boss and Director of the Mints, Henry R. Linderman, was complicit and retained an 1804 dollar, which was sold at auction with his collection in 1888. Linderman passed away in office in 1879 and Snowden twice refused his position in favor of Superintendent of the Philadelphia Mint, where he could continue his pattern enterprise. Linderman's collection was first brought to auction by Lyman Lowe in 1887, but was seized by Treasury agents. After rifling through and retaining several lots, the balance of the collection, including his 1804 dollar, was returned to his heirs and sold at auction to James Ten Eyck and is now in the Smithsonian. With extreme likelihood, Col. Snowden surely retained an 1804 dollar in his collection of mementoes. It would have been the best example and grouped together with the likes of the twin 1877 gold Half Unions, gold 1876 Double Eagle patterns and a number of 1885 silver Trade Dollars, among its many delicacies. The gold Half Unions were later used as trade bait in the Great Pattern Plot of 1910. Both were bought from Snowden for $10,000 each, an enormous sum and record that persisted for decades. They were then traded to Mint Director A. Piatt Andrew in exchanged for all the pattern coins remaining in the basement of the Philadelphia Mint, some 9,000 pieces – comprising The Most Singular Lot. An 1804 Dollar was strangely absent from this vast menagerie. To not contain an 1804 dollar would have been an afront to the preeminent, but furtive, Chief Coiner, who passed away in 1912.

 

Provenance Scribe
So, who would have received No. 16 from Col. Snowden? Was it William H. Woodin, who bought the gold Half Unions and later traded them for the Mint's pattern treasure trove? That's possible, but Woodin did not engineer the plot that brought him a fortune in patterns and numismatic fame. That stroke of genius fell to Edgar H. Adams, a fellow member of the New York Numismatic Club. Messier Adams was used to working in the shadows and amongst the New York Numismatic illuminati. At the time, they were the center of the Numismatic Universe.

Without the personal means, Mr. Adams would use his numismatic knowledge and prolific pen to position himself. It was as a writer for The Numismatist, and more importantly The Sun newspaper of New York, that he gained prominence. His cloak and dagger, nom de plume nature was revealed when writing as L'Alouette, the lark of the 1909 ANA convention. His chirping in Mehl's Numismatic Monthly contributed to the infighting and coup attempt that almost toppled the ANA's evolving organization. It was during this time that he began laying the ground work for the Great Pattern Plot with articles in The Sun that trumpeted the sale of the gold Half Unions. Up to that moment, notice of pattern exploits were reserved to ANA convention 'smokers' and whispering, and the back pages of auction catalogs.

 

Pattern Plot Twist
Despite his wealth and political connections, Mr. Woodin could not have pulled off the greatest numismatic trade, or dare I say heist, that has ever or will ever be perpetrated. He would need the inspiration and help of his NYNC friends, some of whom did have Mint connections through the Assay Commission and other officials. These strings were pulled by the likes of NYNC member Thomas L. Elder. Others were pulled by Farran Zerbe and Capt. Haseltine – useful tools – who acted according to their true numismatic nature, if not on their own volition. But the master plot was laid out by Edgar H. Adams and as part of his reward, I would postulate – he was bestowed with 1804 Dollar-No. 16, which came directly from Col. Snowden.

At age twelve, young Esquire Adams was accidentally maimed after stepping on a shotgun, which left one leg shorter than the other. Hence, he walked with a cane, but was able to otherwise cloak his infirmity. For physical activity, he took up swimming and became rather good. He won the quarter-mile Brooklyn championship of 1902 and competed in the 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis. The games were held at the same time as the ANA Convention and Louisiana Purchase Exposition. To keep a sharp mind, he dove headlong into numismatics and started writing. In 1904, he began contributing to The Sun newspaper by penning a coin related column and articles for which he was paid $12 each.

 

Beyond the NYNC, he was a member of the ANA and ANS, but never sought an office or much prominence. In his study of U. S. pattern coins, he undoubtedly contacted Col. Snowden, formed a relationship and learned much of his clandestine endeavors. That affiliation spawned the Great Pattern Plot and contributed heavily to the accounting in his 1912 catalog of U. S. Pattern, Trial and Experimental Pieces. He may have introduced Col. Snowden to Mr. Woodin as part of his plot and promoted the sale of the Half Unions. He then wrote and witnessed the contract for their sale, executed between Mr. Woodin and Capt. Haseltine! For his part, Haseltine would reprise his earlier 1870's role in fencing 1804 dollars, which further validates his relationship with Col. Snowden. Mr. Woodin was chosen for his deep political connections, deep collecting interest and deep pockets.

No. 16 was probably the price Edgar H. Adams held for holding his tongue about the exploits of the entire pattern cabal – a fantastic story he would take to his grave. Mr. Adams could have, would have, and did keep secrets and likely sold No. 16 to Mr. Stack before his death in May of 1940. He would have chosen Mr. Stack for his familiar persona, collecting acumen and New York affiliation.

 
The James A. Stack, Sr. Class III 1804 Dollar

Sources

"The Fantastic 1804 Dollar," by Eric P. Newman and Kenneth R. Bressett, Whitman Publishing Co., Racine, Wisconsin, 1962.

"The ANA Election of 1909 as Viewed Through Its Membership Applications from 1907 to 1910," by Douglas Ward, The Asylum, vol. 40, no. 1, 2022.

"The Mystery of L'Alouette: The Lark of the 1909 ANA Convention," by Douglas Ward, The Asylum, vol. 40, no. 4, 2022.

"Surreptitious Pattern Recognition," by Douglas Ward, unpublished, 2023.

"Of Patterns, Plots and the Most Singular Lot," by Douglas Ward, ANS Magazine, no. 2, 2025.

"The Paradigm in Aluminum Patterns," by Douglas Ward, Pacific Coast Numismatic Society, Online publications, 2025.

To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
STACKS BOWERS: UNPUBLISHED 1804 DOLLAR (https://www.coinbooks.org/v28/esylum_v28n33a09.html)
ANA CONVENTION COMMOTION AND 1804 DOLLARS (https://www.coinbooks.org/v28/esylum_v28n34a06.html)
MORE ON THE JAMES STACK JR. 1804 DOLLAR (https://www.coinbooks.org/v28/esylum_v28n33a10.html)

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