Flowing Hair
Silver Dollars

When the Founding Fathers created our coinage system, the silver dollar was meant to be the cornerstone. However, due to an unreasonable demand by Congress it would be two years before the first was struck. Congress had mandated that the Mint’s chief coiner and its assayer post $10,000 bonds before they could begin working with gold or silver. At the time, this amount was more than six times the annual salary of these positions. Until the bonds were posted only copper coins could be minted. Finally, in March of 1794 the requirements were lowered and the process began. That year, the Mint struck 2,000 coins from one pair of dies. However, 242 were rejected as too weakly struck, and the mintage of silver dollars ceased until a new coin press could be built. The larger press was finished in May of 1795 and coinage resumed. It is estimated that only 100 to 120 silver dollars of 1794 still exist. This series, although being issued for only two years, is typically collected by type not date due to the expense. Any time a Flowing Hair dollar is added to a collection, it immediately becomes one of—if not the—most treasured.