An 1804 dollar coin has been sold for $6 million at auction just after being revealed to the public.
The dollar is related to a rare set of coins brought together in 1834 by President Andrew Jackson as diplomatic gifts.
Although the set are dated 1804 they were struck in 1834 when Jackson sent emissary, Edmund Roberts, to East Asia to strike up trade deals.
The US mint hadn’t made any dollars dated 1804 in 1804 though it was the most recent year they had been struck when Roberts planned his trip.
So, the new coins were back-dated to that last issue creating an extraordinary rarity.
On Tuesday one of a possible 16 survivors from the striking was auctioned for $6 million at Stack’s Bowers.
An 1835 portrait of Andrew Jackson, whose envoy Edmund Roberts carried the most famous of these dollars to East Asia, a trip on which he died.
The coin was sourced by James A Stack, who died in 1951 as one of America’s most significant coin collectors. Its existence was only announced this year and its history before Mr Stack bought it is quite unknown.
Mr Stack was no relation to Stack Bowers who are now selling his collection after a stipulation in his will delayed their auction for many years.
Identifying 1804 dollars is difficult. It is known that they have been forged, and the US Mint itself coined extras for sale or to trade to collectors. More may yet be discovered.
The coin is called “the King of American Coins” by collectors, and the most valuable ever sold is the example that Roberts gave to the Sultan of Muscat, which was sold for $7.68 million in August 2021.
The auction catalogue recorded: “This coin has never before appeared at auction. That a coin as famous and valuable as this has no documented provenance before Mr. Stack has puzzled some people.”
Experts have examined it, and the most popular theory is that the coin is one of a very small number that was struck and kept by high-ranking mint staff in order to profit from the value of the diplomatic set. When these coins are considered there are a probable grand total of 16 1804 dollars.
This coin now becomes one of the most valuable coins in history, the 11th most expensive ever at auction according to published lists.
