Coin Believed To Be US Mint’s First-Ever Silver Dollar Sells For $12 Million

A Las Vegas resident has sold what is believed to be the US Mint’s first silver dollar to a firm in California for a staggering US$12 million.

Bruce Moreland, a business executive, had acquired the coin in 2013 for a little over US$10 million. He had presented it at exhibitions across the country and in Europe, as per GreatCollections Coin Auctions, the company that bought the coin.

Other than apparently being the Mint’s first silver dollar ever made, the coin is historically significant as it was created to replace the Spanish, English, Dutch, and French coins that were circulating in the nation at the time. 

According to Las Vegas Review-Journal, the head of the coin depicts “an allegorical female representation of liberty” with the word “LIBERTY” and the year “1794” inscribed. Its tail portrays an eagle with a wreath, and the words “United States of America.” 

1,758 such coins were minted in Philadelphia using a hand-turned press and began circulating in October 1794. 

Ian Russell, the President of GreatCollections, believes that due to the coin’s significance, it could have been seen by founding fathers including George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and Thomas Jefferson. 

Even more impressive, at its latest sale price, the dollar is reportedly the most valuable silver coin in the entire world and the second most valuable rare coin of any kind. 

“Without question, this is America’s most coveted silver dollar, a numismatic national treasure,” Russell said. 

“Only about 140 still survive, and this 1794 silver dollar is the only known specimen—striking, substantially better than the examples in the Smithsonian Institution’s National Numismatic Collection and the American Numismatic Association museum,” he added. 

[via Las Vegas Review-Journal and PR Newswire, cover image via GreatCollections Coin Auctions / PR Newswire]