09/17/2022
This is the most expensive silver dollar ever sold. It went for over ten million dollars. Not a bad return on a dollar . The inexperienced artist and workers at the United States Mint were struggling to make coins to power the economy of a new country. The machines were crude, and laborers performed a majority of the tasks by hand. The coining presses were crudely made and were powered by strong men. The blanks were hand-fed into the presses and a skilled pressman could center the blank every time.
Mint workers weighed each coin blank before it was struck to ensure that had the proper amount of silver in it. If it was overweight, some metal was scraped off with a file. If the coin was not struck hard enough, these adjustment marks would be left on the surface of the finished coin. If the blank was underweight, a small silver plug was placed on top of the coin blank before it was struck to bring it up to a standard weight.
Since the composition of this coin was 90% silver and 10% copper, the alloy was created by hand and some impurities were left in the metal, it created different qualities of silver. The silver plug struck into this coin was created from a different batch of silver than the blank that was used to create it. Therefore, it is obvious since two different shades of silver exist on the surface of the coin.
Of the original 1,758 silver dollar struck in 1794, this is the only one known to exist that has a silver plug struck into it. The United States Mint used to strike silver dollars was originally engineered to only strike coins no larger than half dollar. Since this coin has sharp detail and is almost in pristine condition, some numismatic experts believe this is the first silver dollar ever struck in the United States. Its low mintage, unique history, and pristine condition combine to make this the most valuable coin in the world!