Owner Comments:
This is our nations first silver coin (dollar). It is the finest of two specimens with a rarity rating of R8. All silver Continental Currency dollars were thought lost until the W.H. Strobridge auction was held of Dr. Charles Clay's (Manchester England) collection in December 1871, when this coin, the first silver Continental Dollar, appeared as lot 867. It is also referenced in Sylvester S. Crosby's, "Early Coins of America," 1875, p. 305. Mr. Lorin G. Parmelee purchased it at another Strobridge auction out of the George F. Seavey collection. It stayed in the Parmelee collection until 1890 when John G. Mills acquired it. A couple of more sales took place and then in 1923, John Work Garrett acquired it. It did not re-enter the market again until October 1980, as lot 1491, when Bowers and Ruddy auctioned Johns Hopkins University's collection where John J. Ford, Jr. was the winning bidder. Donald Groves Partrick acquired it in the John J. Ford, Jr. Stack's auction sale October 2003, lot 2. I feel very fortunate and proud to be the ninth recorded curator of such a historically important coin. Because of its rarity, one has few opportunities to own one and thus, I bid accordingly. Enjoy it as I do. I believe it should be shared and appreciated. One final note, speculation has it that this particular coin was carriend back from the colonies to England after the Revolutionary War and thus, it was "lost" for nearly 100 years until the Clay auction was held. I am seeking additional information about this coin, as well as searching for the 1871 Strobridge auction catalogue.
Update:
May 26, 2015
I have now acquired the referenced catalogue above. In it, this coin hammered for $100 and was referred to as being only "extremely rare." In contrast, The Treaty of Paris medal was viewed as "excessively rare.....and nearly unique." and sold for $31. The medal was plated but the silver Continental was not. The price ratio of the silver dollar to the medal was just slightly more than 3x while this year, both coins hammered for $1.3 million and $75,000, respectively, resulting in a multiple of just over 17x between the dollar and the medal. On a compound rate of return basis (CAGR), the silver's 144 year price appreciation was approximately 6.8%, while that of the Treaty of Paris was slightly less than 5.6%. A bronze Libertas Americana, in "nearly proof" condition, hammered for $3. Last year an MS 65 sold for $42,000, before buyer's premium, a 143 year CAGR of 6.9% since then. These are actual total returns and not hypothetical ones. Just goes to show what compounding can do at a 6% to 7% rate.
March 30, 2015
The Numismatist, June 1909, "The First Silver Dollar for the United States," p. 177, also see note on he silver 3-D in this exhibit. "There is also a specimen from the unsigned dies now in the Garret collection, which is deposited in the Library of Princeton University." This is the coin referenced.