RWB

I'll check.....Maybe I didn't count the 2 bags I took from the melting department.....

According to Tripp's article, Strickland left before the large dollar press was installed.....hmmmmm. Real data Facts Truth Only then can speculation have any purpose except for emptying a gin bottle. [Starting to sound a lot like cut-and-paste of the Brasher "doubloon" with EB on chest...unfounded speculation and lies: $10 million, $15 million -- who's counting? At least if one shoots a moose it can be stuffed and not sucked through a strawberry 'Favor Straw.']

Yep. Before he left in July 1795. And the coin was not from a filed planchet, if i recall correctly. Again - one must think in terms of available technology and operations of the time. Kppbll notes: "So... they minted 1,758 dollars in 1794, then had virgin dies in 1795 for a 1794 copper trial piece, then this SP66 in the same die state, then the Oswald-Strickland "restrike" gets the die clashes? I like to keep an open mind and learn new things, but this seems like quite a stretch. Is this published somewhere or your own speculation?" I also note that Kppbll also blew a hole the the same company's phony attribution of a 1942 experimental piece last August. They thanked him for his honesty and service by banning him. I started this thread with the express purpose of getting facts out in public and crush the BS that has been plastered on by greed, ignorance and mindless acceptance of lies. Eventually, the truth can be compiled and published both as reliable information and a warning to those bent on destroying a hobby to line their coffers.

"It is special as it is the earliest example of a 1794 Restrike Dollar minted on the first US silver dollar coining press." How it is a "restrike?" What is the evidence for the balance of the comment?

Seems to be a very long "stretch" to use a plugged and filed planchet for making a "special" coin....especially when it's the only such example for the date. Calling the coin a "Specimen" seems in the same unfounded speculative category as that Barber dime recently touted for $181k. There MUST be confirming evidence for the claim, otherwise it is bogus.

I could not find any Roman coins with a laureate bust of Caesar Donaldo Trumpio....Although that might explain the phony hair. Maybe I'm using the wrong catalog?

Let's remove the "St. Oswald" bologna -- no such critter/collection. See William Strickland and David Tripp's modern research on the subject. "Die trials" and tests were made in copper - not silver alloy - when there were any made at all. In effect, every coin struck on a large screw press was a trial of dies, planchet, press, weights and manual force applied. "Testing" a new die of the same design would yield no information - the entire operation was too inconsistent for that to happen. Each of 1,758 1794 dollars was a "test" of something new for the Philadelphia Mint. Think late 18th century, backwater technology.

I have not researched 1794 dollars specifically, or early silver coin production in general. I do not intend to. There are others focused on that period of US history. Hopefully someone, somewhere, will accept the challenge and put forth the work of assembling truth. (I recall this was done by a member regarding 1850 or `50-O proof dollars?) One cannot make meaningful speculations or theorize without having an accurate source for basic facts. The facts define parameters of speculation. For 1794 dollars, much guessing seems to center on the alloy - assumed to be 900 fine silver 100 copper. I understand the reasons for this assumption, but with coins of this importance (NOT "monetary value") and modern non-destructive assay technology, it is almost a malpractice not to have two-decimal place measurement for coin bulk and plug.

Here's the Mint Director's decision on the official title/name for the 20-cent coin. (The name is longer than the coin's production lifetime....)

PS: The alloy of 90% silver 10% copper is likely an assumption. What are the professional XRF results for the field and center plug?

Accepting that coins made on a lever press (aka "screw press") can have slight differences in letters and numerals due to pressure and metal flow, where do we find a really complete, factual description - and clear determination of dies used, etc. Simply put: All basic data on 1794 dollars should be available from a single reliable, objective source. Nysoto's comments are great as are Bowers' and some others - yet no one should have to look under numismatic rocks for fundamental information to America's first silver dollars.

The coin is a common 1922 Peace dollar. It is not a low relief satin proof. How many proof Peace dollars has the OP examined? Maybe the book "A Guide Book for Peace Dollars" 4th edition from Whitman Publishing LLC would be helpful?

How were they taken out of Cuba? They have tight controls on what visitors can take home.

It might be from a cheap plated set sold to rubes, or out of a common brass-color jewelry piece - the kind sold at beach and tourist traps. It has no value as a collector's coin and in 'as is' condition it is a cull.

It is not worth having it authenticated, graded and stuck in a plastic slab. It is worth 25-cents.

The newer design and flat relief also makes dings and scrapes more evident. Pick up a mint set and compare coins.

Some of the coins are mirror-like and some are not. They might have been made with polished dies, but they are not real proof coins.

Do we have even the most basic physical characteristics of the coin? By that I refer to: weight, diameter(s), thickness(es), measured alloy, density ('specific gravity'), surface deviation from plane. Also, what is an accepted definition of "Specimen" and how was that determined for this coin?

"Strange discussion...." What "strange discussion?" Seems entirely normal - at least for the present.

Use a protractor to measure angle of rotation; a compass will punch a dent in the coin and tell you nothing about die rotation. Moxie15's idea is fine. Rotated dies are very common and seldom bring any premium unless 90-degrees or greater. PS: If you turn off automatic image compression and "sharpening" you'll get better photos.

They might go well with that 20 year old McD burger in Australia, or the one in Utah?

There was considerable fiddling and delay related to getting the edge collar mechanism to work correctly at all three mints. San Francisco had the most difficulty.

As Ms.Holcomb noted, it's not a doubled die coin. Part of the difficulty might come from the photos. They are excessively compressed and artificially "sharpened." This ruins detail and introduces false edges and stray data in the photos.

As mentioned above, foreign coins and a world map (or maybe a more limited map), or some older obsolete US coins and Canadian, Mexican, central American coins and a North America map would work better. Have him match coins to countries. He'll need help with letters and country names, but will quickly gain perspective. He'll tell you when he's ready to expand. Limit time to about 20 minutes. That's the limit on a 6-year old's attention - unless it's a cookie.

All Saint-Gaudens Double Eagles had E PLURIBUS UNUM on the edge with various arrangements of letters and stars. The Extremely High Relief patterns use the same collar as Barber/Morgan's 1906 test piece. Production pieces have a couple of know varieties of letter size and placement. All Eagles had stars on the edge - one for each state. There are likely several interesting errors in edge letting for DE, but so many of the coins have been stuck in edge-hiding slabs that it was pointless to pursue.