Another contemporary comment about use fo seated Liberty dollars 0

[RWB]

Director Pollock, July 10, 1871:

"Whole silver dollars are made chiefly for the India and China trade, and worth nearly eight cents, each, in silver, more than two halves or four quarters."

[DWLange]

This confirms what has been published in most U. S. Mint histories. The absence of chopmarks likely results from the lower silver content of standard dollars versus trade dollars. This was the purpose of creating a U. S. trade dollar in the first place---to be more competitive with the Mexican "dollars" in the Asia trade. Most of the standard dollars sent to the Far East were probably melted, the recovered silver being sold to India, where it was preferred over equivalent values in gold.