Gobrecht Dollar
The Gobrecht Dollar was an American dollar coin that was minted in small quantities
from 1836 to 1839. It is named for its designer,
U.S. Mint engraver Christian Gobrecht.
THE GOBRECHT DOLLAR BASIC DESIGN
Obverse
The obverse design of the Gobrecht dollar is virtually
identical to that of the Seated Liberty coinage that was introduced starting in
1837. As on the other Seated Liberty coins, the main motif was a figure of the goddess
Liberty clad in a flowing dress and seated upon a rock. The left hand bore a pole
topped with a liberty cap, a symbol of freedom. The right hand held a shield inscribed
with the word "LIBERTY". Early versions of the Gobrecht dollar contained a small
banner reading "C. GOBRECHT F." below the figure. This credit, however, was considered
to be too prominent, and does not appear in later revisions or in the other forms
of Seated Liberty coinage. The coin's date is centered along the bottom edge.
Reverse
The reverse design features a bald eagle in flight,
which closely resembles that later used on the obverse of the Flying Eagle cent.
On some versions, the eagle is surrounded with a field of stars. The inscription
"UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" appears in a semicircular arc above the eagle, and "ONE
DOLLAR" below it.
American Dollar Coin History
The Gobrecht Dollar was product of the suspension of silver dollar coinage being
lifted in 1831 (see Bust Dollar for more information). The coin features the first
incarnation of the seated liberty obverse which would become standard on all silver
issues in 1839. The Gobrechts were subject to sparse and irregular minting. The
1836 circulated variety is the only solid mintage figure with a minting of 1600
coins. This makes the Gobrecht Dollar the most expensive dollar type coin in United
States coinage. Since they have the same obverse, these coins are often paired with
the Seated Liberty Dollar which preceded these. Restrikes of these coins were made
into the 1870s to please collectors. These restrikes are also rare and sparsely
minted coins. These restrikes tend to be worth more than the regular issue coins
minted in 1836.
Mints
All coins were minted at:
(P - Philadelphia Mint
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Information taken from Wikipedia,
the free encyclopedia