It isn't very often that I get to post a new topic in the US section, Whoohoo!
I posted this little guy on the CCF forum, too, but since not all of our membership is allowed or chooses to go there, I thought I'd cross-post it. I'm quite proud of this acquisition, and it's mate.
The Trade Dollar was in response to other Western powers in Asia circulating large, crown size silver coins like Great Britain, Spain, and France. Trade Dollars were not circulated in the United States but were legal tender. The main reason for this was because Trade Dollars had a slightly higher silver content than the Seated Liberty Dollar and Morgan Dollar which were minted for circulation in America. As had been intended, many Trade Dollars ended up in the orient. Some of them have oriental chopmarks which were counterstamps from the orient. Many trade dollar coins of the western powers and of the large silver coins from China, Korea, and Japan have these chopmarks. Coins with chopmarks are worth less than those without. The United States Trade Dollar officially was terminated in 1885, and all non-mutilated outstanding Trade Dollars were redeemed by the United States Treasury.
These interesting trade dollars were minted from 1873 to 1878 inclusive for general circulation in the Far East to compete with the Mexican and Spanish dollars then circulating there. From 1879 to 1885 inclusive these trade dollars were minted in Proof only for numismatists. Naturally, the coinage of these later dates was very limited, especially those of 1884 and 1885, of which only 10 and five specimens respectively were struck.
The National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian, the American Numismatic Society and the American Numismatic Association all lack examples of this coin. These are collections boasting such exciting holdings as 1804 Dollars and 1913 Liberty Head Nickels. The true rarity of the 1885 Trade Dollar is evidenced by the period of years, even decades between public offerings. This coin being more rare than the 1804 Dollars (15 known) and on par with the 1913 Liberty Head Nickels (5 struck, but only 4 accounted for).
