NEW BOOK: EAGLE POISED ON A BANK OF CLOUDS

Long regarded as a key early Federal type coin, the Draped Bust / Small Eagle dollar has been subject to more than its fair share of unfounded speculation and mythmaking. In this book the author separates fact from fiction. He refutes the assertion that the Early Dollars of the United States were deficient in silver, uncovers the real reason for their export to the Caribbean in the 1790s (clarifying the real nature of the oft-quoted exchange for Mexican 8 Reales), refutes the myth of Gilbert Stuart's involvement in the Draped Bust design—giving credit, instead, to John Eckstein, whose 3-dimensional wax models were the basis for Robert Scot's designs of October 1795—and presents reliable evidence, in the form of actual PCGS population counts by variety, of the surviving numbers of each—totals significantly lower than those proposed by Bowers in 1993. A suggested total mintage for the series is similarly calculated, and the change to the Heraldic Eagle reverse is put into the historical context of the undeclared war with France in the spring of 1798. An updated list of the finest known examples is presented for each die marriage, and all major die states are illustrated for the first time. Finally, he has provided a Collecting Quality feature for each variety, suggesting ways in which the knowledgeable collector may assemble an impressive array of these truly rare coins without spending a fortune in the process. These pieces are written in the spirit of his Editor's Introductions to Penny-Wise, for which he has received multiple awards from the Numismatic Literary Guild.

 

A member of the Rittenhouse Society, editor of Penny-Wise since 1986, and a charter member of the John Reich Collectors Society, the author's fascination with the Early Dollars of the United States began when asked by Dave Bowers to help edit his Silver Dollars and Trade Dollars of the United States (1993). Following his retirement, after 34 years as a practicing family physician (2011), he was able to delve more deeply into the history and iconography of these impressive coins. This book, seven years in the making, is the result.

 

Hardbound in blue cloth, Smythe-sewn binding, lettered in gilt, with a dust jacket, 288 pages, extensively illustrated in color on glossy paper. Available from the author for $145 postpaid.

P. O. Box 1691
Hastings, NE 68902
hesalyards@gmail.com.

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