Only 10 Proof 1884 trade dollars are known today. Thus, this issue stands as one of the very rarest of all American coins, and it is ranked #78 in the popular and influential book 100 Greatest U.S. Coins (5th, Edition 2019) by Jeff Garrett and Ron Guth. In terms of specimens known to exist, the 1884 trade dollar is a landmark issue in a league with other famous American numismatic rarities, including the 1894-S dime, 1827 original quarter dollar, and the legendary 1804 silver dollar, all of which exist in slightly greater numbers than the 1884 trade dollar.

Much of the following historical information on the 1884 trade dollar is excerpted and updated from Q. David Bowers' 1997 cataloging of the Eliasberg specimen.

History of the 1884 Trade Dollar

The trade dollars of 1884 and 1885 are among the most famous and coveted rarities in all of U.S. numismatics. Even so, some confusion exists about the origin and intent of these coins. For many years reference books, catalogs and articles have claimed that just 10 specimens were struck dated 1884 and just five dated 1885. Today, these figures are widely accepted. Based upon auction and market appearances, they seem to be correct. On the other hand, many popular numismatic references either state explicitly or strongly imply that these coins were struck clandestinely by Mint officials for Philadelphia coin dealer William K. Idler. The conclusion drawn is that the 1884 and 1885 trade dollars are not regular issue U.S. Mint coins. While Idler certainly occupies a prominent place in the early history of both the 1884 and 1885 trade dollars, archival research proves that the 1884 trade dollar is a regular U.S. Mint issue that was struck officially, and under the supervision of U.S. Mint employees. (For the story of the 1885 trade dollar, see next lot.)

Inspection by numismatic researcher Carl W.A. Carlson of the "Die Record Book" kept at the Mint in the 1880s by A.W. Downing (with a few notations by A.W. Straub, foreman of the Die Makers' Room) reveals the receipt from the Engraving Department of one obverse and one reverse die for the Proof 1884 trade dollar on January 3 of that year. The dies were subsequently transferred from the Die Makers' Room to the Coining Department by Straub when Philadelphia Mint Superintendent Archibald Loudon Snowden ordered Proof production to begin. From the beginning of the series in 1873, and exclusively from 1878 onward, the Philadelphia Mint had been producing Proof trade dollars for collectors. (The production of circulation strikes ceased at Philadelphia in 1877, and at the San Francisco and Carson City mints in early 1878). Thus, the staff at the Philadelphia Mint had made all of the official preparations to continue with business as usual and coin, perhaps, about 900 to 1,000 Proof 1884 trade dollars during the year, probably in batches in response to orders as they came in.

Superintendent Snowden's order to begin Proof production was probably issued during the first week of January. According to the entry on page 126 of the Fourteenth Annual Report of the Director of the Mint, 264 Proof trade dollars were struck in 1884, the coins delivered to the cashier on January 19. A small number of copper impressions were also made, but confusion still exists over when and why these off metal strikings were produced. Traditional numismatic wisdom describes the copper pieces as regular dies trial strikings which, if true, would suggest that they were struck immediately prior to the silver Proofs to ensure that the dies were ready for large scale production. According to the website uspatterns.com, however, "As with most die trials made from the 1860s onward, these were deliberately struck [for distribution to contemporary collectors]." If true, the copper impressions could have been produced after some or all of the silver coins. Today in 2020, the copper strikings of the 1884 trade dollar are attributed as Judd-1732 and Pollock-1943, and only three or four specimens are believed to exist. Superintendent Snowden presented two of these copper strikings to A.M. Smith (1841-1915) in 1884. Smith was a prominent numismatic scholar and author during the 19th century who wrote a history of the Philadelphia Mint, as well as an illustrated encyclopedia of world gold and silver coins. The first auction appearance for a copper 1884 trade dollars was as lot 245 in M.H. Bolender's sale of October 1935, consigned by Smith's widow. Bolender offered the second specimen in his February 1936 sale, along with the remaining coins in Smith's unique 1884 copper Proof set (quarter through double eagle).

Returning to the silver Proof 1884 trade dollars, Superintendent Snowden probably acquired 10 examples from the initial batch of 264 Proofs delivered to the cashier on January 19. Until the 1930s it was legal for Mint employees to obtain examples of new coinage in exchange for the equivalent amount of coin or bullion, and this is almost certainly how Snowden acquired 10 Proof 1884 trade dollars. (This practice also explains the existence of at least two of the 1894-S dimes, as related in our catalog description for the Dr. Jerry Buss-E. Horatio Morgan specimen of the 1894-S dime offered as lot 5178 in our August 2019 ANA Sale.) Shortly thereafter, however, Snowden received orders from the Treasury Department to cease production of trade dollars. These orders referred to calendar year 1884 in its entirety, forbidding the Mint to include an example of this denomination in the year's Proof sets or otherwise sell or distribute Proof 1884 trade dollars. The 254 specimens left with the cashier after Snowden acquired 10 coins were destroyed. According to the coiner's report, both the obverse and reverse dies were destroyed on January 2, 1885. The Philadelphia Mint eventually produced 875 silver Proof sets in 1884, none of which officially included the trade dollar, per the Treasury Department's aforementioned order.

It is at this point in the timeline that William K. Idler enters the history of the 1884 trade dollar. Idler, dean of the Philadelphia coin dealers, had been a professional numismatist since the late 1850s. He had special connections to the Mint, as did the dealer who married his daughter, John W. Haseltine, who was a prominent numismatist in his own right. The Idler-Haseltine duo served as the conduit to the coin market for the 1801-1802-1803 Proof novodel silver dollars, as well as numerous other patterns, restrikes and fantasy pieces produced from the 1860s through the early 20th century.

Idler kept many secrets to himself, although he had numerous transactions with son-in-law Haseltine. Doubtless, if Idler had revealed in print the details of his experiences with Mint officials, the numismatic history of the 1860s to the 1880s, as we now know it, would have numerous revisions.

A vignette of Idler appeared in connection with his obituary notice in The Numismatist, August 1901, by which time he had been in business 41 years in a jewelry and coin shop adjoining his home:

Mr. Idler was a jeweler by trade but his modest little shop on [109 South] 11th Street, near Chestnut, always had in its show window a sprinkling of coins, old currency and curios, amid the regular stock, and the counter and wall cases inside were about equally divided in content between Mr. Idler's two interests in life. He, however, held to business before pleasure, and often occupied himself long with some woman or others, wanting a trinket repaired, while an impatient collector was waiting eagerly to spend 10 or 20 times the amount for coins.

Mr. Idler was a portly, deliberate man, always amiable, but generally giving the impression that he had little or nothing of a special interest, with a plaintive remark or two about the difficulty of coming across anything good nowadays. Then, if no general customer was present, and you could induce him to open his safe and lay out two or three trays in a melancholy way, you would often find choice pickings and get some good bargains.

All the leading Philadelphia collectors visited him at frequent intervals as well as many from other cities, and his many years of acquaintance with the numismatic world, and the regard in which he was held, caused him to be a medium of transfer of rich resources. His great age at length began to tell, members of his family became more active in the store, and he rarely came out of a little rear room. His numismatic scholars will miss him greatly.

Much more could be written about Idler and the others associated with the 1884 trade dollar. Each was very important in American numismatic history.

Apparently, Idler acquired six 1884 trade dollars from Snowden shortly after they were struck. These were added by Idler to silver Proof sets of the year. After Idler's passing in 1901, John W. Haseltine fell heir to his numismatic estate. Haseltine himself was a man who told little, but had much. During that era his colleagues referred to him as "The Numismatic Refrigerator," because he had so many rarities "on ice," just waiting to be brought out at an appropriate moment. Presumably, in 1901 Haseltine was confronted with six Proof 1884 trade dollars, each a part of a complete 1884 silver Proof set including the Liberty Seated dime, quarter dollar, and half dollar and the Morgan silver dollar.

In 1907 Haseltine, now in partnership with fellow Philadelphian Stephen K. Nagy, sold many rarities to numismatists. William H. Woodin was a prime client as was Virgil M. Brand. According to an entry in Brand's journal, he purchased an 1884 trade dollar from Nagy on July 1, 1907 for $50. This is the earliest known sale of an 1884 trade dollar. Chicago millionaire Brand was the most active buyer in the rare coin market at the time. He was a man who figuratively ate, breathed and slept coins, and who lived in an apartment suite on the second floor of his Brand Brewing Co. brewery. As it developed, Brand, a highly knowledgeable numismatist who enjoyed owning multiples of rarities and who had the financial wherewithal to back up his desires, took a fancy to the Proof 1884 trade dollar and eventually acquired several of them. His second specimen was obtained from Haseltine on September 17, 1908 for $150, and two more were purchased from the same source on October 12 of that year, again at $150 per coin. Upon his death in 1926, Brand had about 350,000 coins in his collection, a holding remarkable not only for its size and worldwide scope, but for its quality.

The first auction appearance of an 1884 trade dollar followed soon after the last of Brand's purchases from Haseltine. Ben G. Green's 44th Sale, which took place in Chicago on November 27, 1908, included the following description:

TRADE DOLLAR 1884 Brilliant Proof. Of excessive rarity, and its existence appears to have been entirely unknown to collectors until quite recently. From the best obtainable information there were not over 10 specimens struck, and 5 of these are said to have been destroyed. If this is correct, there are only 5 left and hence of greater rarity than the 1804 dollar. The Mint Cabinet does not contain one of these pieces, and it has never been offered before at auction.

The consignor to Green's auction is unknown, although Q. David Bowers wrote in our (Bowers and Merena's) sale of the Eliasberg Collection that "one could speculate that out of idle curiosity Virgil M. Brand might have consigned this coin, with no intention of selling it." Regardless, and given that Brand's acquisitions from Nagy and Haseltine in 1907 and 1908 were made privately, Green's auction offering must have come as quite a shock to the wider numismatic community. Until that offering most numismatists had not been aware that 1884-dated trade dollars existed, although there had been several rumors in the mid-1880s.

Dealer and auctioneer W. Elliot Woodward, a Roxbury, Massachusetts, pharmacist who since the early 1860s was respected as one of the most knowledgeable dealers in the numismatic trade, had little respect for the Philadelphia Mint's well-known practice of distributing rarities to favored dealers in that city. In distant Roxbury, Woodward received no such offers, although at an earlier time a relative of a Mint employee made the trip to Massachusetts to offer him quantities of 1861-1863 GOD OUR TRUST pattern half dollars. This was particularly annoying to Woodward as he had a few from another source (or sources) and had been billing them as rare in his catalogs.

Concerning the 1884 trade dollar, in his catalog of the Twining Collection, April 27, 1886, lot 1053, Woodward noted this:

"1884 Brilliant Proof Set. Trade dollar, neglected. None yet issued to favorite collectors, and none yet offered by the regular Mint peddlers."

More on the subject appeared in Woodward's catalog for his 94th Sale, August 16-19, 1887, lot 1123:

"1884 Splendid Proof Set. Standard Dollar. No trade yet issued, or at present known. Will probably come out at the convenience of the Mint authorities."

Years later in 1906, by which time Woodward was no longer on the scene (having passed away in 1892), Edgar H. Adams was as close to the field of rarities as anyone in numismatics. A writer for the New York Sun, Adams spent much of his spare time researching rare coins including federal and private gold issues and patterns. In The Numismatist, December 1906, an unsigned three-page article, probably by Adams (it reflects his style), was titled "Trade Dollars at a Premium." This comment was included: "It is said that trade dollars were coined in the year 1884, but this is disputed by expert coin collectors, although they admit the existence of specimens in copper bearing the date 1884." Although Adams acquired an 1884 (and 1885) trade dollar by 1915 (almost certainly no earlier than 1910, see below), in 1906 he was unaware of these coins' existence.

In view of scattered earlier comments such as these, at least a few numismatists were probably not surprised when in an address to ANA members gathered in convention in Philadelphia in autumn 1908, Haseltine confirmed his late father-in-law's connection to the 1884 trade dollar. As related in the October-November 1908 issue of The Numismatist:

One of the old-time dealers, and also a collector, was the late Mr. William Idler of this city at the time when Mr. Cogan was also a dealer in Philadelphia. Mr. Idler was my father-in-law and he was very reticent about his collection. He would seldom show his coins, even for sale. This was partly caused by the fear that the many pattern and experimental coins he possessed might be seized. Hence the many remarkable pieces that have been found in his collection. Some were not known prior to his death, to be in existence, including the 1884 Trade dollar and some unique United States gold pieces.

Seizing upon Haseltine's comments some numismatists assumed that Idler, through Haseltine and Nagy, was the source of all 10 1884 trade dollars, as well as the five 1885 trade dollars. (The "United States gold pieces" referred to by Haseltine are presumably two varieties of the 1877 pattern half unions.) This despite the fact that Farran Zerbe, writing in the November 1909 issue of The Numismatist, correctly connected only six of the 1884 silver trade dollars to Idler and Haseltine:

Of the 10 specimens recorded as struck, two of them have not been located; of the other eight specimens, Mr. A.M. Smith has selfishly guarded one for many years; another collector, unnamed, did likewise, and six were the property of one man [presumably, William K. Idler was intended]. Not many months ago these six came into possession of Captain John W. Haseltine, and then, for the first time, it was a published fact, with the coin in evidence, that 1884 trade dollars existed.

Zerbe was incorrect in his conclusion that only 10 Proof 1884 trade dollars had been struck. We also now know that A.M. Smith's specimen was in copper.

Regarding the other four 1884 trade dollars originally acquired by Superintendent Snowden, they appeared in the numismatic market later, and were marketed as part of two-coin sets along with an example of the 1885 trade dollar (i.e., not as part of silver Proof sets in the manner of the Idler-Haseltine coins). The earliest mention of these two-coin sets came in an article in the January 1912 edition of The Numismatist in which it was reported that Judson Brenner owned examples of both the 1884 and 1885 trade dollars. Two of these sets were owned by H.O. Granberg, one of which was offered for sale through B. Max Mehl in 1913 and the other which appeared in Grunberg's display at the 1914 ANS Exhibition. The fourth set appeared in an advertisement in the March 1915 issue of The Numismatist, offered by Edgar H. Adams. Although this is speculation, it seems likely that these four 1884 trade dollars remained in Snowden's possession until 1910, when they were acquired by William H. Woodin as partial compensation for the return of the two 1877 pattern half unions to the Mint Collection. Brenner, Granberg and Adams all had close ties to Woodin, and the first public appearances for each of these two-coin trade dollar sets during the four-year period from 1912 to 1915 argues strongly for them coming into Woodbin's possession in 1910.

The following roster of known specimens of the 1884 trade dollar is updated from Q. David Bowers' standard 1993 reference Silver Dollars and Trade Dollars of the United States: A Complete Encyclopedia, with corrections and additions obtained from the PCGS CoinFacts website and research presented in Heritage's August 2019 ANA Signature Auction. The grades are either those currently assigned by PCGS or NGC or, for the single uncertified specimen, an estimated grade based on historic market appearances. In most instances it is no longer possible to ascertain which were the six 1884 trade dollars distributed through Idler-Haseltine and which four likely entered the numismatic market through William H. Woodin. Hence, we have used the terminology "unknown intermediaries" after Philadelphia Mint Superintendent A. Loudon Snowden, who acquired all 10 specimens from the cashier shortly after they were struck. This registry is confined to the 10 silver 1884 trade dollars and does not include the copper impressions.

Roster of Known Specimens of 1884 Proof Trade Dollars

1 | PCGS PR-67 | The Dunham Specimen

• 1884, Philadelphia Mint Superintendent A. Loudon Snowden
• Unknown intermediaries
• William Forrester Dunham, sold with his collection to the following in 1939
• 1939, B. Max Mehl (into his inventory, although few people knew this)
• June 1941, B. Max Mehl's mail bid sale of the William Forrester Dunham Collection, Lot 1150
• Floyd T. Starr
• Starr estate
• October 1992, Our (Stack's) sale of the Floyd T. Starr Collection, Lot 844
• Jay Parrino (trading as "The Mint")
• October 2000, Ira & Larry Goldberg's California Sale, Lot 1784
• Jay Parrino
• November 2003, Heritage's New York Signature, Lot 8312
• Jay Parrino

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2 | NGC PR-66 | The Eliasberg Specimen

• 1884, Philadelphia Mint Superintendent A. Loudon Snowden
• 1910, William H. Woodin, 1910
• H.O. Granberg, exhibited at the 1914 ANS Exhibition as part of a full set of trade dollars
• July 1919, B. Max Mehl's sale of the H.O. Granberg Collection, Lot 128
• Virgil Brand, journal number 92357
• September 1, 1942, Armin Brand
• Unknown intermediaries, possibly Stack's in 1942
• Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr.
• April 1997, Our (Bowers and Merena's) sale of the Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection, Lot 2353
• Spectrum Numismatics
• Legend Collection
• Private collection
• January 2019, Heritage's FUN Signature Auction, Lot 4552

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3 | PCGS PR-65 | The Adlphe Manjou Specimen

• 1884, Philadelphia Mint Superintendent A. Loudon Snowden
• Unknown intermediaries
• Clinton Hester
• June 1950, Numismatic Gallery's Adolphe Menjou Collection sale, Lot 2040
• Benjamin Stack (Imperial Coin Company), advertised an 1884 trade dollar in The Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine, March 1955, along with an 1885 trade dollar
• W.G. Baldenhofer
• November 1955, Our (Stack's) Farish-Baldenhofer Sale, Lot 1039
• Ben Koenig
• December 1960, Our (Stack's) Fairbanks Collection Sale, Lot 698
• May 1963, Our (Stack's) Samuel W. Wolfson Collection Sale, Part II, Lot 1541
• Dan Messer
• Jack Clauson and Joel Rettew
• November 1976, Quality Sales Corporation's (Abner Kreisberg and Jerry Cohen) Carlson-Shipley Sale, Lot 426
• Danny Arnold
• September 1984, Our (Bowers and Merena's) Danny Arnold and Romisa Collections sale, Lot 2342
• John N. Rowe, III
• L.R. French, Jr.
• January 1989, Our (Stack's) sale of the L.R. French, Jr. Collection, Lot 201
• Anthony Terranova
• Larry Whitlow
• Denver Coin Company
• Jay Parrino ("The Mint")
• October 2000, Superior's Pre-Long Beach Sale, Lot 3576
• Legend Collection
• Jack Lee estate
• November 2005, Heritage's Dallas, TX Signature Auction, Lot 2281
• Private collection
• John Albanese
• Private collection
• January 2014, Heritage's FUN Signature Auction, Lot 5311

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4 | PCGS PR-64+ Cameo | The Amon G. Carter Specimen

• 1884, Philadelphia Mint Superintendent A. Loudon Snowden
• 1910, William H. Woodin
• Edgar H. Adams, advertised in the March 1915 issue of The Numismatist
• Waldo C. Newcomer, exhibited at the 1916 ANS Exhibition
• 1931B. Max Mehl, on consignment but not sold
• May 1935, Consigned from the Newcomer Collection to J.C. Morgenthau & Co.'s 348th Sale, Lot 431
• "Colonel" E.H.R. Green
• 1943, Burdette G. Johnson
• June 1945, B. Max Mehl's mail bid sale of the Jack V. Roe Collection, Lot 627
• Possibly Percy A. Smith, who displayed a complete set of United States silver and trade dollars at the Third Annual Convention of the Oregon Numismatic Society and the Seattle Coin Club on May 5, 1946, per the July 1946 issue of The Numismatist, presumably consigned to the following
• May 1950, B. Max Mehl's Golden Jubilee Sale, Lot 896
• Amon Gamaliel Carter, Sr.
• Amon G. Carter, Jr.
• January 1984, Our (Stack's) sale of the Amon G. Carter, Jr. Family Collection, Lot 440
• March 19, 2020 Our sale of the E. Horatio Morgan Collection, Lot 3215

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5 | PCGS PR-64 Cameo | The Atwater-Neil Specimen

• 1884, Philadelphia Mint Superintendent A. Loudon Snowden
• Unknown intermediaries
• June 1946, B. Max Mehl's sale of the William Cutler Atwater Collection, Lot 377
• June 1947, B. Max Mehl's sale of the Will W. Neil Collection, Lot 296
• March 1959, Our (Stack's) sale of the Robert C. Pelletreau Collection, Lot 1054
• Jerry Cohen
• Unknown intermediaries
• Julian Leidman, Mike Brownlee and Hugh Sconyers, exhibited at Stack's bourse table at the 1974 ANA Convention, and sold immediately thereafter to the following, along with an 1885 trade dollar
• James Halperin
• December 1974 and February 1975, New England Rare Coin Galleries' Fixed Price Lists
• November 1975, New England Rare Coin Auctions' 31st Annual New England Numismatic Association Convention Sale, Lot 639
• Mulford B. Simons, Jr.
• April 20, 1985, Larry Hanks' (Hanks and Associates) sale of April 20, 1985, Lot 351
• Unknown intermediaries
• August 1989, RARCOA's session of Auction '89, Lot 327
• Jay Parrino
• August 1990, Superior's session of Auction '90, Lot 1163
• Jay Parrino
• May 29, 1991, Superior's Sale, Lot 987
• May 2003, Our (Stack's) sale of the L.K. Rudolf Collection, Lot 2174
• May 2004, Our (Bowers and Merena's) Rarities Sale, Lot 328
• Private collection
• August 2006, Our (American Numismatic Rarities') Old West and Franklinton Collections sale, Lot 855

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6 | NGC PR-64 | The Rettew Specimen

• 1884, Philadelphia Mint Superintendent A. Loudon Snowden
• Unknown intermediaries
• Late 1940s, Private collection, late 1940s, and consigned to the following as part of an assembled 1884 Proof set
• August 1976, Our (Stack's) ANA Sale, Lot 723
• Joel D. Rettew
• Midwestern medical doctor
• March 1996, Heritage's Early Spring ANA Sale, Lot 6513
• Mid-American Rare Coins (Jeff Garrett)
• Richmond Collection
• November 2004, David Lawrence's sale of the Richmond Collection, Part II, Lot 1568

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7 | PCGS PR-63+ Cameo | The Sprinkle Specimen

• 1884, Philadelphia Mint Superintendent A. Loudon Snowden
• Unknown intermediaries
• "Colonel" E.H.R. Green
• Burdette G. Johnson
• James Kelly
• June 24, 1944, Frank F. Sprinkle
• June 1988, Our (Stack's) sale of the Frank F. Sprinkle Collection, Lot 106
• Larry Whitlow
• Dana Linett
• October 1988, Early American Numismatics Newport Beach Sale, San Diego Show, Lot 461
• August 1990, RARCOA's session of Auction '90, Lot 845
• Mark Chrans
• March 2002, Our (Stack's) ANA National Money Show Sale, Lot 795
• Private collection
• Kevin Lipton
• Legend Numismatics
• Private collection
• January 2003, Our (Bowers and Merena's) Rarities Sale, Lot 569

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8 | PCGS PR-63 | The Farouk-Norweb Specimen

• 1884, Philadelphia Mint Superintendent A. Loudon Snowden
• Unknown intermediaries
• King Farouk of Egypt
• February 1954, Sotheby's sale of the Palace Collections of Egypt, Lot 1679
• Ambassador and Mrs. R. Henry Norweb
• March 1988, Our (Bowers and Merena's) sale of the Norweb Collection, Part II, Lot 1847
• American Coin Portfolios (Dan Drykerman)
• Private New York collection
• March 20, 1992,Bowers and Merena Galleries, privately
• March 23, 1992, Q. David Bowers (personal collection)
• Summit Rare Coins (Chris Napolitano)
• Morris Silverman
• April 2002, Heritage's sale of the Morris Silverman Collection, Lot 4131
• U.S. Coins (Kenny Duncan)
• Private Nevada Collection
• Pinnacle Rarities
• Private collection
• January 2017, Heritage's FUN Signature Auction, Lot 5735
• August 2019, Heritage's sale of the Poulos Family Collection, Lot 3778

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9 | PR-63 | The RARCOA Specimen

• 1884, Philadelphia Mint Superintendent A. Loudon Snowden
• Unknown intermediaries
• Chicago estate, possibly Virgil Brand
• RARCOA (Ed Milas)
• World-Wide Coins (John Hamrick)
• Steve Ivy
• Robert Marks Collection
• 1972, Our (Bowers and Ruddy's) Rare Coin Review No. 15
• February 1974, Our (Bowers and Ruddy's) Herstal Sale, Lot 734
• Donald Apte and Mulford B. Simons
• Mulford B. Simons
• Private Southern collection

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10 | PCGS PR-50 | The Olsen Specimen

• 1884, Philadelphia Mint Superintendent A. Loudon Snowden
• Unknown intermediaries
• Fred Olsen
• November 1944, B. Max Mehl's mail bid sale of the Fred Olsen Collection, Lot 997
• George Sealy Ewalt
• November 1965, Our (Stack's) sale of the George Sealy Ewalt Collection, Lot 42
• Calvert L. Emmons, M.D.
• September 1969, Our (Stack's) sale of the Dr. Calvert L. Emmons Collection, Lot 814
• Private collection
• Western Numismatics (Jan Bronson)
• August 1980, Steve Ivy's ANA Sale, Lot 2643
• July 1984, RARCOA's session of Auction '84, Lot 1809
• Fred L. Fredericks
• February 1987, Superior's L.W. Hoffecker Collection sale, Lot 1446A
• Eugene Worrell
• September 1993, Superior's sale of the Worrell Collection, Lot 1324
• February 2000, Ira & Larry Goldberg's sale of the Dr. Jon Kardatzke Collection, Part I, Lot 1470

There are a number of early appearances of 1884 trade dollars at auction and in other numismatic sources that cannot be conclusively matched to the 10 known specimens, as follows:

• As related above, William K. Nagy obtained six of the 10 Proof 1884 trade dollars from Superintendent Snowden, which coins were inherited by his son in law John W. Haseltine upon Nagy's death in 1901.
• Also as related above, Virgil Brand purchased a total of four 1884 trade dollars from Stephen K. Nagy or John W. Haseltine in 1907 and 1908 (Brand journal numbers 39133, 44965, 45343 and 45344). One of these coins passed to Brand's brother Armin in 1938, who sold the coin to B. Max Mehl in 1940, via Burdette G. Johnson.
• Ex Ben Green's 44th Sale, November 1908, lot 74.
• The aforementioned specimen owned by Judson Brenner as part of a complete set of trade dollars mentioned in the January 1912 issue of The Numismatist. Brenner presumably acquired this coin from William H. Woodin.
• Ex B. Max Mehl's sale of the H.O. Granberg Collection, July 1913, lot 391; B. Max Mehl's B.W. Smith Sale, May 1915, lot 749; unknown intermediaries, possibly including Fred Joy; B. Max Mehl, advertised in the November 1925 issue of The Numismatist. This may be the same coin that Mehl exhibited at the 1913 ANA Convention.
• "Colonel" E.H.R. Green owned two additional specimens, for a total of four, one of which he sold to Burdette G. Johnson on May 15, 1944, and which was subsequently offered by the Celina Coin Company in the June 1944 issue of The Numismatist, as part of a complete trade dollar set.
• A Dr. Corbin exhibited a specimen at the February 1936 Westchester County Coin Club gathering.
• Leonard Kusterer of Scott Stamp and Coin Company purchased an example over the counter circa 1936-1937 as part of a complete (assembled) 1884 Proof set. This could be an earlier appearance of the Rettew Specimen, which was offered in our (Stack's) ANA Sale of August 1976 as part of an assembled 1884 Proof set.
• James Kelly offered a specimen in an (assembled) 1884 Proof set in the October 1939 issue of The Numismatist. The set was formed by an Iowa numismatist who collected between 1870 and 1907.
• Ex Horace Grant, July 1946, lot 212.
• Per Wayne Burt, New Hampshire coin dealer Melvin E. Crane offered an 1884 trade dollar at an ANA Convention during the 1960s.
• Abe Kosoff recalled two specimens sold to Sidney Olsen during the 1960s.

The example to the left was sold by Stack's Bowers Galleries in the March 2020 Auction, where it realized $552,000.