Eagle Poised on a Bank of Clouds: The United States Silver Dollars of 1795-1798

8/18/23 Update: Eagle Poised on a Bank of Clouds: The United States Silver Dollars of 1795-1798 was named 2023 "book of the Year" by the the Numismatic Literary Guild.

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.

Binding: Paperback
Edition: 1st
Publication Date: February 2023
Size: 8.5x11
Pages: 286