THE SILVER DOLLARS OF CHRISTIAN GOBRECHT
In 1836 the accomplished engraver Christian Gobrecht (1785-1844) received a considerable honor when mint director Robert Patterson requested that he prepare new dies for the United States silver dollar. Though this large coin was, at this early stage in the development of American coinage, an infrequently used denomination, its continued production and artistic merit were considered matters of national prestige.
From a drawing of a seated goddess by Thomas Sully and another of an eagle in flight by Titian Peale, Gobrecht produced entirely original dies for the silver Dollar of 1836. His obverse (lot 1533) was simple and effective; a dignified Liberty sits in an otherwise uncluttered obverse field. The reverse shows Peale's eagle climbing upwards in a starry sky with the name of the nation and denomination in clear, bold lettering around. This version of Gobrecht's Dollar is neither the rarest or most valuable but it is the one that most clearly reflects the engraver's artistic vision. One should bear this in mind when considering the much reduced and tampered-with Seated Liberty denominations of the succeeding half century.
After early controversy over the placement of the engraver's signature (eventually placed unobtrusively on Liberty's statue base), a total of 1618 "original" Gobrecht Dollars were produced in three varieties. Lot 1533 represents the "commonest" of these with one thousand pieces struck. Twenty-five were made in 1838 and another 300 in 1839. Already the original concept had been abandoned; the twenty-six stars were removed from the reverse and thirteen applied to the obverse. Gobrecht was instructed to remove his name from the dies. When production ceased in 1839, less than two thousand pieces had been manufactured and released into circulation.
The succeeding decades saw the beginning of serious coins collecting in the United States. Gobrecht's silver Dollars, though of comparatively recent manufacture, were rare and much sought after. Just before the Civil War and a long time after the engraver's death, mint personnel discovered the four obverse and two reverse dies produced by Gobrecht in the 1830's. A restriking program was initiated in order to satisfy the demands of collectors (also possibly in order to enrich the mint employees involved). In their haste, those responsible for this activity, took little care to match Gobrecht's obverse and reverse dies correctly, creating ten new varieties in the process (see lots 1534 and 1535). Their most fundamental error was a misreading of Gobrecht's reverse design which resulted in all of the new coins showing the eagle flying horizontally rather than climbing skywards.
Nevertheless, these restrikes reflect Gobrecht's artistic achievement far more closely than the common silver Dollars of the 1840's and 50's which omit the flying eagle altogether and on which Liberty was subjected to a series of unfortunate "improvements" by the engraver Robert Hughes. It is sad to reflect that Gobrecht witnessed the artistic mutilation of his little-known masterpiece and the distribution of its disfigured replacement by the million. It is also worth noting that, just like the 1804 Dollar and a number of other great American rarities, many of the Gobrecht Dollars offered today are "impostors"; later strikings made to satisfy the demands of collectors rather than to meet the monetary needs of the United States.
Gobrecht Dollar, 1836, original striking, name on base, starry reverse, plain edge (Breen, Encyclopedia 5412; Judd 60), a few hairlines, otherwise an attractive, toned Proof, 1000 pieces struck
Price realised USD 7,700
Estimate
USD 5,000 – USD 7,000
Estimates do not reflect the final hammer price and do not include buyer's premium, and applicable taxes or artist's resale right. Please see Section D of the Conditions of Sale for full details.
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Gobrecht Dollar, 1836, original striking, name on base, starry reverse, plain edge (Breen, Encyclopedia 5412; Judd 60), a few hairlines, otherwise an attractive, toned Proof, 1000 pieces struck
Price realised USD 7,700
Price realised USD 7,700