Although the United States had been circulating coins before the opening of the mint in 1792, the first official United States silver coinage was minted in 1794. Silver continued to be used in our nations coins for the next 175 years. In 1794, the United States minted the first silver coin designs; the Flowing Hair Half Dime, Flowing Hair Half Dollar and the Flowing Hair Dollar. For the first 43 years of minting silver coins, silver coins were .89243 fine silver, in purity. In 1837 the fineness was raised to an even 0.900 fine silver.
The United States enjoyed several design changes throughout this period. The Flowing Hair design was struck for just two years. The designer is unknown but the engraver was Robert Scot. The Draped Bust design was next. This design is known for its rarity and is very popular and sought after by collectors. The Draped Bust Dime was the first time a dime was minted in the United States. There are many different varieties of draped bust dimes, in fact 31 different varieties! This design lasted on silver coins until 1807 when a new design, the Capped Bust was introduced. The Capped Bust designer was German born John Reich. President Thomas Jefferson recommended John Reich as the Mint Engraver, although he was awarded the title of second engraver he revised all of Robert Scot’s early designs.
Designer Christian Gobrecht created the next silver coins for the United States Mint, the Liberty Seated series. This design features Lady Liberty seated and holding a shield and can be seen in half dimes, dimes, quarters, half dollars and dollars. During this time the California Gold Rush and the Civil War limited coins from being struck and entering circulation. The ratio to gold vs. silver was sill set at 15:1 so this raise in prices urged people to keep their coins as bullion and sell them to overseas investors.
In our next entry we will explore the changes in the seated liberty series that were a result of economics, politics, and the discoveries of gold and silver in the American west.