1836 Gobrecht Dollar, Name on Base, Circ. Issue

The US Mint halted silver dollar production in 1804 due to low demand and heavy melting losses overseas. In 1836, another try at coining the nation’s primary silver monetary unit unfolded with the design of Christian Gobrecht.

The very first 1836 dollars off the press situated Gobrecht’s name prominently in the field of the coin just below the base of Liberty. Responding to sharp criticism in a newspaper opinion piece, the name was relocated less noticeably to a spot at the bottom of the base.

In December 1836, a group of 400 Gobrecht Dollars were coined on proof planchets and distributed to numerous dignitaries, including President Andrew Jackson. Later the same month, another 600 were struck and most of them turned over to the Bank of the United States, with the full intention of being released into circulation, despite their proof condition

Gobrecht’s Seated Liberty theme was soon thereafter adopted for all US silver coinage, where it remained until 1891.

All Gobrecht Dollars are extremely rare, including the 1836 circulation issue. Even advanced collectors of high means must have patience while searching for an available example of this interesting and historically significant type.