coin design was doomed

Trade dollar design, while heavy .420 silver content meant to compete with Spanish trade dollar, design was not accepted well by the public, & didn't go over big with collectors. Only proofs were sought after.
Can you name THE design flaws, that made this coin un-popular?
1.
2.
3.

 

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1.I thought all dollar sized coins were unpopular with the public.
2. Don't know:smile:whistle::smile
rzage

 

Let's take some stabs in the dark!
1. The price of silver plummeted, making the coins worth more face value than silver content
2. They were meant to compete with Western Powers (like Great Britain and France) who were minting large crown coins, which meant most of the coins during the first two years of production were sent overseas (and were wildly popular), making them scarce to come by
3. The asian dealers added chopmarks to check authencity, making the coin look less desirable.

 

1. They were .900 silver, not .420 (no one would have wanted that.)
[Perhaps you meant: 420 grains (27 g) of silver with a fineness of 900 (90 %), ]
2. Design flaws: really, really ugly.
3. When the price of silver dropped, they were declared not legal tender in the US. and for export only. Unscrupulous (probably misspelled) employers would use them in payroll and the workers would spend then where they were discounted in stores, usually at 80 cents on the dollar.

4. became legal tender (once agiain) in 1974 -- I believe, will check date, by Richard Nixon w/ the legalization of gold ownership. [or perhaps not, per one internet source, however, I seem to remember this.]
5. In 1887 The Treasury redeemed all trade dollars that were not mutilated, but most were chop marked.

 

It was not .420 fine silver, it was 420 grains of silver, that is a weight, not a fineness. Standard silver dollars are 412 grains, so this coin actually was a little bit heavier, and still at the .900 fine silver.

Seated and Morgan dollars weigh in at 26.73 grammes each, whilst the Trade Dollar weighs 27.22 grammes. What doomed these coins is that they were created for Asian trade, not the USA. They were only legal tender up to $5.00 in the USA until 1876, then afterwards they were all exported to Asia for use there, but they were not popular vs. the Mexican Peso etc.

 

No correct answers ...

Really good information about the Trade dollar but no correct answers to design goof-up that doomed the coin. Take a carefull look at the trade dollar, the designer made 3 critical design errors/flaws, that met public dis-like. Can you name them? no clues until you give up? :whistle:OzarkTravler

 

They -were- used to cheat people when the price of silver was advantageous.

 

Barbers design holds mysteries, was he trying to make a statement by use of his design? where did he hide this mystery/message on the coin? Keep Looking...OT

 

there are no mysteries i recommend the book founding fathers secret societies that will get rid of the myth of mysteries completely just MHO

 

No, you failed...

"beam me up scotty" no secret societies, its on the coin plain as day. Barber left a message and its hidden in his coin design on the trade $1. Look at coin care-fully, translate each symbol & tell me what they represent? Do you need a clue? :smile Ozarktravler

 

apparently I am stupid.

oh, gotta go and find the DaVinci code.

Excuse me while I slip out the back door.

 

Liberty appears to be by the water, I'm noit sure what it's supposed to indicate, but maybe that has something to do with it. Also, there appears like maybe there is wheat coming from behind Liberty, which, again, I have no clue to its meaning.

Kicks

 

How about:

1. liberty facing in the direction opposite of a standard dollar
2. the eagle facing in the direction opposite of a standard dollar
3. the public did not like the design of the eagle

Lou

 

mystery... getting close

You are the first one to actually look at the coin:hail: Yes ,she is sitting near the water ... Holding an olive branch by receding water implys, symbolicly tells the story of the flood ... NOAH Genesis 8:11 ... while claimed to be a peace symbol, and the lady was said to sit beside the sea? Too much evidence suggest otherwise, I have found another hidden symbolic message to back up this claim... a clue... Look for the s******:smile Must I connect the dots ?

A real numismatic collector should know/learn the symbolic meaning of the coin he collects, rather than just its grade & value. :smile Good Luck, OzarkTravler

 

You actually looked...

1. Yes ....United States citizens were shocked to see the american smybolic union staff/motto cap and shield removed, needless to say the direction of lady's head... Barber's trade dollar's design of the lady on cotton bale with olive branch did not represent america in any way/shape/form... had no appeal to americans.

2. Yes... barbers's trade $1 eagle was disgrace to america..the union shield that was symbolic to United States removed from breast and stupid looking eagle facing opposite direction. In no way/shape/form/ did this represent america. The fat neck, square eagle head, more resembled a draggon, rather than our prized american eagle.

3. No.... what you said was true , but another symbolic message is hidden?
LOOK AT THE COIN>>> SOLVE THE MYSTERY OF DOOM

Thanks :smile OzarkTravler

 

For my part..... I -hate- the things... First off, they are so rampantly counterfeited that even slabbed specimens can be dubious, with the recent Chinese slabbed fakes. Making them hard to collect. They have a nasty history too, used to cheat people. And they don't have a pleasing design.

 

no sir, you

NO, You need to buy the DaBarber code published by yours truly. So you give up to easily, doesn't make you a total loser. Theres still hidden symbols to be found, a chance to redeem your-self . Others have found and translated some of the symbolic mystery. Wev'e been told fairy tales by congress/mint about the coins failure. This is the only coin in history to ever have been revoked. I have broken the code, the truth will only cost you $19.95 at your favorite coin/news stand. :smile ozarktravler

 

The winner is...

in conclusion...LSM had 2 correct answers, while 2 others came close. the Trade $1 coin has an interesting, yet troubled history. The only US minted coin to ever have been revoked. >>>>>There is only one question left to answer>>>>> Barber hid in his design a serpant, its on the trade $1, can you find it? <<<<<<<
Thank you for sharing your expertise. :smile OT

 

I think I see it! Is it in the Liberty banner? The right side looks like the head, and Miss Liberty seem to have it in a tight grip. How close am I?

Kicks

 

There is only one true design error on the coin. The olive branch and arrows are in the wrong talons of the eagle. The arrows are in the eagles right talon indicating a preference for war over peace.

It indicates overseas commerce, a fitting symbol for a dollar to used for trade.

Yes wheat behind her and she sits on a cotton bale. They represent the agricultural trade goods which at the time were our major expoorts.

The design had no real influence on the publics dislike for the coin. They accepted just as well as any other silver dollar when it was first issued, possibly even preferring it since it contained more silver. The public did not turn against the coin until the value of the silve it contained began seriously dropping. That brought them flooding back into this country because they were worth more as money here than the silver value that the Asian trading partners would allow for them. But then they ran into the limited legal tender status problem. No merchant wanted to risk getting stuck with them at face value if there was a chance they would be refused if they tried to tender more than five of them at a time. So they would only accept them at a discount. (On the other hand they would gladly accept a standard silver dollar even though it had even less silver because it had an unlimited legal tender status and would not be refused.)