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<p>[QUOTE="Hobo, post: 481011, member: 11521"]Lesher Dollars fall under the category of tokens and were minted in 1900 and 1901 in Victor, Colorado. (Victor and Cripple Creek were the center of gold mining activity in the Pikes Peak region a century ago.)</p><p> </p><p>Joseph Lesher came to Colorado after the Civil War to work as a miner. Lesher ended up owning a silver mine in Central City (west of Denver). In the early 1890s Colorado was producing 60% of the country's silver. </p><p> </p><p>The Sherman Silver Purchase Act, signed into law in 1890 by President Benjamin Harrison, stated the US government would purchase 4.5 million ounces of silver each month at prevailing prices. Instead of helping western silver mines the Act actually caused a collapse in the price of silver and led to the Panic of 1893. The Sherman Silver Purchase Act was repealed in 1893. With the US government no longer buying 4.5 million ounces of silver every month many silver mines across Colorado shut down (including Lesher's mine). </p><p> </p><p>Lesher moved to Victor (gold had been discovered in Cripple Creek in 1890) and made a fortune in real estate. Silver coins were in short supply in the West during this era. Hoping to create a demand for silver coins (and thereby help his silver mine) Lesher decided to mint his own silver coins to be used in lieu of US coins. After a visit by agents from the government Lesher changed his plans somewhat. Instead of making coins he would make "Referendum Souvenir Medals" that would be octagonal in shape and could not be confused with a US coin. These became known as 'Lesher Dollars'. </p><p> </p><p>In all there were 6 types and 21 different varieties of Lesher Dollars. These octagonal tokens were similar in the size a silver dollar (35 mm vs. 38.1 mm) and contained 1 troy ounce of .950 silver. Silver at the time was selling for 65 cents an ounce and Lesher's minting costs were around 15 cents per token for a total cost to him of 80 cents. Lesher assigned a value of $1.25 to his tokens and sold the tokens for that price to merchants in the region. Each token was made with a participating merchant's name and a serial number. Lesher hoped his tokens would become popular and spark a demand for more silver coins - but this never happened. Lesher reported that, before suspending production in 1901, he produced a total of 3,500 tokens. Only a few hundred Lesher Dollars are known today. Today well-circulated Lesher Dollars sell for over $1,000 and mint state examples command prices of several tens of thousands of dollars. </p><p> </p><p>In November <i>The Colorado Springs Gazette</i> ran a very interesting article that raises the possibility that a hoard (or hoards) of Lesher Dollars exists awaiting discovery. The article quotes Adna Wilde - ANA Hall of Fame member, former ANA President and long-time ANA Treasurer until his death last month - who lived in Colorado Springs and was an expert on Lesher Dollars. </p><p> </p><p>You can read the article at the link below:</p><p> </p><p><a href="http://www.gazette.com/articles/lesher_43901___article.html/coins_dollars.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.gazette.com/articles/lesher_43901___article.html/coins_dollars.html" rel="nofollow">Mystery of the Lesher dollars</a></p><p> </p><p>Below is an excerpt from the article:[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Hobo, post: 481011, member: 11521"]Lesher Dollars fall under the category of tokens and were minted in 1900 and 1901 in Victor, Colorado. (Victor and Cripple Creek were the center of gold mining activity in the Pikes Peak region a century ago.) Joseph Lesher came to Colorado after the Civil War to work as a miner. Lesher ended up owning a silver mine in Central City (west of Denver). In the early 1890s Colorado was producing 60% of the country's silver. The Sherman Silver Purchase Act, signed into law in 1890 by President Benjamin Harrison, stated the US government would purchase 4.5 million ounces of silver each month at prevailing prices. Instead of helping western silver mines the Act actually caused a collapse in the price of silver and led to the Panic of 1893. The Sherman Silver Purchase Act was repealed in 1893. With the US government no longer buying 4.5 million ounces of silver every month many silver mines across Colorado shut down (including Lesher's mine). Lesher moved to Victor (gold had been discovered in Cripple Creek in 1890) and made a fortune in real estate. Silver coins were in short supply in the West during this era. Hoping to create a demand for silver coins (and thereby help his silver mine) Lesher decided to mint his own silver coins to be used in lieu of US coins. After a visit by agents from the government Lesher changed his plans somewhat. Instead of making coins he would make "Referendum Souvenir Medals" that would be octagonal in shape and could not be confused with a US coin. These became known as 'Lesher Dollars'. In all there were 6 types and 21 different varieties of Lesher Dollars. These octagonal tokens were similar in the size a silver dollar (35 mm vs. 38.1 mm) and contained 1 troy ounce of .950 silver. Silver at the time was selling for 65 cents an ounce and Lesher's minting costs were around 15 cents per token for a total cost to him of 80 cents. Lesher assigned a value of $1.25 to his tokens and sold the tokens for that price to merchants in the region. Each token was made with a participating merchant's name and a serial number. Lesher hoped his tokens would become popular and spark a demand for more silver coins - but this never happened. Lesher reported that, before suspending production in 1901, he produced a total of 3,500 tokens. Only a few hundred Lesher Dollars are known today. Today well-circulated Lesher Dollars sell for over $1,000 and mint state examples command prices of several tens of thousands of dollars. In November [I]The Colorado Springs Gazette[/I] ran a very interesting article that raises the possibility that a hoard (or hoards) of Lesher Dollars exists awaiting discovery. The article quotes Adna Wilde - ANA Hall of Fame member, former ANA President and long-time ANA Treasurer until his death last month - who lived in Colorado Springs and was an expert on Lesher Dollars. You can read the article at the link below: [URL="http://www.gazette.com/articles/lesher_43901___article.html/coins_dollars.html"]Mystery of the Lesher dollars[/URL] Below is an excerpt from the article:[/QUOTE]
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