The Dollar Before the Dollar

For bargain collectors, the earliest years of coinage from a young United States Mint appear to be an absolute wasteland and nightmare. Virtually any U.S. coin minted before the year 1800 is expensive, even in rather worn grades. The earliest silver dollars are especially expensive, not only because of collectors’ love of them, but also because they were made in such small numbers in the first place. With this tough start, it might be hard to believe that there could be any large silver from around that time that would in any way qualify as a bargain.