Dollar Coins

United States Dollar coins have been minted in gold, silver, and base metal versions, with the first minted in 1794 in silver. More than a dozen different dollar coins have been minted in the United States, most of which were designed to honor an event or influential individual in the history of the United States.

 

The 1804 Silver dollar is one of the most famous and rarest dollar coins in the United States, and was actually created because of a bookkeeping error. The silver dollar coins reported as being struck in 1804 were actually dated 1803, since dies were used as long as they were still in working condition. Not realizing that thousands of coins were dated wrong, the mint proceeded to created 1804 dies. Only 15 silver dollar coins with the date of 1804 are known to exist, with one being sold at an auction in 1999 for over 4 million dollars.

 

The newest dollar coins are part of the Presidential Dollar Coin Program, which was introduced in 2005 to honor former United States Presidents. The first batch was released in 2007, which honor the presidents in the order they held office. Two coins will be dedicated to those who served two non-consecutive terms, and the program is expected to last until 2016. Under Federal law, no coin can be produced for a living president or a president who died less than two years earlier.