1795 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar. BB-18, B-7. Rarity-3 (for the variety). Three Leaves. Silver Plug. EF-45 (PCGS). This is an attractive example of a Flowing Hair silver dollar with the desirable silver plug in the center. Evenly toned in warm pewter-gray, the plug is readily evident on the obverse, toned to a sightly variegated golden-gray shade. This feature is barely visible on the reverse, although the center on that side does reveal some speckled olive-russet toning. Faint remnants of frosty luster are discernible, as are pale powder blue and antique gold undertones. Boldly defined throughout and quite smooth in hand, accuracy compels us to mention a touch of glossiness to the texture that is minimally distracting. Visually appealing and of great historic and numismatic significance, this coin is sure to have no difficulty finding its way into another advanced early dollar set.<p>This intriguing piece owes its existence to the difficulties faced by the early United States Mint producing high quality planchets at the correct weight and fineness. In 1795, dollars and other silver coins were made only at the specific denomination requests of bullion depositors. Metal was refined, strips rolled out, and planchets made at the Mint, often slightly overweight so that they could be trimmed by filing. If an attempt had been made to achieve precise weight, a generous portion would have been underweight and would have had to be corrected. As it was, some were indeed underweight, as here. Mint employees used the silver plugging technique as a means of bringing underweight planchets up to standard. This process was not without precedent, having been used in other world mints at that time. This experiment was first noted on 1795 Flowing Hair silver dollars (publicized after research conducted by Kenneth W. Bressett, Q. David Bowers and Roger W. Burdette), and that denomination appears to have been the primary target of the practice. Indeed, most silver plug U.S. Mint coins are silver dollars, although with former PCGS President Don Willis accounting for only 50 or so examples, such coins are obviously very rare in an absolute sense. While the majority are 1795 Flowing Hair dollars, as here, the unique 1794 silver dollar with a silver plug (the celebrated Carter-Contursi-Cardinal specimen) points to an earlier attempt.<p>Of the 19 known die marriages of the 1795 Flowing Hair dollar, only six have yielded examples with a silver plug: BB-11, BB-13, BB-14, BB-18, BB-19, and BB-21. The BB-18 attribution is rated as Rarity-5 with a silver plug. PCGS# 6854. NGC ID: 24WZ. From the Legacy Collection. Earlier from Heritages CSNS Signature Auction of April 2014, lot 5614.
