Handwritten letter from John A. Nexsen to Lyman H. Low, dated August 19, 1905, regarding the Spier specimen of the 1804 silver dollar. Extremely Fine.Single sheet, two-sided. Approximately 5x8 inches. Written on Nexsen’s letterhead bearing his Brooklyn address at the top, in blue. The letter reads as follows:<em><p><p>Dear Mr. Low: <p><p>Thanks for your information regarding the Dexter Dollar—You need have no doubts about the Spiers dollar. I have a press impression of it and know that it is not altered, but is from the die. Several years ago a personal friend of mine visited San Francisco and at my request examined the piece and told me it showed copper at one place on its surface—I wrote to the Superintendent of the Mint for a definitive description of it—the following is his reply—<p><p> ‘From close inspection of the 1804 dollar I should say it carries a combination of copper and tin, the latter largely predominating.’—<p><p>I call your attention to my recent article in the April number of the Journal, in which I state my opinion that this is a trial piece in base metal, and probably the first impression from the die.— <p><p>Cordially Yours, <p><p>John A. Nexsen.</em><p><p>According to Q. David Bowers, Nexsen, a collector in his own right, “seems to have been the first truly <em>careful</em> student of the 1804 silver dollar.” He published a listing of 10 known specimens in the April 1887 edition of the <em>American Journal of Numismatics</em> which included the Spier specimen. He published articles on the dollars again in 1893, 1894 and in 1905 (the latter referenced in this letter). In his later writings, he no longer included the coin amongst the 10 known, but based on this letter, he still believed it to have been of mint origin, and struck, though this has long since been discounted. Also included are two letters from Ken Bressett to John J. Ford, Jr. relating to this letter and the electrotype 1804 dollars. (Total: 3 letters)From the D. Brent Pogue Library. Earlier ex John J. Ford, Jr.; Stacks-George Frederick Kolbe sale of the John J. Ford, Jr. Reference Library, Part I, June 2004, lot 728.
