1838 Gobrecht Silver Dollar. Name Removed. Judd-84 Restrike, Pollock-93. Rarity-5. Silver. Reeded Edge. Die Alignment III. Proof. AU Details--Repaired (PCGS). Here is a somewhat more affordable, yet overall sharply defined 1838 Gobrecht dollar, the rarest date in this challenging series. The PCGS qualifier primarily concerns smoothing in the right obverse field, carried out to lessen the visual effects of a series of pin scratches in that area that are still discernible with a loupe. Both sides are also muted in appearance beneath bold retoning in a blend of olive-charcoal and pinkish-silver. Striking detail remains nearly full, perhaps the most desirable physical attribute of this key date Gobrecht dollar rarity.<p>For the collector assembling a complete date set of Gobrecht dollars, the 1838 will likely prove to be the most challenging to acquire. While traditional numismatic wisdom states that a small number of originals were struck that year in Die Alignment I, modern scholarship has discounted this theory. In fact, no Die Alignment I examples of this date are known to exist. The website <em>gobrechtdollars.com</em> contains the most in-depth and up-to-date scholarship on this series, the authors of which (Craig Sholley, Saul Teichman and John W. Dannreuther) have confirmed that only two original 1838 Gobrecht dollars are known: the Mint Cabinet-Smithsonian Institution specimen in Die Alignment IV and the Eliasberg-ANS coin in Die Alignment III. Exactly when those coins were struck is not known, but it was sometime after July 1838.<p>Obviously, original 1838 Gobrecht dollars were exceedingly rare in their time, and it is likely that they were unknown outside of a small circle of Mint and other government officials. With the growth of numismatics in the United States during the late 1850s, demand for rare early issues soon reached a level where the Mint saw an opportunity to provide such coins to collectors for its own benefit. Indeed, the earliest restrikes of the 1838 Gobrecht dollar were made ca. June 1859 to 1863, most of which were used by Mint Director James Ross Snowden to trade for Washingtoniana for the Mint Cabinet. These are the Early State Restrikes, per Sholley, Teichman and Dannreuther. Two additional striking periods followed: Middle State Restrikes ca. 1867 to 1869, and Late State Restrikes ca. 1873 to 1874. The final two striking periods are attributed to Henry Richard Linderman, who served two non-consecutive terms as mint director from April 1867 to May 1869 and April 1873 to December 1878. The Linderman era is widely known for having spawned large numbers of restrikes, novodels, so-called patterns and fantasy pieces that were made expressly for distribution to collectors.<p>The 1838 Gobrecht dollar offered here dates to Lindermans second tenure as mint director. It is a Late State Restrike, both dies extensively polished. The left base of Libertys rock support is the best diagnostic for this die state, as polishing has not only separated it from the ribbon end, but has virtually effaced its top with only a couple of dots as remnants.<p> From the Lincoln Square Collection.
