CLASSIC COIN: EXTRAORDINARY FIND

NGC® Certifies Rare and Historic 1794 Dollar

In September 2021, ANA member Dan Shemwell purchased what appeared to be a 1794 Flowing Hair dollar from Indiana dealer Randy Ramsey. Both were unsure whether it was an authentic piece or an altered 1795 coin, so following the advice of ANA Numismatic Educator Sam Gelberd, Shemwell submitted the specimen for grading. 

Professional Coin Grading Service deemed it “unverifiable,” but Numismatic Guaranty Company certified it as “Date Engraved” and valued it at $50,000. “When I found out it was genuine, I was hit with excited validation and the sobering weight of history represented in each of the remaining pieces,” says Shemwell. “I feel like a diligent caretaker of history.”

The 1794 Flowing Hair dollar is the U.S. Mint’s first silver coin of this denomination. Shemwell’s remarkable find adds one more to the number of surviving pieces (estimated to be 150 or fewer) from the net mintage of 1,758.