1804 Class II Proof

The Class II 1804 dollar is unique. A single specimen exists, and it has never been in private hands. It resides permanently in the Smithsonian Institution's National Numismatic Collection in Washington, D.C.

The coin was struck over an 1857 Swiss Shooting Thaler from the Bern Shooting Festival, and faint details of the host coin remain visible beneath the 1804-dated overtype. The Class II is distinguished from Class I and Class III by its plain (smooth) edge; Class I coins have lettered edges applied at the time of striking, and Class III coins have lettered edges applied after striking. The Class II received no edge lettering at all.

Production is attributed to Mint employee Theodore Eckfeldt, working around 1858-1859. Evidence suggests he struck a small batch of 10 to 15 pieces, but Mint Director James Ross Snowden tracked down and destroyed all but this single specimen when the clandestine striking was discovered. The surviving coin was retained in the Mint's own cabinet, which is why it eventually passed to the Smithsonian. The Class II uses the same obverse die as Class I (originally made in 1834) but a different reverse die from Class III.

Because the Class II will never be sold, it has no auction record and no meaningful market value. It is, in practical terms, priceless: a one-of-one coin held in perpetuity by the national collection. Its existence documents a moment of illicit Mint production that Snowden nearly succeeded in erasing entirely.