Flowing Hair Dollar

The Flowing Hair Dollar holds a special place in American numismatics as the first dollar coin ever struck by the newly established United States Mint. Only two years were issued, 1794 and 1795, before the design was replaced by the Draped Bust type.

The 1794 date in particular is extraordinarily rare and historically significant as the very first silver dollar produced by the U.S. Mint, making surviving examples among the most desirable and valuable coins in all of American numismatics.

The U.S. Mint, established under the Coinage Act of 1792, began striking its first silver dollars in October 1794 at its facility in Philadelphia. Due to limitations in the coining press and metal supply, only a small number of dollars, roughly 1,758 coins, were struck in 1794 before the press was deemed inadequate for the larger dollar-sized planchets, and many of these early strikes reportedly showed weak or uneven detail.

Production resumed and expanded significantly in 1795, still using the Flowing Hair design before it was replaced later that year by the Draped Bust design, which continued (with the eagle reverse changing from small to heraldic) through 1804. The Flowing Hair design, attributed to Mint engraver Robert Scot, established visual conventions used on early American coinage more broadly.

The obverse shows Liberty in profile with loose, flowing hair, surrounded by stars (typically eight to the left, seven to the right) and the word "LIBERTY" above, with the date below. The reverse depicts a small, delicate eagle perched within a wreath, encircled by "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA."

The coin measures approximately 39-40 mm in diameter and carries a lettered edge reading "HUNDRED CENTS ONE DOLLAR OR UNIT." The 1794 issue is distinguished from the more available 1795 by its date and by generally weaker striking on many surviving examples, a byproduct of the young Mint's equipment limitations; some detail on the highest points of Liberty's hair and the eagle's breast can be soft even on well-preserved coins.

The 1794 Flowing Hair Dollar is one of the most valuable coins in American numismatics due to its status as the first silver dollar struck by the U.S. Mint and its extremely limited surviving population; a specimen believed to be the finest known sold at auction for over $10 million in 2013. Even lower-grade, well-worn examples of the 1794 typically command prices well into six figures or more.

The more common 1795 Flowing Hair Dollar is considerably more affordable, though still a genuinely scarce and desirable early American coin, with prices ranging from the low thousands for heavily worn examples to much higher figures for well-preserved pieces. As with other 18th-century coinage, authentication and careful grading are especially important given the coin's value and the existence of counterfeits and altered dates.