About the Coin

The 1836 Gobrecht dollar is listed in the book 100 Greatest U.S. Coins by Jeff Garrett and Ron Guth.

The Gobrecht dollar is one of those storied coins that there is always some debate about whether or not it should be considered a pattern or circulation coin. Yet, debate or no debate, it seems every collector still wants one. I know I did.

There were different varieties of Gobrecht dollars struck. In 1836, a thousand Gobrecht dollars were struck with an eagle flying in a field of 26 stars on the reverse. In early 1837, 600 more were struck with the 1836 date but with the reverse being rotated in a medal alignment. Coins dated 1838 and 1839 had the stars removed from the reverse and 13 stars were added to the obverse.

Since silver dollars had not been produced since 1803 and were not reauthorized until 1840, the Gobrecht dollar is technically a pattern. But the 1,600 coins dated 1836 and 300 coins dated 1839 were released directly into circulation which is the cause of the debate.

From the late 1850s into the 1870s, restrikes were produced for collectors that were having trouble locating originals. Restrikes were made for each of the dates in both coin and medal alignments. Most restrikes were struck from a cracked reverse die.

The 1836 Gobrecht dollar in The Arlington Collection is one of the 600 struck in 1837 with an 1836 date. While looking to add a Gobrecht dollar to my collection, I found that most circulated examples have very ugly toning, usually jet black in color. Other coins with okay toning had lots of dings and deep abrasions. It seemed there were no eye-appealing circulated examples out there. So when I finally came across this example, I just had to have it. Not only does it have the beautiful gun-metal gray toning that I love, its surfaces are also free of any major dings or abrasions typical for the grade.

Designer: Christian Gobrecht
Weight: 26.73 grams
Diameter: approx. 39mm, plain edge
Composition: 90% silver, 10% copper