1900 Lafayette Memorial Silver Dollar

Although commemorative coins were never intended to circulate, many non-numismatists (who made up the bulk of the initial buyers of the Lafayette issue) often enjoyed polishing their treasures or using them as pocket pieces. The large, heavy dollars easily acquired contact marks and abrasions and frequently suffered abuse from actual wear, as the coins’ low collector value caused many to enter the channels of commerce. As a result, relatively few choice examples survive: most specimens encountered will range from AU to the lower levels of Mint State. Such pieces will often appear dull and lackluster. Higher grade examples, particularly MS-65 and above, are especially elusive. Truly uncirculated specimens will exhibit bright to dull satiny surfaces, although some semi-prooflike pieces do exist. Evidence of wear first appears on Washington's cheekbone and on Lafayette's lower curls. On the reverse, check the highest points of the design—the boot, thigh and rear leg of the horse. These areas often come weakly struck and are prone to bag marks, cuts and abrasions. Forgeries exist: known counterfeits have grainy surfaces and exhibit raised spikes or tooling marks above the words STATES and THE in the inscription. Check also for similar tooling marks on the reverse, below the letter “L” of Lafayette.

Today, in marked contrast to when it was issued, the Lafayette dollar is actively sought by type collectors, dollar collectors and of course, those assembling sets of U.S. commemorative coins. As the first commemorative dollar, the first officially issued coin to depict a former President, and the first coin to show the same person (Lafayette) on both sides, the Lafayette dollar will always hold a unique place in numismatics