Trade dollar

The Trade dollar is an American silver coin minted by the United States Mint between 1873 and 1885, struck primarily for commerce in East Asia rather than domestic circulation. It was produced to compete with foreign silver coinage, particularly the Spanish dollar and Mexican peso, which had long formed the standard currency for trade in China. Authorised under the Coinage Act of 1873, trade dollars were struck at the Philadelphia, Carson City, and San Francisco mints, with business strikes ceasing in 1878 and proof strikes continuing until 1885.

Garnett. Domestic American dollars were lighter than Spanish and Mexican coins and widely rejected abroad. Although given legal tender status up to five dollars in the United States, large numbers of trade dollars were returned to domestic circulation by bullion producers. Because they traded below face value, the coins provoked widespread public dissatisfaction and were demonetised in 1876, though they were later re-monetised under the Coinage Act of 1965.

Designed by Chief Engraver William Barber, the coin was struck in.900 fine silver and weighed 420 grains (approximately 27.2 grams), slightly heavier than standard contemporary American silver dollars. The obverse depicts Seated Liberty facing left, while the reverse features an eagle accompanied by inscriptions stating the coin's weight and fineness, added at the insistence of Senator John Sherman. Many specimens that circulated in East Asian commerce bear stamped merchant chopmarks.

Circulated pieces frequently exhibit distinctive East Asian merchant chopmarks.