The Flowing Hair dollar of 1794–1795 holds a specific claim to history as the first dollar coin struck by the United States Mint, and the 2024 gold restrike exists entirely because of what a single original specimen sold for at auction in 2013: $10,016,875, making it the most expensive coin ever sold at that time. Congress authorized modern gold restrikes of classic designs partly to capitalize on that renewed public fascination.
The .9999 fineness is notably purer than the original's silver-copper alloy, which ran into immediate quality problems — Robert Scot's dies wore quickly, and many 1795 originals show adjustment marks from mint workers filing down planchets to meet weight standards.
The Flowing Hair dollar of 1794–1795 holds a specific claim to history as the first dollar coin struck by the United States Mint, and the 2024 gold restrike exists entirely because of what a single original specimen sold for at auction in 2013: $10,016,875, making it the most expensive coin ever sold at that time. Congress authorized modern gold restrikes of classic designs partly to capitalize on that renewed public fascination.
The .9999 fineness is notably purer than the original's silver-copper alloy, which ran into immediate quality problems — Robert Scot's dies wore quickly, and many 1795 originals show adjustment marks from mint workers filing down planchets to meet weight standards.