Trade Dollar

About This Series

Congress authorized the trade dollar in 1873 specifically for commerce with China and other Asian markets, where Mexican silver pesos had long dominated. William Barber designed it at 420 grains, slightly heavier than a standard dollar. The coins worked fine in Asia but flooded back into US circulation during a silver glut, and Congress stripped their legal tender status in 1876. Regular strikes ended in 1878; proof-only issues continued through 1883, then secret coinages of about 10 pieces each were struck in 1884 and 1885. Those latter two dates are extraordinarily rare and hotly disputed among scholars.