A rare US silver dollar auctioned for $7.68 million

Muscat: An 1804 US silver dollar was recently sold for $7.68 million at a Stack's Bower's Gallery auction.

'The silver dollar coin originally gifted to Sultan Said bin Sultan of Oman, fetched over 7 million dollars in an auction recently, mentioned Khalifa al Harthy, the Undersecretary for Diplomatic Affairs at the Foreign Ministry recently on social media.

The Class I silver dollar, which has been graded Proof-68 by Professional Coin Grading Service, was offered from the collection of the late coin connoisseur D. Brent Pogue and boasts one helluva backstory. a report in the local media.

The front of the silver dollar is emblazoned with Liberty’s bust and inscribed with the date “1804” and the word “liberty.” The back, meanwhile, features an eagle and 13 stars that represent the original colonies. It was minted at the request of President Andrew Jackson to serve as a diplomatic gift for fellow world leaders.

This particular example was struck in 1834 and presented to Said bin Sultan Al-Said, the Sultan of Muscat and Oman, one year later in 1835, according to the auction house. In its history, the rarity has graced just four private numismatic collections, including those of Charles A. Watters, Virgil M. Brand, the Child's family, and the Pogue family. It has also sold at auction only once, in 1999, when Pogue, who died in 2019 at age 54, bought the coin from the Child's family for the then-record price of $4.14 million.'

The coin, which eclipsed its original estimate of $7 million, now ranks as the second priciest silver dollar in existence.