The United States Trade Dollars of 1873-1885 were issued for circulation in the Orient to compete with dollar-sized coins of other countries. It weighed 420 grains compared to 412-1/2 grains, the weight of the regular U.S. silver dollar. When first coined, they were legal tender in the U.S. to the extant of $5, but with the decline in price of silver bullion, Congress repealed the legal tender provision in 1876 and authorized the Treasury Department to limit coinage to export demand.

Many of the trade dollars — the first trade dollars in U.S. coin history — did in fact see heavy circulation in the Orient. Such pieces were usually counterstamped with Oriental characters or “chop marks” by Asian merchants to verify their silver content. Different merchants had different stamps and for some rabid collectors, acquiring a set of U.S. Trade Dollars with all the unique chop marks has become a life-long passion.

Don’t miss your chance to get one of these scarce and historic coins that gave American merchants a vital edge over the competition. Each is in Extremely Fine condition and bears the distinctive chop marks that attest to their duty overseas.