The Draped Bust dollar is a United States dollar coin minted from 1795 to 1803, and again throughout the 19th century. The design succeeded the Flowing Hair dollar, which began mintage in 1794 and was the first silver dollar struck by the United States Mint. The designer is unknown, though the distinction is usually credited to artist Gilbert Stuart. The model is also unknown, though Ann Willing Bingham has been suggested.
In October 1795, newly appointed Mint Director Elias Boudinot
ordered that the legal fineness of .892 (89.2%) silver be used for the
dollar rather than the unauthorized fineness of .900 (90%) silver that
had been used since the denomination was first minted in 1794. Due
largely to a decrease in the amount silver deposited at the Philadelphia
Mint, coinage of silver dollars declined throughout the end of the
18th century. In 1804, coinage of silver dollars was halted, and
officially ended in 1806 by order of Secretary of State James Madison.
In 1834, silver dollar production was temporarily restarted to supply a diplomatic mission to Asia with a special set of proof coins.
Officials mistakenly believed that dollars had last been minted with
the date 1804, prompting them to use that date rather than the date in
which the coins were actually struck. A limited number of 1804 dollars
were struck by the Mint in later years, and they remain rare and
valuable.
