The SilverTowne Vault Blog

100 Greatest U.S. Coins Series: 1801, 1802, and 1803 Proof Draped Bust Silver Dollars

Published 06/18/2026

What makes our next entry in our blog series following along with Whitman Publishing’s 100 Greatest United States Coins series is that despite their date, they were NOT struck at that time. Confusing? Really confusing, according to author Jeff Garrett in this fourth edition, but this fact also makes them extremely rare and in demand.

#80 – 1801, 1802, and 1803 Proof Draped Bust Silver Dollars

Despite their dates of 1801, 1802, and 1803, the Proof Draped Bust Dollars were not issued during those years. Garrett estimates that they were either produced around the same time as the 1804 silver dollar, which was around 1834, or they were struck around 1870. This prediction is based on the weight of the coins, which is closer to a Trade dollar (1873-1885) than it is other silver dollars produced at that time, like the Draped Bust or Liberty Seated.

Their similarity to the 1804 silver dollar (considered the King of Coins) is what gives them any merit at all. This includes a shared...read more