To mark the 230th anniversary of the 1794 Flowing Hair dollar, the first dollar coin issued by the United States, the U.S. Mint is offering a 24-karat gold coin and a silver medal. The obverse and reverse designs are true replicas of the original dollar, re-sculpted by Mint medallic artists. The Mint will make the 230th Anniversary Flowing Hair Gold Coin in a proof finish and the 230th Anniversary Flowing Hair Silver Medal in an uncirculated finish.
Congress established the U.S. Mint with the passage of the Coinage Act of 1792. Our new nation adopted the dollar as the standard money unit based on the popularity of the Spanish milled dollar, which circulated heavily in the colonies due to its consistent metal content. The Coinage Act regulated coinage by specifying coin contents and denominations. The act also directed that coins have an “impression emblematic of liberty,” the inscription “LIBERTY,” and the year of coinage on the obverse side. The reverse of silver coins, such as the dollar, should have a representation of an eagle and the inscription, “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.”
In 1794, the Mint’s first chief engraver, Robert Scot, started designs for the silver dollar coin. The obverse featured a depiction of liberty with flowing hair on the obverse, similar to the Mint’s first coin, the 1793 Flowing Hair cent. An eagle surrounded by a wreath was approved for the reverse. Scot then engraved dies for the designs to conduct a trial strike on copper. After that strike, he updated the obverse to include 15 stars surrounding Liberty. The first silver dollars were struck on October 15, 1794. The Mint made only 1,758 silver dollars for the year 1794. Production increased the next year after the Philadelphia Mint installed a larger coin press.