United States
1 Dollar (Lafayette)
United States · Silver
The coin
The story
The Lafayette Dollar: the coin struck in 1899, dated 1900
In December 1899 the U.S. Mint struck 50,000 silver dollars in a single day — and stamped every one of them with the wrong year. The Lafayette dollar was a deliberate gamble: the first commemorative dollar the country ever made, the first U.S. coin to carry a president's likeness, and a diplomatic gift aimed straight at Paris.
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