1900 Lesher Dollar - HK-788, A.B. Bumstead Type 1

Coin Details

Auction Record

MS65 NGC • 01-2022 • Heritage FUN Signature Auction

Description

The 1900 Lesher Dollar HK-788, designated the A.B. Bumstead Type 1, marks the first partnership between Joseph Lesher and a local merchant for distributing his Referendum Souvenir Dollars. After finding personal sales cumbersome, Lesher partnered with A.B. Bumstead, a grocer in Victor, Colorado, who agreed to sell the pieces and accept them as change at his store. Bumstead distributed approximately 700 pieces total, and remarkably, only three were ever returned for redemption — an extraordinary acceptance rate that validated Lesher's vision of voluntary private silver currency. This type introduces the elaborate mining scene obverse designed and engraved by Herman Otto of Denver, who replaced Frank Hurd as die maker for all subsequent Lesher Dollar issues. Otto's design depicts a sunrise over Pikes Peak with a trestle, gold mill, and a miner pushing a cart emerging from a mine shaft — imagery drawn directly from the Cripple Creek mining district surrounding Victor. "A.B. BUMSTEAD" is stamped onto the obverse. The reverse features the Colorado State Seal with scrolls at the sides and a line above "Colo." — distinguishing this as the "First Reverse" variety from the slightly modified Second Reverse (HK-789). Each piece carries a hand-punched serial number and contains one full troy ounce (480 grains) of .950 fine silver at the $1.25 face value. The Bumstead Type 1 represents approximately 210 pieces of the total Bumstead distribution, making it less common than the Type 2 variety that followed.

Rarity Notes

R-5. Approximately 210 struck, with an estimated 31-75 surviving examples. Distinguished from Type 2 by the First Reverse with scrolls and line above "Colo."

Cross References

HK-788; Zerbe-2 (Z-2); PCGS #19001