1901 Silver Lesher Dollar HK-793, Goodell & Bassett

Coin Details

Description

Cataloged as HK-793, this Lesher Referendum Dollar represents one of the most remarkable private monetary experiments in American numismatic history — a Colorado mining man putting his free silver beliefs into tangible metallic form. With an estimated mintage of 50 pieces, this variety is rare. Lesher's private coinage operated in a legal gray area regarding the federal government's monopoly on currency issuance. According to his 1914 interview with Farran Zerbe (1871-1949), the legendary ANA figure, government agents seized the dies used for the initial and Bumstead types. However, the American Numismatic Society collection, donated by Zerbe himself (including 2 obverse dies, 1 reverse die, 2 punches, and 3 bed plates), complicates the seizure narrative. Zerbe published his account in the American Journal of Numismatics in 1917, and Lesher estimated his total production at 3,000 to 3,500 pieces. Sam Cohen, originally a Victor jeweler, later became a prominent New York attorney and authored the book 'Gold Rush De Luxe' in 1940, with only about 50 of his Lesher Dollars produced. The first type, struck from dies cut by Frank Hurd of Denver, consisted of 100 octagonal pieces weighing one troy ounce (480 grains) of .950 fine silver with a face value of $1.25. The scheme attracted support from A.B. Bumstead, a Victor grocer, for whom a second, more elaborate octagonal type was produced featuring a mining scene designed by Herman Otto, a Denver artist, with approximately 700 pieces manufactured. A brief round 'Bank Type' experiment (about 10 die trials) was quickly abandoned, and in 1901 Lesher produced a smaller (32mm), lighter (412.5 grains) octagonal imprint type at $1.00 face value with approximately 800 pieces across nine merchant varieties. The HK numbering system groups so-called dollars broadly by type: exposition and commemorative pieces in the lower numbers, with monetary, miscellaneous, and later additions in higher ranges. Lettered suffixes (a, b, c, d) typically indicate variant compositions or die states of the same basic design, while entries above HK-900 include pieces added in later catalog supplements.

Rarity Notes

Lesher Referendum Dollars are rare across all varieties, with total mintage estimated at only a few hundred pieces per type. The Goodell & Bassett variety is rare, with only a small number of known examples. These pieces are highly prized by collectors of both so-called dollars and Western Americana.

Cross References

HK-793; PCGS #643509