The 1836 Gobrecht dollar with C. GOBRECHT F. incuse on base. Although listed as a pattern in all major reference works, these were deliberately released into circulation for commercial use and thus should not be considered patterns. In fact, Snowden in his 1860 "A Description of Ancient and Modern Coins" lists the 1836s with the regular issues. They appear to have been struck only once from highly polished dies, and are called proofs by the grading services, but the quality of their surfaces is not as mirrorlike as the obvious proof alignment III restrikes struck from cracked dies made in the 1860s and possibly later. There is much controversy surrounding the striking of these pieces which have resulted in 2 competing theories. The first, originally espoused by Walter Breen and still championed by Robert W. Julian and Craig Sholley, states that the original issue of 1836 was struck in die alignment I on 416 grain planchets containing 89.24% silver and that the second original issue of March 1837 was struck in die alignment II on 412.5 grain planchets containing 90% silver. Any other alignment is a circa 1850s or later restrike. We recommend reading their article in the July 31, 2007 edition of Numismatic News for more on this. Many numismatists saw problems with this original theory. The 3 major issues are enumerated below. 1) The majority of alignment II and IVs are more often than not found on planchets weighing nearer to the 416 grain standard than the 412.5 grain standard. This stock should have been no longer in use by mid-January 1837. 2) The percentage of alignment IVs known in circulated condition is much higher than found for other circa 1850s restrikes which were sold to collectors. 3) There are many intermediate die alignments between II and IV known to exist. Because of this, a second theory which seemed to explain these anomalies was authored by James Gray and Mike Carboneau, and published in various editions of the Gobrecht Journal. It states that any alignment II and alignment IV pieces struck from uncracked dies are originals, ie, part of the March 1837 striking run. Their theory explains the existence of both die alignment IV pieces and the intermediate alignments as being caused by one of the dies, probably the reverse die, rotating during the striking run(s) and that only the alignment III restrikes struck from the cracked state of the reverse die are 1850s or later restrikes. The July 31, 2007 article by Robert W. Julian and Craig Sholley in Numismatic News found issues with this second theory and thus the controversy. There are various reverse dentil and rim die markers noted on the Gobrecht dollars which are illustrated below, courtesy of John Dannreuther and PCGS. With regard to these markers - there are 12 displayed in the 8 images above - the dentil chip directly above the A in America is the first to appear and the rim market near the U in United is believed to be the last. The rim markings above the A & T in States were first brought to light by Robert W. Julian and Craig Sholley in their article. Although they state that, with regard to these 2 (actually 3) markers, the mark above the A appears first, John Dannreuther noted that it is actually the leftmost of the 2 marks above the T that actually appears first. Lots 5210 and 5211 in Stacks October 2007 both have just a trace of the marker above the T but nothing above the A. We show the progression of the marks at the T below. The existence or lack of these markers as well as their size appear to vary over the striking runs and thus should allow for the creation of a more complete emission sequence than mentioned by either Julian & Sholley or Carboneau & Gray. This is currently being worked on by John Dannreuther and Saul Teichman. The results seen thus far show a much more complex emission sequence which is not nearly as tidy as previously thought thus casting doubts on both theories. The alignment I example sold as lot 2091 in Heritage 4/08 sale has all 12 die markers which places it after all alignment IIs and many alignment IVs previously examined. The same also holds true for the alignment II lot 1662 in Stacks 5/08 sale which was missing only the rim marker between the pellet and U in United. Both of these are part of the Dr. Julius Korein collection now in the ANS. To view this information click on the link for Part 1 or Part 2 where a sequence is supplied at the end of the article. There is also a summary comparison of the two theories and the findings by John Dannreuther & Saul Teichman. To view, click here. It is important to note that most of these markers will wear away if the piece is heavily circulated thus they are really only of use for choice AU or better examples. Julian & Sholley have since published a second article, which appeared in the February 12, 2008 edition of Numismatic news refuting some of Dannreuther & Teichman's findings and noting the existence, since confirmed, of 2 reverse dies, one cracked as noted below which was used only on restrikes and the other which has all of the markers described earlier. This may mean that the "marked" die was unusable in 1859 thus a new one had to be made for the J58/P61. Complicating things further is an October 6, 2009 Numismatic News article by Robert Julian which states that all of the March 1837 striking was destroyed. Research on all of this continues!! To view all of these articles, click here. Only a single apparently original example from perfect dies is known struck in die alignment III. This coin, a heavily circulated VG-8 example, was recently discovered and purchased by Gobrecht dollar expert Mike Carboneau. Because of its well worn state, it is difficult to determine if it is truly an original. For more on this, click here. It is important to note that Julian and Sholley also mention a perfect die alignment III coin in their article so there could be another out there. Unquestioned restrikes are known struck in die alignment III which show cracks through "NITED STATES O" as shown below. and through the "OLLA" in "DOLLAR" as shown below. These were struck on at least two occasions. On the latter, possibly as late as the mid-1870s, the obverse die shows rust in front of Liberty's face as well as a raised die mark (rust pit?) between the left and right base of the "A" in "States". The die rust in front of Liberty's face is also visible on the copper examples of J62/P67 although it has been removed from one example. For additional information on this and all copper Gobrecht dollars, click here. At least one reeded edge example J61/P66 was struck in die alignment IV. This example, which last sold in Stacks May 2003 sale, is ex Granberg, Farouk, Schulman, Baldenhofer, Auction 89, Bowers and Merena 5/94, Stacks 5/03, Dr. Korein, ANS and weighs 414.36 grains. The piece does have all 12 of the reverse die markers and 182 reeds as shown below. Photos used are courtesy of Heritage, PCGS, John Dannreuther, Saul Teichman and the American Numismatic Society.