In the 1880s, China refused to accept any foreign silver coins except old-style Mexican pesos. In response, the United States Treasury Department authorized the nation’s first-ever Trade Dollar. Issued from 1873-1885, this silver coin was 1.8 percent heavier than regular U.S. silver dollars and finally gave American importers something that equaled the Mexican peso. Legal tender until 1876, thereafter it was only coined for trade purposes. When first coined, they were legal tender in the U.S. to the extant of $5, but with the decline in price of silver bullion, Congress repealed the legal tender provision in 1876 and authorized the Treasury Department to limit coinage to export demand.

Designed by Mint Engraver Charles Barber, the obverse features the figure of Liberty, facing left, is seated on a bale of cotton with her right hand holding an olive sprig toward the open sea. To her back stands a sheaf of wheat, and in her left hand she holds a scroll inscribed with the word LIBERTY. The coin’s reverse shows an eagle with inverted wings. It holds three arrows in its right talon and an olive branch in its left.

Many of the trade dollars that saw circulation in the Orient were usually counterstamped with Oriental characters or "chop marks" by Asian merchants to verify their silver content. Different merchants had different stamps and for some rabid collectors, acquiring a set of U.S. Trade Dollars with all the unique chop marks has become a life-long passion. In this special two-piece set, you can get both a chop-marked Trade Dollar and an unmarked specimen. Together, they form a collection of lasting importance and historical significance.