FLOAT
Obverse of the 1794 Flowing Hair silver dollar in the Smithsonian's National Numismatic Collection. The FLOAT constituent is priced on the Cardinal-Morelan specimen; the pictured coin is the Smithsonian's example of the same issue.
National Numismatic Collection, Smithsonian Institution

1794 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar

Maker
U.S. Mint (Philadelphia)
Year
1794
Rank
2 of 100

1794 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar

1794 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar by U.S. Mint (Philadelphia) (1794) is ranked 2 in the FLOAT 100 for Coins. It sold for $10,016,875 on 24 January 2013. The first U.S. silver dollar and the first coin ever to break $10 million at auction; a foundational American rarity.

What is it, and why is it in the FLOAT 100?

The first U.S. silver dollar and the first coin ever to break $10 million at auction; a foundational American rarity.

$1 silver, Flowing Hair, silver plug, PCGS SP66 (Cardinal-Morelan specimen, believed first US silver dollar struck)

What is the best-sourced number for it?

Figure
$10,016,875
Kind
Realized at auction
Date
24 January 2013

Stack's Bowers Galleries, New York Americana Sale, Jan 24 2013. PCGS SP66 (Cardinal-Morelan specimen) realized $10,016,875 to Legend Numismatics — first coin to exceed $10M.

This is a realized sale. Somebody paid it. Source.

How this is made

The figure
One reference price, taken from a named public source and shown with its own kind. FLOAT does not average it with anything or adjust it for time.
Realized or not
A realized price is a completed sale. A market asking price and a price-guide value are not sales, and are labeled as such wherever they appear.
Why no grade ladder
Most FLOAT 100 entries are individual objects. There is one of this, so there is no population and no spread across grades to show.
Archive
2026-08-08