One of the rarest American coins, the 1804 Adams-Carter silver dollar named for two previous owners of the coin, brought $2.3 million at a Heritage Galleries auction last week. Because of the recession, the coin sold for a half-million dollars less than it would have brought last year, according to the New Jersey dealer who bought it. The 15 known 1804 silver dollars were not struck that year. The first eight were made in 1834 as gifts to foreign heads of state. Another was struck in 1857, and six more were made later--perhaps illegally by a U.S. Mint employee.Email comment from C.G. about the Siam jewelry mentioned in the April 15 and 22 Kovels Komments: "Siamese jewelry has been made since the 1930s. It comes in at least 12 different colors." Now we're wondering if anyone can prove when Siam jewelry was first made. We have seen the 1930s, '40s, and '60s given as the decade when the jewelry was introduced. We know it was available in the 1960s.
