US Trade Dollar with and without Chop Marks (Fakes are possible) 1873 to 1885

US Trade Dollar with and without Chop Marks (Fakes are possible) 1873 to 1885

These coins are United States trade dollars issued between 1873 and 1885. Trade dollars were issued by the US government for use outside the country, where local coinage was unavailable or unreliable. These coins can carry no mint mark, S mint marks, and CC mint marks, and the CC mint marks are the most valuable. There are also plenty of counterfeit trade dollars (see below). Fakes are worth zero.

You see damaged traded dollars a lot; the un-damaged ones are much more valuable. Damage includes cleaning, spots, stains, nicks, gouges, and any result of destructive processes inflicted after leaving the mint, with one exception: chop marks. Trade dollars used in Asia often show chop marks. These are small, punched-in marks in the coin put there by merchants. A chop mark means roughly 'I, the merchant, accept this coin at full value and give it my seal of approval. You can use this coin in my shop anytime.' In my opinion chop marks add plenty of interest to already interesting coins.

This page presents approximate catalog values for US Trade dollars in three steps: (1) coins without mint mark and and coins with S mint marks, (2) coins with CC mint mark, and (3) coins with chop marks. Look for a mint mark below the eagle on the reverse. Be sure you understand what 'catalog' means. It is a weasel word, as explained on the Terminology page.

TRADE DOLLARS BEFORE 1879 NO MINT MARK OR S MINT MARK:
worn: $120
average circulated: $160
well preserved: $250
fully uncirculated: $1000

TRADE DOLLARS AFTER 1878 NO MINT MARK:
worn: $500
average circulated: $800
well preserved: $1000
fully uncirculated: $3000

TRADE DOLLARS WITH CC MINT MARK:
worn: $220
average circulated: $400
well preserved: $700
fully uncirculated: $3000

TRADE DOLLARS WITH NICE-LOOKING CHOP MARKS NO MINT MARK OR S MINT MARK:
worn: chops add no value
average circulated: chops add no value
well preserved: add $50
fully uncirculated: add $200

TRADE DOLLARS WITH NICE-LOOKING CHOP MARKS CC MINT MARK:
worn: chops add no value
average circulated: add $50
well preserved: add $150
fully uncirculated: add $350

These are approximate catalog values. Be sure you understand how to interpret them by looking at our Terminology page.


The main give-away on the fake trade dollar above is the ill-formed lettering on the reverse. Not all fakes are as easily detected.

Coin: 1048, Genre: United States, Timeline: World
Created (yyyymm): 200907, Last review: 201903
Appearance: Normal round coin Metallic gray Letters: Latin
Years: sort: 1873, filter: 1873 to 1885
Image: us_trade_dollar.jpg

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