Silver dollar minted in 1794 fetches almost $110,000 in Missouri auction

October 22, 2010 5:14 PM EDT

A silver dollar minted shortly after the American Revolution fetched nearly $110,000 at the October 15 Scotsman's auction in St. Charles, Missouri.

The final price for the VF-30 graded coin was $109,250; in total, the auction brought in $1,585,574 with 84.9 percent of the available lots sold.

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Known as "America's First Silver Dollar," the coin represents the foundation of the original U.S. monetary system. According to the coin's auction listing, minting of the coins began in 1794, with a net mintage of around 2,000 coins. About 250 those were scrapped for being of unacceptable quality.

Fewer than 150 examples remain today; earlier this year, Steven Contursi of Laguna Beach, California sold a 1794 silver dollar for a cool $7.85 million, the largest sum that's ever been paid for a single rare coin.

That coin fetched such a high sum because of its good condition and because it appeared to be one of the very first coins struck by the Mint, making it very nearly the first piece of official U.S. currency.

This article is contributed by United States Gold Bureau and does not represent the views or opinions of International Business Times.