 Collectors first became aware of the existence of the 1804 dollar in 1842 , when a pantograph reproduction of one specimen was featured in A Manual of Gold and Silver Coins of All Nations , a work authored by Mint employees Jacob R. Eckfeldt and William DuBois . The first private collector to obtain an example was Matthew A. Stickney , who acquired the coin from the Mint on May 9 , 1843 , by trading certain rare coins from his collection , including a unique early United States Immune Columbia coin struck in gold . Interest in coin collecting and the 1804 dollars began increasing , and by 1860 , the dollars saw extensive coverage by numismatists . In 1885 , auctioneer W.E. Woodward described the 1804 dollar as " the king of coins " , a moniker which it maintains today . Numismatic historian Q. David Bowers asserts that the 1804 dollar has attracted more attention than any other coin . All fifteen extant specimens are acknowledged and studied by numismatists . They are identified by nicknames based on prominent owners , or the first individuals known to have possessed the coins . 
