1 Dollar British Trade Dollar (1895–1935)

One row for each year the 1 Dollar British Trade Dollar was struck. Prices are medians of verified sold listings matched to that year from the listing: circulated is worn condition up to Extremely Fine, uncirculated is About Uncirculated or better. A count in brackets means fewer than three sales behind the figure; a grey figure marked "type" is the median across every year, shown where that year has no sale of its own yet; years with no sales yet fill in as sales are recorded. Most types have been searched year by year only since October 2026, so later years are still filling in. Use the grade table below for a price by condition across all years.

About the 1895 1 Dollar British Trade Dollar

The 1895 1 Dollar British Trade Dollar is a circulating 2 shillings 4 pence coin issued from 1895 to 1935, struck in 90% silver. It weighs 26.95g and measures 39mm across. Reverse design: Chinese characters and Jawi script in ornamental flower.

Mintage figures are recorded for 23 years between 1895 and 1935, 264,428,399 coins in all. 1921 is the scarcest date, with 50,211 struck. It is no longer legal tender (withdrawn 1937), so its value is to collectors only.

Common questions

History and design

The British trade dollar was struck for British trade in the Far East, not for use at home. Wikipedia explains that Britain wanted its own dollar so that colonies such as Hong Kong and the Straits Settlements no longer depended on the foreign silver coins then circulating there. It was first struck in 1895 for both colonies, and after the Straits dollar was introduced in 1903 it served Hong Kong alone, with the last coins dated 1935.

The Royal Mint Museum records that some 270 million pieces were struck over about forty years, and that the coin seems to have met the needs of those who lobbied for it. Most were made in India. Coins marked B came from the Bombay Mint and those marked C from Calcutta, while the few with no mint mark were struck in London. Output varied widely: CoinVarieties, quoting the Standard Catalog of World Coins, gives 37,471,000 for 1911 B but only 363,000 for 1900 C and 648,847 for 1904 B.

The coin was designed by George William de Saulles. His Britannia stands on the shore holding a trident and a British shield, with a merchant ship under full sail behind her. There is no portrait of the monarch, so the same design ran unchanged through the reigns of Victoria, Edward VII and George V.

The other side has an arabesque border with the Chinese character for longevity at the centre and the denomination in two scripts, Chinese and Jawi Malay. The Bombay B is placed in the middle prong of the trident and the Calcutta C on the ground between Britannia's left foot and the shield. The coin was struck in .900 silver.

Varieties and errors

Wikipedia lists a series of overdates, made when dies from an earlier year were re-dated and traces of the old date remained. Examples include 1897/6 B, 1901/0 B, 1904/3 B, 1909/8 B and 1910/00 B. Bombay also struck a small number of gold pieces dated 1895 to 1902; Coin World reports that fewer than ten of each date are thought to survive. Proofs exist for several dates.

Collecting notes

Check the mint mark first, since it decides which issue you have; a worn trident can hide the B. Wikipedia notes that the 1921 B was struck but never released, and that only limited numbers of 1934 B and 1935 B went out. The Royal Mint Museum warns that its own collection includes trials and patterns, one struck in .925 rather than .900 silver, so unusual pieces deserve close checking.