Lot 4439
1879 $5 Liberty. PCGS graded Proof 65 Cameo PQ. CAC Approved. PCGS serial #12805091. A blazing untoned gem. Only 30 proofs struck. Proof gold coins from the Civil War decade through to the 1880s and beyond have uniformly low survival ratios. Of course, all are rare since they were minted in small numbers. 1879 is an example of this, one of those rare dates everybody talks about but no one seems to remember seeing for sale. It isn't exactly on a par with 1877 and 1878, however the 1879 is we think is as elusive if not more so. From the original mintage, and it is a reliable guess that as of 2008 possibly as few as 10 or a dozen individual specimens exist. A resplendent Gem Cameo Proof, this is the finest PCGS graded example, with no others in its category. The surfaces have sleek bright color and are deeply mirrored with a full quotient of frost over the Liberty head and eagle as well as on top of the stars and letters. This noticeable cameo frost, when combined with the depth of mirrors on each side, leaves vivid impression on the mind of the collector. Examination with a loupe shows only a smattering of very light hairlines, none are major enough to deserve mention. Gem quality of this caliber is important in a 19th century gold coin, contributing to that emotion of thoughts which supply the vigor in bidders to "go for the gold" to borrow a phrase familiar to most of us. Pop 1; None finer at PCGS. Just recently added to the PCGS Proof Population Report. (PCGS # 88474) .
Estimated Value $45,000 - 50,000.
Ohringer Family Trust Holdings.
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| Realized $60,375 |
