Lot 2062
1875 Twenty Cents. PCGS graded Proof 65 PQ, CAC Verified. Lovely gold and light blue natural toning on both sides. A wonderful coin that should grade a point or so higher. 2,790 Proofs struck. On this coin, the surfaces seem to dance from side to side with boiling silvery color projecting through the toning in places, and quite lustrous. Sometimes on Proof twenty-cent pieces, the devices that were left by the dies' departure are short of the precision one expects due to weak die pressure, but we find the opposite to be the case with this 1875 Proof, everything is finely detailed, incredibly so. This includes the centers of the stars, the lines in the shield, and the plumage on the eagle.
Although "double dismes of standard silver" had been proposed in a bill introduced into the Senate by a Mr. Tracey in 1803, there apparently had not been sufficient demand for this denomination to justify its adoption. By the early 1870s, however, agitation for such a coin arose in the western states, where a shortage of five cent pieces caused difficulty in making proper change. It was also a matter of marketing more silver to a captive buyer, the U.S. Treasury. In the Western states, when a quarter dollar was tendered in payment for a ten cent purchase, the buyer would be forced to accept a dime in change.
As a result, Pattern twenty cent pieces were prepared in 1874 and 1875, with this attractive design the result. The denomination would last a few years only before it was abolished. The Proofs of 1875 are highly prized, especially in Gem condition. A coin like this will eliminate all second-guessing. It is graded accurately and, we feel, the final hammer price when it sells will justify any stretching by bidders that is necessary to acquire it. Pop 33; 12 finer; 11 in 66; 1 in 67. (PCGS # 5303) .
Estimated Value $7,000 - 8,000.
|
| |
| Realized $10,350 |
