Lot 1744
1883 Trade Dollar. PCGS graded Proof 66. Lovely blue and gold toning. For the date, a frosted relief, mirror-deep blue toned gem with deep reflectiveness on both sides. Attractively struck as well, with just outstanding crisp detail on Liberty and the eagle, as well as all of the stars and letters in the legends. Proof only year: 979 coins struck. Pop 12; 4 in 67. (PCGS # 7063) .
Read what America's premier coin curmudgeon, Walter Breen, had to say about how Trade Dollars got foisted upon the naive public:
"The issue of this coin was an expensive mistake -- its motivation mere greed, its design a triumph of dullness, its domestic circulation and legal-tender status a disastrous provision of law leading only to ghastly abuses, its repudiation a source of hardship for Pennsylvania coal miners and other laborers held in virtual peonage by company stores, its recall a long overdue but very mixed blessing, and its collection a source of decades of frustration."
Now seeing this marvel of an 1883 Proof, collectors might take umbrage at Breen's commentary, but there is a grain of truth in his assertian that the circulation strikes at any rate caused no end of woe to the businessmen and workers of the late 19th century.
Estimated Value $8,000 - 10,000.
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| Realized $11,500 |
