Lot 716
1886 Liberty Seated Quarter Dollar. NGC graded Proof 67 Cameo. Well struck and a nice white coin. As expected from the grade, this is a satiny gem with dynamic frosted relief on both sides, plus not even a whisper of toning on its white surface. Always a collectable year, the 1886 has low mintage overall (business strike and Proof), with a mere 886 Proofs issued in the Proof sets. Pop 12; 2 higher.
Just so you'll know life isn't any different in 21st century America with its Nanny government functionaries, in 1886, the year this quarter was sold, a Sheriff Hopkins entered the Yick Wo laundry in San Francisco. The sheriff had a warrant for the arrest of the owner. The warrant said he had broken the law. A San Francisco ordinance said that all laundries had to be operated in brick buildings. The Yick Wo laundry was in a wooden building, and wooden buildings were more vulnerable to fires. But there was one problem: of San Francisco's 320 laundries, 310 were in wooden buildings. Most of the laundries -- 240 of them -- were owned by Chinese residents.
Sheriff Hopkins, never one to overlook an opportunity, went on and arrested almost all the Chinese owners of laundries in wooden buildings! The Chinese launderers got together and sued the sheriff. The case was Yick Wo v. Hopkins. Law students in colleges today study that case, but most do not know that there never was a Yick Wo. Sheriff Hopkins assumed that the man who owned the Yick Wo laundry, and fought for his rights, was named Yick Wo. Actually, his name was Lee Yick. And he fought for his rights. Lee Yick'd him!
Estimated Value $5,500 - 6,000.
|
| |
| Realized $6,440 |
