Lot 1234
1854-O $3 Gold. EF-40. This is the scarce weak letters, date and O mintmark variety (Breen 6349). This variety was likely caused by a mint worker who simply ground down the two dies a bit too much, hence the outer lettering on the obverse and entire reverse shows shallow device detail. Curiously, although Liberty is fairly bold, the initials JBL on the truncation show only their upper halves, the bottom of the letters have been lapped away. As dies were used, they frequently clashed or developed cracks, by carefully filing the dies down, the mints could extend their lives by reducing or removing cracks and clash marks. This is the process that created the 1937-D 3 Legged nickel, for instance. The diagnostic reverse crack through the mintmark is visible with a glass. Only 24,000 were struck of this curious denomination, and tough to find in higher grades. There are some shallow planchet flaws on the left side of the obverse, mostly in the fields, which have long, irregular shapes. These flaws are scarcely visible, even with a glass. Minor handling marks from brief circulation, and certainly a coin most collectors would be proud to own.
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| Realized $3,105 |
