Lot 1733
1860-S $20 Liberty. AU-55. Scarce in this state of preservation, with just a hint of wear and nearly full luster throughout. There is a minor planchet drift mark across Liberty's face, these were likely caused during the rolling process when the huge mint rollers were greased in order the force through the ingots time after time until they reached the proper thickness for planchets. The rollers were not unlike the old wringers used to wring out clothing. As gold was brought into the various mints for refining and coining, it was first melted and refined to the proper purity, then cast into ingots. The ingots were then rolled out between huge steel rollers until they reached the correct thickness, then the planchets were cut out for coining. With the immense crush of gold flowing through the San Francisco Mint, it stands to reason that quality control may have dropped a bit as the people and machinery were pushed to their limits.
This particular coin is probably in the top 50 survivors of the date, so it deserves a strong premium over common dates in this grade.
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| Realized $4,140 |
