Lot 1234
1895 Morgan Dollar. NGC graded Proof 68. Nice original toning on both sides. Looks like a nice cameo coin even though this feature isn't mentioned on the NGC grade label. Definitely cameo frost on the devices. Only 880 Proofs struck for this Proof-only date.
Rarest of the rare in the Morgan series, considered by all to be the King of the Morgan Dollars and for obvious reasons, so few Proofs were minted and it is from these few that tens of thousands of collectors, if not hundreds of thousands, must compete with one another for ownership of the small floating supply on the market at any one time.
The coin is, quite simply, a spectacular gem. As can be seen in the photographs, it has acquired in its 114-odd years of existence lovely original iridescent shades of color, deeply saturated color. No doubt this is one of the rare few which were kept in the original tissue wrapper from the Mint.
Where later Proof coins sold by the Philadelphia Mint are packaged in either cellophane (1930s-1950s) or flat-pack plastic by the mint, all pre-1916 coinage was sent to its recipients in simple jeweler's tissue paper. The tissue paper has a small amount of sulfur content. And it is this sulfur which imparts the marvelous colors you see on a few gem Proofs, like this glittering 1895.
Faithful to every detail from a full blow by the dies, the hair is crystal clear down to the tiniest hair strand at the brow and along Liberty's neck; this does not excludes the key curls above the ear, with only two of them appearing as though fused together. Furthermore, in this full blow by the dies, the viewer is presented with a finely detailed eagle, proud and assured, with full-featured wings outstretched and a feather-covered chest projecting sharply from the central part of this side of the design. The main design features are nicely frosted. The coin's near perfection speaks for itself: grading Proof 68, is housed in NGC holder 1743100-014 and will forever remind us just how spectacular these early Morgan dollars were in Proof condition "back in the day" as the American expression goes. Let the current market price be your starting point for bidding. As seems inevitable whenever a great rarity like a Superb Gem Proof 1895 Morgan dollar changes hands, the interest and value only intensifies, year after year. Pop 3; none finer at NGC. (PCGS # 7330) .
Of historic note: With the circulation strikes either figments of the imagination or (if 12,000 pieces were actually made) lost forever in the mass meltings after World War I, the Proof 1895 Silver Dollar has become one of the roadblocks to collectors to assembling the extremely popular Morgan Dollar series. As has been observed by many before us, most of the survivors are prejudiced in one form or another through mishandling and/or crude attempts at cleaning. Gems are therefore rare and highly sought after.
Estimated Value $90,000 - 100,000.
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