Lot 1107
1872. PCGS graded Proof 64 Red. Medium mirrors. Bright gold color. Very tough date. Small planchet defect by the lower hair curl. Housed in an Old Green Holder. Pop 38; 16 finer, 10 in 65, 6 in 66. (PCGS # 2305)
The Great Epizootic of 1872. (Sounds like a chapter out of a Frank Baum "Wizard of Oz" novel!). Called the "Great Epizootic", an outbreak of equine influenza in 1872 caused the whole transport system of the Midwest, the South, the East Coast and even as far away as Cuba and Mexico, to grind to a halt for weeks on end. The number of sick horses approached 100% and mortality rates ranged between 1% and 10%. Many horses were unable to stand in their stalls and those who could stand coughed violently and were too weak to pull loads.
Every aspect of American transportation was affected by it. Locomotives came to a halt as coal could not be delivered by horse drawn wagons to power them, while fires in many major cities raged unchecked due to lack of mobility of the horse drawn fire trucks. One fire in Boston destroyed over 700 buildings in 1872. Even the United States Army Cavalry was reduced to fighting the Apaches on foot, who likewise found their mounts too sick to do battle. The outbreak forced men to pull wagons by hand, while trains and ships full of cargo sat unloaded, tram cars stood idle and deliveries of basic community essentials were no longer being made. The affect this disease had on the US economy should not be understated. Estimated Value $800 - 900
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| Realized $1,495 |
