Lot 1695
1860 Trompeter. PCGS graded Proof 64. A splendid early Proof quarter eagle which has remained the proud possession of the individual who bought it from Ed Trompeter's astounding collection back in February 1992, where it appeared as Lot 40.
The mintage was a mere 112 coins, yet even fewer (by a far measure) have survived and turned up for third-party grading. NGC reports 10 graded, 63 to 66. PCGS reports only 4, one 65 and three 64s. That will change, because this coin was in the same NGC PR64 holder from 1992 until recently, when the owner wished it to cross over to PCGS, which it has, with the same designation. It was never resubmitted, just crossed over. Readily identifiable by the strike-through or "pit mark" on the denomination (see the Trompeter cataloguer's remarks).
This coin is a real beauty, gleaming with reflectivity and wonderful bright yellow color. The strike is splendid, and the devices exhibit the two-tone cameo effect that helps make these pieces so special and so desirable. Formerly from the Garrett Collection before Trompeter.
Just to keep this coin in historical perspective, you might recall that in 1860 the Pony Express had its brief run, carrying the mail between St Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California--and died out as quickly as it was born, when the transcontinental telegraph was completed. And … between May and November of this year, 1860, Abraham Lincoln achieved nomination and was elected sixteenth President of the United States--which, within months of the coining of this little Proof, would no longer be united. These were desperate times. No wonder so few delicate, golden Proofs survived.
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| Realized $22,425 |
