Lot 1478
1871-S $5 Liberty. NGC graded AU-58. Mostly untoned. Scarce date. 25,000 struck. Unstoppable luster sweeps flamboyantly under the golden highlights, while a few stray marks are all that keeps this from a higher grade. We note a small indentation at Liberty's nose bridge, and another on the cheek at the lips. The strike is strong save for a limited area of lightness at the eagle's neck feathers, a common occurrence with the low-mintage S-mint half eagles struck in the 1870s. Pop 12; 1 finer in 61. (PCGS # 8324) .
1871: A Vermont tanner invented a process of tanning buffalo hide in 1871, which made it commercially usable. In 1872, the slaughter began. With government approval, marksmen and skinners moved in, and by 1878 the great southern buffalo herd, estimated at 10 million head, had been wiped out. Then the hunters moved north and slaughtered another 5 million. The hunters often moved onto Indian land. If the Indians objected and drove the hunters out, the Army would come in and destroy all of the Indians' possessions, forcing them to surrender or face the elements, without homes, horses, food, or tools. Between 1860 and 1889, the number of Great Plains buffalo was reduced from 50 million to 551. P. T. Barnum opened his circus in Brooklyn in 1871, billing it as "The Greatest Show on Earth."
Estimated Value $5,000 - 5,500.
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