Lot 1687
1871. NGC graded MS-68. Lovely golden toning on both sides. A wonderful coin. Brilliant with three-dimensional warm luster--no doubt not any different from the day it was struck. Bold detail is seen at the center of the obverse and reverse. The luster is rich and deep. The coin has as much "life" and "dazzle" as any gold dollar we have ever seen.
The low mintage of 3,900 pieces suggests a rarity at the starting gate. From that figure, possibly as few as 300 examples exist today in various grades. Mint States have been well represented in the literature, even more than circulated pieces, but it has been our feeling that superb pieces, as here, are very rare. Most have some element of Prooflike surface, as does the present example, and in the days before certified grading some of these were no doubt mislabeled "Proof."
It is a general rule that circulation strikes of this year are somewhat lightly struck at the centers, but that isn’t the case here; they seem to have been produced during a single press run (delivered on February 15, 1871). For the gold dollar specialist the present MS68 is a beacon.Pop 3; none finer at NGC (PCGS # 7571) .
Estimated Value $11,000 - 13,000.
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| Realized $13,225 |
