Lot 1109
1873. NGC graded Proof 66 Red & Brown. CAC Approved. Very close to full red. Even color with hardly any imperfections. Housed in an Old Style Holder. Only 1,100 struck. The Closed 3 date style is used on the early dies of 1873 made prior to Chief Coiner A.L. Snowden's complaint on January 18th regarding the similarities of the look of the date to 1878. All Proofs this year are of the closed 3 style. The reported mintage of 1,100 seems to be in line with the rarity of examples seen in the marketplace. This is an almost impossible coin to locate in gem full red condition. This is due to the sloppy die preparation, which produced coins that do not seem to excite very often. Pop 19; none finer at NGC.
Historic Note: During the 19th century, the federal government in Washington, D.C. was generally happy to do favors for Wall Street financiers. Railroad tycoons, who often used their railroads as vehicles of extravagant speculation, enjoyed subsidies, tax exemptions, loans, and a whole smorgasbord of financial fringe benefits supplied by pliable congressmen and senators (not to mention armadas of state and local officials).
The Crédit Mobilier was a joint-stock company organized in 1863 and reorganized in 1867 to build the Union Pacific Railroad. It was involved in such a scandal in 1872 in which high government officials were accused of accepting bribes. The firm finally blew up in the credit collapse and ensuing Panic of 1873. (The Enron or Bear Stearns of its day.)
Football anecdote 1873: Andrew Dickson White, President of Cornell University, refused to allow his college's football squad to travel to Cleveland in 1873 for a game against Michigan. Said President White: "I will not permit 30 men to travel 400 mi. to agitate a bag of wind." Estimated Value $1,400 - 1,500
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| Realized $2,070 |
