Lot 891
1876. NGC graded Proof 65. Beautiful blue and golden toning on both sides. Only 1,150 struck. The color is so vivid that its iridescence spreads across both sides and can be spotted even by a casual observer from across the room! Boldly struck for the date, certainly much finer than the business strikes this year, and worthy of strong bidder consideration. Pop 17; 8 finer at NGC.
Note: Especially bold strike, even for an 1870s Proof, which tends to be right up there with the finest. It has been said that US Proof coins were struck on the Mint's hand-operated screw press until the year 1880. In that year, the mint switched to using its hydraulic press for medals and other large format items. The screw press gave Proof-quality planchets a especially strong "squeeze" from the dies, unlike the sharp slam that the steam-driven (and later, electric motor-operated) high speed coining presses used to make circulation strike coins.
Estimated Value $2,600 - 2,800.
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| Realized $4,935 |
