Lot 995
1881. NGC graded Proof 66. Fully white with a cameo effect. Only 960 struck. A vibrant and smooth-as-glass surface makes this Gem Proof 1881 Trade Dollar a lustrous coin indeed. It has a distinct transition from smooth reflection in the field to the sharp almost satin-like devices that rise majestically from the surface. The contact from the dies is complete, as one might expect. Proof Trade Dollars, like most all US Proof coins struck in the 19th century, were made using a special coinage press. By 1881, according to sources, the Mint had them made on a hydraulic press used to strike Mint medals. To strike Proof collector coins on it, each planchet was given two blows by the dies. (In everyday production coins, by contrast, the coins were struck on the steam-operated (and later, electric-motor) high-speed coining presses. They received only one blow from the dies. This means there is sharp detail everywhere on this 1881 Proof, as evidenced by complete stars and full features on Liberty, the crisp square-topped lettering in the reverse legends, as well as needle-point accuracy in the eagle’s talons, feathers, and eye and beak. Today, Gem Proof 66 examples are quite scarce. The surfaces testify to careful preservation, showing no indications of mishandling of any kind. Pop 19; 8 finer in 67.
Note: By the later-1870s, it became evident to everyone except congressmen that America's Trade Dollar experiment was a dismal failure. Many of these non-monetized coins remained at home instead of circulating as trade coins in the Orient, which had been their primary purpose. This caused untold grief to workers and small businessmen. Speculators could buy them up in quantity at 85 cents apiece and sell them to payroll departments in major companies, which put them in the employees’ pay envelopes at "full value" of $1! Eventually, the wheels of congress began turning: after 1878, only Proofs were struck, exclusively for collectors. And finally, in 1887, long after the last Proof 1883 was shipped to its collector-buyer, our "Coconuts on the Hill" (as H. L. Mencken called these erstwhile DC. gentlemen) put an end to the experiment.
Estimated Value $8,500 - 9,000.
|
| |
| Unsold |
