Lot 111
  • 111

Silver Dollar, 1895, NGC Proof 66 CAC (Gold)

Estimate
70,000 - 100,000 USD
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Description

  • silver
A stunning example which is as deeply and fully struck as could be desired. Although not designated cameo by NGC, it does exhibit some distinct cameo characteristics. The surfaces of the coin are virtually unmarred, and perhaps deserving of a higher grade as indicated by the gold CAC sticker. The only ‘flaws’ that are discernable are mint caused. The most ‘obvious’ (under ten power magnification) being: minuscule lint marks below the second U of PLURIBUS and to the right of the 5’s upper serif and Liberty’s lower curl; on the reverse, there is a mint caused inclusion above the O in GOD and miniscule lamination below the e in We; and there is a small horizontal depression through the eagle’s right leg (again, mint caused). There is a blue to champagne toning halo on both sides, but most noticeable on the reverse. Struck from obverse die 2 as described in J.P. Martin’s '1895 Proof Dollar Die Study' with the filled 9 it corresponds to Walter Breen’s B-1. An extraordinary example.

Catalogue Note

THE ONLY 1895 PROOF DOLLAR CERTIFIED AS CAC GOLD.

The 1895 proof dollar is, without doubt, the most famous date in the Morgan dollar series. It is listed in Garrett and Guth’s, 100 Greatest U.S. Coins (Number 30), and has long been hailed as the ‘King of Morgan dollars.’ Although mint records seem to indicate that 12,000 were struck for circulation, none have ever surfaced, and the total mintage of proofs was only 880. As a proof-only issue, it is not included in the registry sets of either NGC or PCGS for a ‘basic’ set, but perhaps it should, for without its presence no such set could be truly complete. It is the perfect date to illustrate the prevalence of seemingly endless resubmissions of individual coins to the third-party grading services, for of the 880 struck, the current combined total of NGC and PCGS submissions of the date is 933.

Certificate number: 319821-001 (NGC 5 holder). NGC certification verification cites twenty comparably graded submissions, and sixty-five finer (Proof 68+ the finest). This is the only 1895 silver dollar to be certified CAC Gold (a total of only twelve Proof Morgan dollars [all dates] have been so-designated). (02-18)