Lot 2582
1874. NGC graded Proof 67. Lovely multicolor toning on both sides. Only 700 minted. This is a incredibly beautiful, radiant Superb Gem. Hands down, both sides being iridescent toned to where viewers will be gasping for breath. Frosty, cameo-contrasting luster on the devices complements the mirrors surrounding. Judged from an aesthetic standpoint, the coin is also possessed of a much finer strike than is typically found for an 1874 Trade Dollar.
Bowers instructs us, when referring to the scarcity of the 1874 Proof issue: "Typically, on January 1st of the following year a small supply of Proofs was in inventory. Sometimes these were wholesaled to Philadelphia and New York dealers for face value. However, on January 9, 1875, 175 unsold Proofs were released for face value and, presumably, went to coin dealers. Some, possibly all, 1874 Proofs have bold, wide rims.
"Apparently, most were sold as part of 1874 silver Proof sets, and deliveries by months match other silver Proof coins of the year.
"Although 700 may have been distributed to numismatists, the rate of retaining them was not high, and today hundreds of pieces have been lost. These pieces were simply spent for face value, as was also the case for many 1873 Proofs-accounting for the impaired Proofs occasionally seen today. On the numismatic market the 1874 Proof is very undervalued. Bruce Amspacher commented as follows: "The rarest of the non-clandestine [i.e., 1884 and 1885] issues in gem condition. Most known specimens are heavily impaired."
Bowers goes on in his silver dollar encyclopedia to suggest: "In my opinion, the two rarest Proofs of the 1873-1883 era are the 1873 and 1874, with the former being the slightly rarer of the two." Pop 2; none finer at NGC.
Estimated Value $14,000 - 15,000.
|
| |
| Unsold |
