Lot 1281
1885 $3 Gold. Sharpness of About Uncirculated but carefully repaired, cleaned and retoned. This is an extremely deceptive coin. The devices show little or no wear, and the coin appears normal to the unaided eye, even though the "look" isn't quite right. Careful examination with a loupe discovers micro buffing in the fields in many areas, and delicate microscopic swirl lines can be seen when the coin is placed under a strong lamp. After the buffing was completed, the coin was bathed in a light acid which produced a satiny false luster by etching the surfaces. This work was probably done long ago, as the coin has since been cleaned in the usual manner, and the fields now show some minor hairlines. Retoned with natural appearing gold toning and seductively appealing.
Nevertheless, this is an important date that reports a mintage of just 800 pieces for circulation. Few people would detect the expert work done on this coin, and as such, it would easily fit into a date collection.
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| Realized $863 |
