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Sale 78
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Lot 1099
1890. NGC graded Proof 69 Star Cameo. A blazing white cameo Gem Proof. The finest graded for this date. Only 590 struck. NGC has certified a fair number of high-end Proof Seated Liberty Quarter Dollars as multiple complete Proof Set collections were sold in the early 1990s. Most of those pieces were toned in one fashion or another, some of them downright gorgeous. Proof 67 and (to some extent) Proof 68 grades abounded. Still, the net result was a small addition to the totality of surviving Proof Seated Quarters. Only the present 1890 has received a Star designation and a Proof 69 grade from NGC for this year. For a long time, nowhere certified above PR68. Thus, this beautiful Proof 69 can stake a claim to the honor of single finest certified by the service of its year. A highly glossy Gem that has moonbeam white frosted devices against mirror fields whose watery depth and brilliance seems to stretch to the horizon and beyond. Far in advance as the luster goes, so too are the designs: detailed, fully struck in all areas with pinpoint definition on the stars, date, Liberty and eagle, plus bold lettering in all reverse legends. Again, it goes without saying that the surfaces are immaculate. The coin looks as though it had been struck 15 minutes ago and handed to a wide-eyed coin grader for placement in this NGC encapsulation! Obvious to us, the coin was handled with the proverbial gloved hands. It is sure to find a new home in a fastidiously maintained collection, where it shall remain for generations to come. Pop 1; none finer at NGC.
Historic Notes: The 1890s were sometimes referred to as the "Mauve Decade," because William Henry Perkin's aniline dye allowed the widespread use of that colour in fashion, and also as the "Gay Nineties", under the then-current usage of the word "gay" which referred simply to merriment and frivolity, without the connotations in present-day usage. The phrase, "The Gay Nineties," was not introduced until 1926.
The Sherman Silver Purchase Act was enacted in 1890 as a United States federal law. While not authorizing the free and unlimited coinage of silver that the Free Silver supporters wanted, it increased the amount of silver the government was required to purchase every month. The Sherman Silver Purchase Act, which superceded the Bland-Allison Act of 1878, had been passed in response to the growing complaints of farmers. Farmers had immense debts that could not be paid off due to a series of droughts, and they urged the government to pass the Sherman Silver Purchase Act in order to boost the economy. However, this eventually led to inflation and contributed to the Panic of 1893.
Estimated Value $10,000 - 12,000.
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| Realized $30,550 |
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