LOT Bowers and Merena Auctions  /  The November 2008 Baltimore Auction  / 

2648

1836 Gobrecht Name Below Base J-58 PR63 (NGC)

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:39,000.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1836 Gobrecht Name Below Base J-58 PR63 (NGC)
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<span style="font-size: large;">Lot #2648. 1836 Gobrecht Silver Dollar. Name Below Base. Judd-58 Restrike, Pollock-61. Rarity-6-. Proof-63 (NGC).</span>
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Silver. Plain Edge. Die Alignment III. The 1836 Gobrecht Dollar with Name Below Base is one of the most important, yet frustrating issues in all of U.S. coinage history. The significance of this issue stems from its status as the first Silver Dollar type prepared for regular-issue production in the United States Mint since President Thomas Jefferson ordered the Mint to stop striking coins of this denomination in 1804. (Although the Mint struck novodel 1804 Dollars in 1834-1835, those coins were not intended for general circulation but, rather, were created specifically for distribution as part of special presentation proof sets.) The dies for the new Silver Dollar were engraved by Christian Gobrecht, who "signed" his work with the inscription C.GOBRECHT.F. (fecit, or Latin for "made it") in the field between the base of Liberty's rock and the date. While this practice was widely accepted among the mintmasters of Europe, it was seen as offensive among contemporary Americans. To still criticism from his superiors, Gobrecht was forced to first move the inscription C. GOBRECHT F. to the base of Liberty's rock, and later to omit it completely.<BR>According to conventional numismatic scholarship, 18 examples of the 1836 Name Below Base Gobrecht Dollar were struck in November or December of that year so that Mint and other government officials could evaluate the new design. We believe that these coins would have been struck in Die Alignment I (coin turn with the eagle flying onward and upward) on planchets that conform to a 416-grain weight standard. Additionally, they should not display any die cracks through the letters of the reverse legend or denomination. Not a single one of those "originals" (as they would be classified in today's market) has ever been confirmed. Even the National Numismatic Collection in the Smithsonian Institution (formed, in part, from the Mint Cabinet) does not include an original 1836 Name Below Base Gobrecht Dollar. What happened to these 18 pieces is one of the great unsolved mystery of American numismatics.<BR>Unlike the first coins that they struck, the dies for the 1836 Name Below Base type were carefully preserved by Mint personnel. The dies remained within arms' reach of the coiners until July of 1860 when Mint Director Colonel James Ross Snowden sealed them in a vault along with dies for other important issues such as (probably) the novodel Draped Bust Dollars of 1801-1804 and the 1851 and 1852 Seated Dollars. The dies did not remain locked away forever, however, and they were probably retrieved from the vault during Henry R. Linderman's first term as mint director sometime in 1867-1869.<BR>The significance of the foregoing discussion about the fate of the 1836 Name Below Base Gobrecht Dollar dies is that it can help us understand why examples of this type exist at all in today's numismatic market. As previously stated, no originals of this type have ever been confirmed. A small number of restrikes, however, are known, and we believe that today's numismatists owe a debt of gratitude to their predecessors living in the United States during the 1850s and 1860s for the existence of these important coins.<BR>Beginning in the late 1850s, numismatics had advanced to such a point in this country that contemporary collectors began to demand examples of rare and/or historically significant issues that were no longer readily obtainable. One of those issues was certainly the 1836 Name Below Base Gobrecht Dollar. To meet this demand, and also to have coins for use in trade with collectors to expand the Mint Cabinet, Director Snowden probably ordered the production of a limited number of restrikes sometime in 1858, 1859 and/or early 1860 before he sealed the dies in a vault during July of the final-listed year. This practice was almost certainly continued by his successor Henry Linderman in the late 1860s after he retrieved the dies. The restrikes prepared during those two periods of time are currently the only examples of the 1836 Name Below Base Gobrecht Dollar known to exist.
There are several ways that we can confirm all extant examples of Judd-58 as restrikes. The first is the orientation of the dies in either Die Alignment III (coin turn with the eagle flying level in the field) or Die Alignment IV (medal turn with the eagle flying level in the field). Remember, conventional numismatic wisdom has it that the originals, if they ever existed, would have been struck in Die Alignment I. Additionally, the restrikes are struck on planchets whose weight conforms to the post-January 18, 1837 standard of 412.5 grains. Finally, the restrikes will display varying degrees of one or both of the following two reverse die cracks:<p>1. Through the top of the letters UNITED STATES O in the legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
2. Through the base of the letters OLLA in the denomination ONE DOLLAR.<p>While we cannot confirm the weight of the present example because it has already been certified, it is definitely struck in Die Alignment III. The reverse die is also cracked, but only through the tops of the letters TES in the words STATES and (barely) into the adjoining field toward the letter O in OF. This is the earliest state of the reverse die that this cataloger has ever seen on an example of the Judd-58 Restrike Gobrecht Dollar. It is particularly important to compare the reverse die state of this coin to that of the PCGS Proof-64 that we sold as lot 2417 in our July 2004 sale of Jim Gray's North Carolina Collection. The Jim Gray specimen displayed both of the aforementioned cracks.
By comparing the coin in this lot with the Jim Gray specimen, we have concluded that the present example is one of the earliest restrikes produced, and it was probably prepared sometime before Mint Director Snowden sealed the dies in a vault in July of 1860. The exact striking period, therefore, would be 1858 to mid-1860. The fact that the Jim Gray specimen is in Die Alignment IV and this coin was struck in Die Alignment III is further proof that they were prepared during two distinct press runs.
Both sides of this coin are toned, the obverse in blended blue-gray and tan-copper shades that evenly blanket the surface. The reverse exhibits similar colors, but they are mottled in distribution and allow some silvery near brilliance to peer through here and there around the devices. Fully struck throughout, with no outwardly noticeable handling marks, this piece is sure to have no difficulty finding its way into an advanced type set or a specialized collection of Gobrecht Dollars.


<span style="font-size: smaller;">Cert Number: 3224009001 </span>
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<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" border="1" id="ctl00_cntBody_FAQ1_grdShippingRates"
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<td class="AuctionListings" valign="top" style="white-space: nowrap;">
<span id="ctl00_cntBody_FAQ1_grdShippingRates_ctl02_PurchaseAmountTemplate">$0.00 to
$200.00</span>
</td>
<td class="AuctionListings" align="right" valign="top">
<span id="ctl00_cntBody_FAQ1_grdShippingRates_ctl02_PostageAmountTemplate">$6.50</span>
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<tr class="LotDetailInformation">
<td class="AuctionListings" valign="top" style="white-space: nowrap;">
<span id="ctl00_cntBody_FAQ1_grdShippingRates_ctl03_PurchaseAmountTemplate">$201.00
to $300.00</span>
</td>
<td class="AuctionListings" align="right" valign="top">
<span id="ctl00_cntBody_FAQ1_grdShippingRates_ctl03_PostageAmountTemplate">$9.00</span>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="LotDetailInformation">
<td class="AuctionListings" valign="top" style="white-space: nowrap;">
<span id="ctl00_cntBody_FAQ1_grdShippingRates_ctl04_PurchaseAmountTemplate">$301.00
to $1,000.00</span>
</td>
<td class="AuctionListings" align="right" valign="top">
<span id="ctl00_cntBody_FAQ1_grdShippingRates_ctl04_PostageAmountTemplate">$10.50</span>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="LotDetailInformation">
<td class="AuctionListings" valign="top" style="white-space: nowrap;">
<span id="ctl00_cntBody_FAQ1_grdShippingRates_ctl05_PurchaseAmountTemplate">$1,001.00
to $2,000.00</span>
</td>
<td class="AuctionListings" align="right" valign="top">
<span id="ctl00_cntBody_FAQ1_grdShippingRates_ctl05_PostageAmountTemplate">$13.00</span>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="LotDetailInformation">
<td class="AuctionListings" valign="top" style="white-space: nowrap;">
<span id="ctl00_cntBody_FAQ1_grdShippingRates_ctl06_PurchaseAmountTemplate">$2,001.00
to $3,000.00</span>
</td>
<td class="AuctionListings" align="right" valign="top">
<span id="ctl00_cntBody_FAQ1_grdShippingRates_ctl06_PostageAmountTemplate">$17.00</span>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="LotDetailInformation">
<td class="AuctionListings" valign="top" style="white-space: nowrap;">
<span id="ctl00_cntBody_FAQ1_grdShippingRates_ctl07_PurchaseAmountTemplate">$3,001.00
to $5,000.00</span>
</td>
<td class="AuctionListings" align="right" valign="top">
<span id="ctl00_cntBody_FAQ1_grdShippingRates_ctl07_PostageAmountTemplate">$18.00</span>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="LotDetailInformation">
<td class="AuctionListings" valign="top" style="white-space: nowrap;">
<span id="ctl00_cntBody_FAQ1_grdShippingRates_ctl08_PurchaseAmountTemplate">$5,001.00
to $10,000.00</span>
</td>
<td class="AuctionListings" align="right" valign="top">
<span id="ctl00_cntBody_FAQ1_grdShippingRates_ctl08_PostageAmountTemplate">$23.00</span>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="LotDetailInformation">
<td class="AuctionListings" valign="top" style="white-space: nowrap;">
<span id="ctl00_cntBody_FAQ1_grdShippingRates_ctl09_PurchaseAmountTemplate">$10,001.00
to $25,000.00</span>
</td>
<td class="AuctionListings" align="right" valign="top">
<span id="ctl00_cntBody_FAQ1_grdShippingRates_ctl09_PostageAmountTemplate">$27.00</span>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="LotDetailInformation">
<td class="AuctionListings" valign="top" style="white-space: nowrap;">
<span id="ctl00_cntBody_FAQ1_grdShippingRates_ctl10_PurchaseAmountTemplate">$25,001.00
to $50,000.00</span>
</td>
<td class="AuctionListings" align="right" valign="top">
<span id="ctl00_cntBody_FAQ1_grdShippingRates_ctl10_PostageAmountTemplate">$42.00</span>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="LotDetailInformation">
<td class="AuctionListings" valign="top" style="white-space: nowrap;">
<span id="ctl00_cntBody_FAQ1_grdShippingRates_ctl11_PurchaseAmountTemplate">$50,001.00
to $75,000.00</span>
</td>
<td class="AuctionListings" align="right" valign="top">
<span id="ctl00_cntBody_FAQ1_grdShippingRates_ctl11_PostageAmountTemplate">$55.00</span>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="LotDetailInformation">
<td class="AuctionListings" valign="top" style="white-space: nowrap;">
<span id="ctl00_cntBody_FAQ1_grdShippingRates_ctl12_PurchaseAmountTemplate">$75,001.00
to $100,000.00</span>
</td>
<td class="AuctionListings" align="right" valign="top">
<span id="ctl00_cntBody_FAQ1_grdShippingRates_ctl12_PostageAmountTemplate">$70.00</span>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="LotDetailInformation">
<td class="AuctionListings" valign="top" style="white-space: nowrap;">
<span id="ctl00_cntBody_FAQ1_grdShippingRates_ctl13_PurchaseAmountTemplate">$100,001.00
to $250,000.00</span>
</td>
<td class="AuctionListings" align="right" valign="top">
<span id="ctl00_cntBody_FAQ1_grdShippingRates_ctl13_PostageAmountTemplate">$100.00</span>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="LotDetailInformation">
<td class="AuctionListings" valign="top" style="white-space: nowrap;">
<span id="ctl00_cntBody_FAQ1_grdShippingRates_ctl14_PurchaseAmountTemplate">$250,001.00
to $500,000.00</span>
</td>
<td class="AuctionListings" align="right" valign="top">
<span id="ctl00_cntBody_FAQ1_grdShippingRates_ctl14_PostageAmountTemplate">$175.00</span>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="LotDetailInformation">
<td class="AuctionListings" valign="top" style="white-space: nowrap;">
<span id="ctl00_cntBody_FAQ1_grdShippingRates_ctl15_PurchaseAmountTemplate">$500,001.00
to $750,000.00</span>
</td>
<td class="AuctionListings" align="right" valign="top">
<span id="ctl00_cntBody_FAQ1_grdShippingRates_ctl15_PostageAmountTemplate">$250.00</span>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="LotDetailInformation">
<td class="AuctionListings" valign="top" style="white-space: nowrap;">
<span id="ctl00_cntBody_FAQ1_grdShippingRates_ctl16_PurchaseAmountTemplate">$750,001.00
to $99,999,999.00</span>
</td>
<td class="AuctionListings" align="right" valign="top">
<span id="ctl00_cntBody_FAQ1_grdShippingRates_ctl16_PostageAmountTemplate">$400.00</span>
</td>
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Bowers and Merena Auctions was founded in 1983 and has grown to become the world's
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