LOT Heritage Rare Coin Galleries  /  2007 Signature Coin - Charlotte, NC #432  / 

947

1848 S$1 PR64 NGC. The low business strike mintage of

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:1.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1848 S$1 PR64 NGC. The low business strike mintage of
<B>1848 S$1 PR64 NGC.</B></I> The low business strike mintage of only 15,000 pieces--less whatever quantity may have been melted in the Orient or elsewhere in the intervening 160 years--makes proof examples of this issue doubly attractive. Q. David Bowers' <I>Silver Dollars and Trade Dollars of the United States: A Complete Encyclopedia,</B></I> (1993) estimates that 25 to 35 proof pieces were coined, further guessing that nine to 17 examples survive today. In the 2006 <I>A Buyer's Guide to Silver Dollars & Trade Dollars of the United States,</B></I> third edition, Bowers more cogently estimates that only three to five examples exist in PR64--the grade of the piece under discussion--or better. Of course, it was a full 10 years after the production of this issue that the Mint began widely proclaiming its offerings of proof coinage to the general public, rather than only to the privileged few.<BR> As of this writing (2/07) there are five proof 1848s certified at PCGS, the highest three PR63 pieces and including one circulated proof. At NGC there are 10 examples certified, including six PR64 pieces, and one each in PR66 and PR67. Of course, it is likely that some of those figures represent duplications from resubmissions, as well as crossovers from one service to another. (The Breen <I>Proof Encyclopedia,</B></I> 1989 second edition, enumerates only eight pieces of the issue.)<BR> On the present piece a tiny die chip joins the rear of the eye to the hairline above. Below Liberty's right (facing) breast, a series of die rust spots appear as if she were wearing a small badge, the so-called "badge variety," as Bowers and Breen describe it. On the reverse there are several markers that confirm the die as the reverse used to coin most, if not all, proof Seated silver dollars of the 1840 to 1850 era. Several of the vertical shield stripes extend upward into the horizontal lines, and the lowest horizontal line extends to the right outside of the shield border. Most of those horizontal lines are attenuated at their right sides where they meet the shield edge. This piece shows variegated original toning in shades of pinkish-gray, with deeper tinges of gold, aqua, and magenta near the rims on each side. Only evidence of the most minor contact on a couple of the highpoints prevents a Gem grade. While there may exist one or two pieces that are technically finer, this piece possesses much aesthetic--as well as historical--appeal. This is a lovely coin whose surfaces show variegated gray and blue patina with much underlying brightness still apparent. A prize for the Seated dollar specialists, and only the tenth time we have offered an example in the past dozen-plus years. Census: 6 in 64, 2 finer (2/07).<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Coins & Currency (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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