9220

1865 1c PCGS PF65RB

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:715.00 USD Estimated At:1,100.00 - 1,800.00 USD
1865 1c PCGS PF65RB
An outstanding nice mirror frosted-relief gem with good eye appeal. The surfaces are virtually flawless and except for one or two tiny hairlines, it borders on perfection.

This is a very difficult date to find other than toned brown. Like many other dates in this series, the rarity of the coins struck in proof format have no relation to the rarity of the regular issues. Non-proofs are fairly plentiful for this date. Not so for the proofs. The mintage currently given in references is 500, which may be overly optimistic.

1865 is notorious for having low percentage of red. Many of the planchets used for the proofs were on streaky planchets. When the alloys of tin and inc are not mixed well into the copper, pockets of alloy remain in the French-bronze ingot. As the ingot is rolled out, these pockets get elongated and eventually turn into streaks on the finished planchets. Tin and Zinc are very volatile and will not hold the original color of the coin. The few 1865's that remain in bright red or red and brown are presumably from a higher quality melt, and are very rare and desirable because of this.