LOT Heritage Rare Coin Galleries  /  2006 October Dallas Signature Coin Auction #428  / 

2342

1885 S$1 PR67 S NGC. Awarded the coveted Star designa

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:1.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1885 S$1 PR67 S NGC. Awarded the coveted Star designa
<B>1885<img border='0' src='http://www.heritagecoins.com/images/star.gif' width=10 height=10>$1> PR67 <img border='0' src='http://www.heritagecoins.com/images/star.gif' width=10 height=10> NGC.</B></I> Awarded the coveted Star designation by NGC for superior eye appeal, and well deserving of the same, this piece sports captivating light patina on each side in shades of light green, pastel rose, lilac, ice-blue, and orange. Although the colors are of moderate intensity, they fail to dampen the looking-glass fields' superb luster, which radiates from beneath the delectable palette of color. The strike is just as bold and beautiful as the toning, with nearly full hair over the ear, full venation on the leaves of the wreath, and full plumage on the eagle. Scrutiny with a loupe reveals only a single tiny contact mark over the ear, one that is all but undetectable. Finally, to sum up this piece, that most elusive and hard-to-quantify characteristic of the nicest coins, <I>eye appeal,</B></I> suffice it to say that this coin has it in spades. While catalogers struggle to find words to describe adequately such pieces, an example like the present coin instantly demonstrates that elusive hallmark of the top numismatic rarities.<BR> The proof mintage of the 1885 Morgan dollar amounted to 930 pieces, of which likely 300 or so exist today, according to the population data and including resubmissions, crossovers, and other "grading events," as Bowers calls it. Most of the extant pieces, however, average a grade around PR64 or thereabouts. There are about two dozen Gems at both services, and proofs of a higher grade are rare. While there are, amazingly, a couple of pieces that have achieved higher numerical grades, it is doubtful that they could be any more lovely or aesthetically pleasing. Census: 1 in 67 <img border='0' src='http://www.heritagecoins.com/images/star.gif' width=10 height=10>, three finer (9/06).
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