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1895 $5 PR66 Cameo PCGS

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:11,000.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1895 $5 PR66 Cameo PCGS
<B>1895 $5 PR66 Cameo PCGS.</B></I> An amazing Cameo proof, the obverse has rich honey-gold color with lighter yellow color and pale blue toning on the reverse. The devices have nearly complete mint frost, contrasting nicely with the deeply mirrored and watery fields, with the typical appearance found on 19th century proof gold coins. Exceptional surfaces are free of any significant contact marks, making pedigree tracking nearly impossible.<BR> Nearly all 1895 proofs, like most other gold proofs of the 19th century, have cameo contrast. Usually associated with the earliest strikes from new dies, the low mintage of proof gold pieces virtually guaranteed that all examples were lovely cameo proofs. For those few dies that eventually lost the ability to produce cameo proofs, resurfacing involved acid etching the die to recreate the frosted devices, with polishing to renew the deeply mirrored fields.<BR> Only about 20 to 25 proofs of this issue are known today, mostly in lower grades. Garrett and Guth comment that "most of the coins seen are graded PR64, with Gem examples being extremely rare." Among the survivors from a mintage of 81 proofs are two specimens in the Smithsonian Institution and an example in the American Numismatic Society. In all grades and designations, PCGS has certified 19 proof 1895 half eagles, including a single PR66 Deep Cameo, the only piece better than this one. Population: 1 in 66 Cameo, 0 finer (8/07).<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Coins & Currency (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)