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1895 S$1 PR40 NGC. Mint records state t

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:1.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1895 S$1 PR40 NGC. Mint records state t
<B>1895<img border='0' src='http://www.heritagecoins.com/images/star.gif' width=10 height=10>$1> PR40 NGC.</B></I> Mint records state that 12,000 business strikes of 1895 dollars were delivered in June, 1895. Since this coincides with the end of the 1894-1895 fiscal year, many numismatists now believe that this mintage is an accounting entry, rather than an actual mintage. Five obverse dies were prepared for use, and in fact four different obverse dies are known on 1895 proofs, and are described on pages 2548 and 2549 of Q. David Bowers' massive <I>Silver Dollars & Trade Dollars of the United States, A Complete Encyclopedia.</B></I> It is difficult to believe that four dies were used to produce the small proof mintage of 880 pieces, which suggests that the proof strikings were distributed over a period of time. The present piece uses Bowers' #3 obverse, identified by the location of the 1 in the date centered to the right above a denticle, while the 5 is placed higher in the field and its ball is centered between denticles. No known study has been made to determine which obverse dies are scarcest, and it would be particularly interesting to learn whether the majority of the few dozen circulated survivors are from the same obverse die. If so, this would suggest that it was the die used to produce the presumably mythical business strikes.<BR> This stone-gray example has a few moderate, toned-over marks on the cheek and on the border of each side near 9 o'clock. Substantial hair and plumage detail remains despite moderate circulation. Perhaps spent by an heir in need of the then-considerable buying power of a dollar. One can only wonder how many hands the piece passed through before a collector or dealer recognized its numismatic significance.