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

2349

1895 S$1 PR64 NGC. Controversy has raged for many year

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:1.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1895 S$1 PR64 NGC. Controversy has raged for many year
<B>1895<img border='0' src='http://www.heritagecoins.com/images/star.gif' width=10 height=10>$1> PR64 NGC.</B></I> Controversy has raged for many years now over whether business-strike Morgan dollars were produced. Whether we wish it or not, generations of Morgan dollar collectors have grown up believing that there were business strikes coined, and millions of coin albums of one sort or another include the 1895 Philadelphia issue alongside other specialties such as the 1893-S, 1893-CC, and the 1894-P issues. It is likely these, as well as a multitude of other factors, that lead legions of collectors to pursue choice examples of the 1895 proof Morgan. Q. David Bowers' silver dollar <I>Red Book</B></I> (2004) asserts that no business strikes were produced, and that when Morgan silver dollars were presented in 1895 to the Assay Commission, "a single Proof coin" represented the emission.<BR> More recently, however, Roger Burdette, in the July 3, 2006 <I>Coin Values</B></I> supplement to <I>Coin World,</B></I> takes a different tack to explain the accounting entry of 12,000 business strikes. He rejects the notion espoused by some (including Bowers) that the pieces were of "earlier date." Using various Mint records--most tellingly Engraver Charles Barber's report concerning the number of dies used for circulation-strike and proof coinage, which shows that five obverse and four reverse dies were used for silver dollar coinage, although Barber fails to specify exactly what uses the dies were put to--Burdette demonstrates his (well documented) belief that 12,000 business strikes were indeed produced. Burdette shows that six circulation examples and four proofs were provided to the Assay Commission, plus two "special assay" coins that were presumably destroyed. Burdette posits that the circulation strikes were likely melted under Pittman Act, or perhaps during the silver runup of the 1970s--although random examples could still exist today.<BR> Suffice it to say that no documented business-strike Morgan dollar has ever surfaced, and it appears unlikely that one ever will--all of which makes a delectable near-Gem proof such as the present example even more desirable. The obverse shows mottled russet and ice-blue patina, while the reverse offers a more consistent coloration that adds mauve to the mix. The luster is intense and full under the light toning, and the strike is as full as could be desired. A loupe reveals only one or two minuscule contact marks. The overall impression is one of extremely high quality that verges on the next grade level. Census: 49 in 64, 66 finer (9/06).
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