LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2008 MAR Phoenix (ANA) Signature Coin Auction #1...  / 

1416

1899 $2 1/2 PR66 Ultra Cameo NGC

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:1,300.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1899 $2 1/2 PR66 Ultra Cameo NGC
<B>1899 $2 1/2 PR66 Ultra Cameo NGC.</B></I> Two different obverse dies were used to manufacture the proof 1899 quarter eagles, according to the Breen <I>Proof Encyclopedia.</B></I> One variant has a centered date, with the left edge of the 1 over the right edge of a denticle. The second variety shows the date slanting upward, with the left edge of the 1 right of the center of a denticle, and there are die file marks through the TY of LIBERTY and the first vertical shield stripe. This piece was struck from the second set of dies.<BR> Although NGC and PCGS combined have certified nearly 200 examples, that figure is obviously highly inflated, as only 150 proofs were produced. Perhaps two-thirds of those pieces, or some 100 individual pieces, still survive today. <BR> As the last issue dated in the 1800s and because of its relative availability, the issue trades as a type coin. It is also, like many gold proof coins from the 1898-1900 period, one that when encountered is usually quite attractive and well produced, usually with deep cameo contrast. (The Mint production personnel appeared to enjoy their heyday during this period, with the manufacture of proof gold coins that offer deeply mirrored fields contrasting with thickly frosted devices reaching its zenith. In fact, in 1902 the Mint changed to a proof gold format that showed semibrilliant devices rather than deeply frosted ones.) <BR> The surfaces are nearly perfect, with the only faintly noticeable mark located in the field above the eagle. The fields are deeply reflective and go inky-black when angled beneath a light. The devices are heavily frosted and present a strong cameo contrast on each side.<BR> Most certified 1899 proof quarter eagles average only about PR64, however, and the present piece, in addition to its obvious good production standards, was carefully preserved and protected in the decades after striking. In PR66 Ultra Cameo the present example is one of five coins so graded at NGC, with 15 finer (PR68 Ultra Cameo the finest). As always with this date, a healthy proportion must be viewed as resubmissions.<BR><I>From The Ultra Collection.</B></I><BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Coins & Currency (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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