LOT Heritage Rare Coin Galleries  /  2007 Jan (FUN) Heritage Signature Coin #422  / 

3697

1910 $10 PR66 NGC. This auction contains the last two

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:220,000.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 2.00 USD
1910 $10 PR66 NGC. This auction contains the last two
<B>1910 $10 PR66 NGC.</B></I> This auction contains the last two coins from a unique four-piece set of matte proof gold coins from 1910. The existence of this set was not generally known until Jeff Garrett purchased it several years ago at a North Carolina coin show and then sold it soon thereafter.<BR> The difference between the matte finish and so-called Roman Finish is profound. The matte finish was first used in the mint on regular production coins in 1908, and had been used on several medals previously. Like the previously produced brilliant finish proofs, planchets were carefully selected; however, the dies were not polished. Instead, the planchets were inserted in the high pressure medal press and struck once. After striking, the coins were taken to a small, enclosed cabinet and carefully sandblasted on each side with a stream of fine, industrial sand that imparted a dull, granular effect. The new, European-inspired proofs were not popular with collectors. But the fix in 1909-1910 proved even more unpopular. In those two years, the mint produced proofs that were struck with special dies on special planchets, but the coins received no post-striking treatment (that is, sandblasting). These coins were variously called bright proofs, Satin proofs, new style proofs, and yellow proofs. These coins proved even more unpopular with collectors than the previous matte proofs from 1908. William Woodin commented to Assistant Treasury Secretary A. Piatt Andrew in August, 1910: " ... The present satin proofs of the Saint-Gaudens designs and the Pratt designs are simply rotten. I know of no other word to express it ..." Collectors today would surely agree that Woodin overreacted to the new finish, but the mint in 1910 was sensitive to the comments by collectors and especially one as influential as William Woodin.<BR> As a result, mint personnel prepared to revert to the matte finish in 1911. But trial strikes had to be prepared, and that is what this coin, and the others from this set that we have offered, represent. There is no trace of the semi-brilliant finish seen on the Roman Finish proofs from 1909 and 1910. Rather, this piece shows fine granularity with darker reddish-tan color. Perfectly preserved since the year of issue, there are only two tiny pedigree identifiers that we see. One is a minute planchet flake above the star at 1 o'clock on the obverse; the other is another tiny flake in the reverse field between the N in UNITED and the foremost curve of the eagle's wing.<BR> Only one set of matte proofs were struck in 1910. This piece represents a unique opportunity for the collector of ten dollar proofs or the collector of varieties of special strikings from the period of the American Renaissance of Coinage.<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Coin/Currency (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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