465

***Auction Highlight*** 1886-o vam 17 Morgan Dollar $1 Graded Choice+ Unc By USCG (fc)

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:25.00 USD Estimated At:29,593.75 - 59,187.50 USD
***Auction Highlight*** 1886-o vam 17 Morgan Dollar $1 Graded Choice+ Unc By USCG (fc)
***Auction Highlight*** 1886-o vam 17 Morgan Dollar $1 Graded Choice+ Unc By USCG. The 1886-O dollar stands out as being the rarest New Orleans issue in MS65 or better condition as only four Gem specimens are known to exist. The current offering belongs to a small fraternity of high-end very near Gem 1886-O dollars. After more than 25 years of third-party grading, only three coins are currently documented at the MS65 level. Two MS65 pieces and a Plus-designated Gem and also the famous MS67 Deep Mirror Proof like coin that was considered by Wayne Miller in his 1982 reference to be "the most spectacular Morgan dollar now known." That piece sold for $231,000 in Bowers and Merena's November 1990 sale of the Chris Schenkel collection. But why is this seemingly common issue so rare in high grade? The mintage of over 10 million coins makes it hard to believe that so few 1886-O dollars exist in Gem condition. The 1881-S issue saw a comparable output of coins, yet well over 100,000 examples of that date are known in MS65 or better condition. David Bowers speculates in his Silver Dollars and Trade Dollars of the United States (1993): "At or near the time of striking in the nineteenth century, probably a few million coins, say two to four million, were placed into circulation and saw commercial use. Probably, millions of other coins, perhaps as many as six to eight million pieces, went to the melting pot under the terms of the 1918 Pittman Act." Bowers continues by stating that "in MS64 grade it is extremely difficult to locate; probably somewhere between 125 and 250 remain. In MS65 preservation the 1886-O is the rarest New Orleans Mint Morgan dollar; at least one exists, but possibly no more than three." The steep drop of survivors between MS64 and MS65 is reflected in various price guides. For example the current Coin Dealer Newsletter indicates a staggering 21-fold increase in price for the 1886-O between MS64 and MS65 condition -- more than any other issue in the entire Morgan dollar series. The landmark offering of the current example may represent one of the few appearances of a near Gem issue this decade. The surfaces are predominately white and abound with intense cartwheel luster. Although known to be notoriously weekly struck, this 1886-O dollar boasts an unusually strong strike. The negligible scattered abrasions number fewer than the most conservative of graders would allow for a Gem Morgan dollar. A memorable specimen that was one of the prides of a great collector's cabinet. By far our finest ever offered. I will note that only 25 coins have ever attained ms64+, and the last 3 that sold, realized $13,800, $21,600 and $19,200. I wish you good Luck. (the last sales of ms65 were $152,750 and $149,500) A Corey's Pick, Bid to Win, Don't let it get Away, you might not find its equal Coin. I give this coin my highest recommendation