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Lot 0609 1904 Lewis & Clark Gold $1 PCGS MS65

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:3,750.00 USD Estimated At:7,500.00 - 10,000.00 USD
Lot 0609 1904 Lewis & Clark Gold $1 PCGS MS65
This is a lovely, healthy-glowing Gem, whose full-color obverse and reverse being essentially orange-toned, beams with frosty luster. It is interesting to see, as well, that it was struck from well-prepared dies that imported a sound and in point of fact, a bold design in the portraits of Lewis and Clark.

Engraved by Charles E. Barber and struck for the exposition. The Lewis and Clark Dollar honored the Corps of Discovery which explored the Northwest in 1803 to 1806 at the behest of President Jefferson. They were sold for between $2.00 and $2.50 apiece, with the proceeds earmarked for completion of the bronze memorial to Sacagawea, part-time guide and full-time interpreter between the Corps of Discovery and the Indian tribes. Mintage figures show 10,025 dated 1904 and 10,041 dated 1905.

Dave Bowers has an interesting observation about this issue: "Due to the market shenanigans by Farran Zerbe relating to the 1903 Louisiana Purchase Exposition gold dollars and the consequent market bust, collectors had very little interest in the subsequent Lewis and Clark gold dollars, as here, issued in Portland, Oregon, with dates of 1904 and 1905. Those that were sold mainly went to the public and were not handled with care. Today the 1904 and 1905 Lewis and Clark dollars are several times rarer in Mint State grades than are the other pairs of commemorative gold dollars -- the 1903 Louisiana Purchase, the 1916 and 1917 McKinley, and the 1922 Grant varieties."