Walter Breen's Encyclopedia of United States and Colonial Proof Coins 1722-1989

Gold Dollar. [957] Normal dies. ERT normal (B-2) or weak (B-3); light (not heavy) extra outlines on DOLLAR. Of the 957 made, 200 went July 19 (from the April proof mintage) to the Medal Clerk for "exchanges," whatever that might mean; no other details. Garrett's brought $1,300, "Rio Rancho":68, ex "Gilhousen":93, $1,800.

Mintage: 170, 537 and 250 in first, second and fourth quarters, total 957.

Quarter Eagle. [92] Date to right; left base of 1 nearly over r. edge. This die appears to have been used on some business strikes; deceptive early strikes exist. Undervalued though not extremely rare; several dozen survive. Ullmer: 383 went for $2,000; Garrett:510, $2,100.

Mintage: Quarterly, 40, 12, 20 and 20, total 92. Fiscal year reports seem to indicate only 48 struck rather than the indicated 52 in the first two quarters - reason for discrepancy unknown. The first quarter coins, made in February, include 30 intended for proof sets; third quarter coins, all made in September, appear to have been used for assembling more proof sets.

Three Dollars. [291] Beyond doubt the three-dollar proof most often seen, excellent specimens adorning many type sets as well as date collections which may or may not include any other proofs. Some 200 of these, made in April, went (with an equal number of gold dollars) to the Medal Clerk for "exchanges," this evasive expression covering God alone knows what since there is no record of 1888 accessions to the Mint Cabinet conceivably construable as worth the $800 involved in this transaction. Two varieties.

- *B-1. Normal letters, no doubling on UNITED. Long rust patch on neck - is this constant? Rev. Date slightly low, level, and placed well to left, the 1 below left center of 0, the three 8's respectively wholly below L, L, A, not extending beyond any letters in either direction. Believed to include the first 256 made. Auction records: Pierce-Jay-Ullmer: 432, $6,000, trailed by Garrett's at $4,200.

- B-2, dies of business strikes. UNITED doubled; heavy date slanting up, r. edges of 8's slightly beyond r. edges of Land A. Very rare, possibly the 35 of May-June. Fortunately most business strikes are not deceptively prooflike this year.

Mintage: Feb. 1, 1; March, 55; April, the 200 to the Medal Clerk; May, 33; June, 2; total 291. The Feb.-March proofs were probably made earlier; that reported Feb. 1 appears to have been the one included in a proof set "exchanged for cabinet coins" Feb. 29. However, Garrett's was shipped out as of Feb. 17, 1888.

Half Eagle. [94] Date very low and to left, slanting up slightly to r.; polish around eye, mouth and ear; left base of lover left edge. Rev. Polish within stripes, unlike the last few years. Rarer than lower denominations, much rarer than its mintage figure suggests, nearly as rare as the eagle, but survivors probably number thirty-odd including nicked and/or cleaned ones. Few late auction records: Ullmer:561, $3,250, followed by Garrett: 508, $2,700. The former may have come from the Alto or DiBello collections.

Mintage: Quarterly, 30, 25, 20 and 19, total 94; first quarter coins were intended only for the complete sets.

Eagle. [72] Low date, slanting minutely up to right; left base of 1 left of center; rev. as 1887. Rarest denomination of the year, seldom offered, probably between 20 and 30 survivors at most, possibly fewer. (1) SI. (2) ANS. (3) Eliasberg. (4) Garrett: 507, hairlined, $4,600. (5) Ullmer: 500, nick before chin, spot behind neck, $4,750. (6) DiBello:1111, impaired. (7) Woifson:754, tiny obv. field spot. (8) KS 2/60:2502, choice. Plus those in the sets mentioned below. Earlier auction records cannot be matched up with present survivors (too few were ever pictured).

Mintage: Quarterly, 30, 12, 20 (Sept.), 10, total 72, all in sets.

Double Eagle. [102] Low date, left base of 1 about over r. edge, light polish around ear. The least rare proof double eagle of the decade; several dozen survive (which is still not too many), several impaired. (1) SI. (2) ANS. (3) Eliasberg. (4) Garrett: 506, $8,000. (5) Amon Carter Jr. (6) Atwater: 1280, Dr. Green:757, Amon Carter Sr. & Jr., hairlined. (7) 1976 ANA:3262, scratch below chin. (8) Kern, DiBello: 1273. (9) Ullmer: 531, $10,000, possibly same coin. Several dozen other auction records. Others have sold at private treaty or have gone on playing the usual convention game of musical chairs - er - musical bourse tables. Most survivors have from three to twenty-odd nicks, but I should add that any double eagle proof prior to 1908 without any nicks is a freakish rarity. The reason of course is that the paper mint wrappers disintegrated over the years, the double eagles eventually sliding or falling out and jangling against other coins when the safe deposit box was either opened or closed or the sets moved to or from any other storage places. Also, being by far the heaviest regular denomination, they are the most prone (by Murphy's law) to drop from anyone's hands - even in the mint.

Mintage. Quarterly, 40, 16, 20, 26, total 102.

Gold proof sets. Quarterly, 30, 12, 20 and 10, total 72.One set was auctioned in NN51: 1002-07 at a then high $1,683; this went, for once, to a single dealer and therefore possibly still intact. Cf. KS3/64 :2262. I have seen three other similar sets outside the ones included in the two surviving complete sets. Garrett's totalled $22,900. Director's Report says 52 sets sold, July 1887-June 1888 - probably 10 1887's being included, 42 1888's?

Complete proof sets. Two survive: Smithsonian and ANS, as always. Former bought from Coiner as of February 19 for face, $43.44; actual date of delivery of either one not known, of course. One full set had been transferred to the Curator February 29 "exchanged for cabinet coins".