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

Silver Dollar. [1245] Subject to speculator pressure, like the 1891 and for much the same reasons. Equally subject to poisonous dips or scouring. VAM 1.

Silver proof sets. [1245] Relatively few of these can be traced today, probably most of them having been broken up for the Barber silver coins, others being reassembled as usual.

Quarter Eagle. [105] *B-1. Date to left, left base of 1 about touches center of defective dentil. Very popular owing to date collector pressure affecting the 2,440 business strikes, whose survivors have date to r., 2 close to end of truncation, left base of 1 slightly r. of left edge of dentil. Fairly often seen in proof state, usually nicked up; rare perfect. Auction record $2,300 for "Rio Rancho": 103 ex "Gilhousen" :256, followed by $1,700 in Ullmer: 506, but I could not swear to anything about the latter coin, as I .saw none of these. Some early business strikes are masquerading as proofs, or trying to.

Half Eagle. [92] Date very low and to left. Possibly under thirty survive. Few auction records, most recently $2,700 in Ullmer; plus those in the sets, below.

Eagle. [72] Low date. Rarest denomination of the year. Auction records: Wolfson: 764; Golden II:2152; PNG 10/65; Ullmer: 502, nicked, $3,250; few earlier ones, not traced to present or recent owners; plus those in the sets (below).

Double Eagle. [93] *B-1. Date minutely above center, slanting up a little to r., left base of 1 above space. Rev. First line of 6th stripe thin; top of r. claw and r. tail feather broken. Knife-rim plainest at upper r. obv. Under heavy date collector pressure because few survive of the 4,430 business strikes. Possibly 17 or 18 proofs survive. (1) SI. (2) ANS. (3) Eliasberg. (4) Dunham:2336. (5) Boyd, WGC:892, probably reappearing as "Memorable": 712. (6) Atwater: 1284, Geiss:2017, hairlined, nicked. (7) Bell I, Eliasberg, "H. R. Lee", NN 49:158, cleaned. (8) Dr. Green:761, Amon Carter Sr. & Jr. (9) 1962 N.Y. Metropolitan: 1542. (10) Wolfson:956. (11) PNG 10/65:696. (12) Ullmer:534, $16,000. (13) Breen II: 131, $10,000. Plus those in the sets. These probably include a few duplications.

The rare business strikes - some of them prooflike - have 1 centered between bust and border, its left base nearly over r. edge; rev. stripes progressively thinner to r., neck feathers fragmented, lys below beak fragmented.

Gold proof sets. Not more than 72 could have been made, that being the mintage of eagles. At present seven are traced (which is above average), three in the complete sets below, the others as follows: (4) PNG 10/65, probably broken up; (5) Eliasberg, (6) E. Coast private collection, (7) a set traced from the Mint to the father of an old California collector, thence to the Gauglers in Long Beach (ca. 1963), offered at a then high $5,500, the coinsbeing perfectly preserved, even the double eagle.

Complete proof sets. SI, from Mint, from Coiner Feb. 1; ANS, ex Brock, Morgan. The set in QS 11/76:1275 has every appearance of being original but no documentation is available; its quarter dollar is Type II. In addition to the full 100piece set, the Mint Cabinet received two sets of Barber silver, Jan. 7, at $1.70 (face $1.75!), and on June 30 "for exchange" one gold proof set with four extra double eagles at $117.50 face. It is not known who got these from the Mint nor for what rarities.

Commemoratives. Columbian Half Dollar. SI (no accession date); Newcomb II: 869; and possibly a dozen others seen to date. No record of proof mintage, no reliable guess available. The proofs show that only mirror fields but broad flat rims with sharp inner and outer edges, all central details brought up including ends of Columbus's hair and complete seams on sails as well as complete lines on globes, hull, and waves. There may be two pairs of proof dies. Many deceptive early business strikes exist.