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

VALUATION GUIDE

The subjoined prices are not a retail quotation of coins held by any dealer. They are not an offer to sell at any figure, not a solicitation of an offer to buy at any figure. They are not claimed to be anything more than estimates of what ordinary quality proofs, of the mentioned dates and varieties, might bring if they were to appear at auction within the next couple of years, based on what comparable proof coins have brought at auction within the last few years, or in some instances on what they have actually commanded at retail sales.

Where actual auction records are cited, the abbreviated forms are as in the Bibliography. In general, such auction records are either the only ones available, or the highest ones encountered. Usually the context will make clear which; if in doubt, refer to the main text. However, prices quoted without auction citation are not necessarily equal to the highest auction records located. Sometimes a freakishly high figure reported from an auction is a misprint; more often, perhaps, it is the result of two or more people executing unlimited bids. Similarly, abnormally low auction records may reflect typographical error, or someone's temporary absence from the sale, or a non-aggression pact among several competitors to the effect that "if you'll lay off lot 318, I'll lay off 324." In a few instances they have reflected changes announced on the floor by the auctioneer (such as typographical error in the cataloguing).

Omitted prices mean that there are no auction or retail records recent enough to afford a safe basis even for guessing. Italicized figures mean that there is some ground for doubt about the price levels, e.g. very recent discovery of hoards, or very recent realization that a coin has not shown up in years and is therefore much rarer than formerly believed.

The term "ordinary quality proofs" above is meant to distinguish the quality generally encountered from both other extremes. Pristine (uncleaned) gem coins may bring double or triple the mentioned figure; this is notorious in eagles and double eagles. Obviously cleaned, nicked or scratched pieces - or circulated ones -will bring lower amounts, perhaps half the mentioned figures or less. There is no safe formula for estimating how much cleaning takes off the value of a proof, as so much depends on the aesthestic quality of the result.

Colonial proofs vary in condition even more than later U. S. proofs; they are in general rare enough that grade is irrelevant, with the exception of the Castorland original half dollar and the Washington draped bust restrikes, in which quality means a great deal in establishing price.

Asterisked dates, denomination, or varieties refer to proof-only issues; brackets refer to recorded mintages. In case of any uncertainty, refer to the main text. Some auction quotations herein are more recent than any named in the text, because this section was completed long after the latter and there was no time for extensive rewriting.

COLONIAL AND AMERICAN COINS