Q. David Bowers
The Henry Rogers Collection sold by Thomas L. Elder, July 18,1913. This auction, Elder's 82nd public sale, contained numerous Proofs and, mostly unrecognized by bidders at the time, some Mint State rarities-namely 1843, 1844, 1849, and 1850.
1840 Unc. $2.70.
1841 EF $1.30.
1842 Unc., Proof surface. $1.50.
1843 Unc., scarce. $1.70.
1844 Unc., scarce. $2.80.
1845 VG, scarce. $1.35.
1846 EF $1.25.
1847 Unc, $1.40.
1848 EF, scarce. $3.25.
1849 Unc., scarce. $1.70.
1850 Unc., Proof surface, rare. $1.90.
1853 AU, rare. $3.25.
1854 Practically Unc., very rare. $8.50.
1855 EF, rare. Value, $6.50.
1857 VF, rare. $3.
1858 Proof, very rare. Value, $50. [No price realized is listed for this lot in the ANS catalogue copy.]
1860 Proof, rare. $1.
1861 Proof, rare. $3.25.
1862 Proof, scarce. $1.75.
1863 Proof, scarce. $2.70.
1864 Proof, rare. $2.80.
1865 Proof, scarce. $2.20.
1866 Proof, scarce. $2.50.
1867 Proof, scarce. $1.20.
1868 Proof $2.50.
1870-CC VG, rare. $1.50.
B. Max Mehl's sale of the Charles H. Conover Collection, May 6, 1914. The rarest coin in the listing may be the 1855 Mint State dollar, although no bidders at the time suspected it!
1840 EF, with mint lustre. Very nearly Unc, $4.20.
1841 EF, considerable mint lustre. $1.75.
1842 Practically Unc., brilliant mint lustre. $1.25.
1843 Unc., bright mint lustre. $1.50.
1844 EF with considerable mint lustre, in fact I doubt if the coin was ever circulated. $1.45.
1845 EF, mint lustre. $1.25.
1846 EF, brilliant mint lustre. $1.25.
1847 Unc., sharp impression. $1.40.
1848 VF. Some mint bloom. $2.00.
1849 Unc., brilliant mint lustre. $2.00.
1850 Unc, $3.35.
1851 A perfect brilliant Proof $96.00.
1852 VF. Some mint lustre, and only slightest marks of circulation. $71.00.
1853 EF. Some mint lustre. $2.10.
1854 EF. Mint lustre. $4.35.
1855 Unc, Brilliant mint lustre. $5.00.
1856 Br. Proof $7.50.
1857 Perfect Br. Proof $6.00.
1858 Br. Proof $31.50.
1859 Br. Proof $2.10.
1860 Proof $1.60.
1861 Br. Proof $2.10.
1862 Br. Proof $2.20.
1863 Br. Proof, partly wire edge. $2.20.
1864 Proof $1.65.
1865 Proof $1.85.
1866 Br. Proof, wire edge. $1.85.
1867 Sharp Br. Proof $1.35.
1868 Proof $2.00.
1869 Br. Proof $1.85.
1870 Br. Proof $1.50.
1871 Br. Proof, partly wire edge. $1.20.
1872 Sharp Br. Proof $1.20.
1873 Proof $1.35.
The Arthur C. Nygren Collection sold by B. Max Mehl, November 30, 1914. Had PCGS and NGC existed back in 1914, cataloguers and bidders would have expressed a bunch of these coins in for grading. As it was, collectors of the era were not knowledgeable, no great premium was placed on quality, and many "condition rarities" sold for a song. Check the AU 1846-O, Mint State 1848, 1849, and 1850 dollars, and, especially, the Uncirculated 1855. Of course, one cannot sneeze at the high-grade 1856, 1859-S, and the 1870-CC, 1872-CC, and 1872-S-Wow!