Q. David Bowers
S.H. and Henry Chapman's sale of June 17-18, 1889, owner's name not stated, included the following selection of trade dollars. The "rare" comment concerning the very common 1878-S shows that the Chapman brothers had little knowledge of this denomination.
1873 Unc., Brilliant mint lustre. $1.50.
1875 Br. Proof. $1.40.
1877 Br. Proof. $1.25.
1878 Br. Proof. $1.10.
1878 Unc, Trade dollar. San Francisco mint. Rare thus. $1.05.
1879 Br. Proof. $1.15.
1879 Br. Proof. $1.30.
New York Stamp & Coin Company's sale of the Robert Coulton Davis Collection, January 20-24, 1890, included a nice run of Proof trade dollars. At the time, few numismatists were interested in branch mint coins. The typical cabinet contained only the Philadelphia Mint Proofs, plus, possibly, a stray mintmarked piece or two.
Davis, a Philadelphia druggist, had close ties to the Mint and was also a coin trader; he bought and sold numismatic specimens, and over a period of time he gathered and dispersed collections in various series. In this sale the typical price for a Proof trade dollar was $1.10 to $1.15, or less than the same coins would have sold for in the mid-1880s. Clearly, Proof trade dollars had entered a slump.
Note that the 1873 is the only issue singled out as being "scarce." The cataloguer, David Proskey, was ahead of his time; few others realized that the 1873 Proof was more elusive than most other dates in the series.
1873 Sharp and perfect Proof; scarce. $1.30.
1874 Sharp Proof. $1.35.
1875 Sharp and perfect Proof. $1.10.
1876 Sharp and perfect Proof. $1.10.
1876-S Minute nicks. $1.10.
1877 Sharp and perfect Proof; scarce. $1.10.
1878 Sharp and perfect Proof. $1.10.
1878 Sharp and perfect Proof. $1.10.
1879 Sharp and perfect Proof. $1.15.
1880 Sharp and perfect Proof. $1.15.
1881 Sharp and brilliant Proof. $1.15.
1882 Sharp and perfect Proof. $1.15.
1883 Sharp and perfect Proof. $1.15.
Charles Steigerwalt's Sale No. 30, April 1892, (fixed price list), included the trade dollars listed below. Doing a mail order (primarily) business from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Steigerwalt handled many important properties. His prices represented full market at the time, but his quality was usually above average. The popular term "semi-Proof' is equivalent to today's "prooflike."
Note that Steigerwalt charged a notable premium for the 1873 and must have considered it to be rarer than the others. Note also the quantity lot of seven 1880 Proofs for $8, or about $1.15 each.
1873 Br. Proof. $2.00.
1874 Br. Proof. $1.75.
1875 Br. Proof. $1.75.
1877 Br. Proof. $1.50.
1877-S Unc, $1.35.
1878-S Unc, Semi-Proof. $1.50.
1879 Br. Proof. $1.50.
1880 Br. Proof. $1.35.
1880 Br. Proofs. 7 pieces for $8.00.
Scott's Catalogue of Gold and Silver Coins, 1893,gave the following prices, among others, for trade dollars. At the time there continued to be little interest in collecting mintmarks, and no premium was attached to them. This does not mean mintmark issues were easy to obtain, however. The prices of mintmarks given by Scott were highly theoretical and did not represent actual market transactions. The only commonly traded coins were Proofs. If, for example, a numismatist in 1893 sought Mint State specimens of 1873-CC and 1876-CC and was willing to pay triple catalogue prices, he would not have been able to find them easily, if at all.
Research concerning relative rarity of branch mint coins was a beginning science, and in the same year Augustus G. Heaton published his Mint Marks monograph. It was not until well in the twentieth century, however, that collectors began to take serious notice of mintmarked trade dollars.
Notice that among the following catalogue prices the Proof 1877 is considered to be the most valuable, and worth twice the price of an Uncirculated 1878-CC! Notice also that most branch mint coins were routinely priced at $2 each Uncirculated; no matter than an Uncirculated 1873-CC was at least a hundred times rarer than an 1875-S in the same grade. Today's reader of these prices must assume that the Scott pricing was done hastily in 1893, and had little basis in fact. Scott was a merchandising outfit, not a serious numismatic company.However, the firm did much missionary work in attracting new collectors to the hobby. For example, at the World's Columbian Exposition held in Chicago in 1893, Scott had two sales displays.
Further, in general Scott's 1893 listings for Proofs tended to be markedly higher than actual auction realizations.
1873 Unc. $2.00, Proof $2.50.
1873-CC Unc. $2.00.
1873-S Unc. $2.00.
1874 Unc. $2.00, Proof $2.50.
1874-CC Unc. $2.00.
1874-S Unc. $2.00.
1875 Unc. $2.00, Proof $2.50.
1875-CC Unc. $2.00.
1875-S Unc. $2.00.
1876 Unc. $2.00, Proof $2.50.
1876-CC Unc. $2.00.
1876-S Unc. $2.00.
1877 Unc. $2.00, Proof $3.50.
1877-CC Unc. $2.00.
1877-S Unc. $2.00.
1878 Proof $2.25.
1878-CC Unc. $1.75.
1878-S Unc, $1.75.
1879 Proof $2.25.
1880 Proof $2.50.
1881 Proof $2.50.
1882 Proof $2.50.
1883 Proof $2.50.