Q. David Bowers
Lyman H. Low's sale of the Philip D. Hoch Collection, November 1, 1905. Trade dollars were not popular on the market at the time, and this offering of average to below average coins did not bring face value for the group!
1873 EF; reverse shows it to have been Proof. $0.80.
1873-CC VG. $0.70.
1873-S Good. $0.65.
1874 Good $0.90.
1875 EF. $0.65.
1875-CC VG. $0.70.
1875-S Fine. $0.65.
1876 Fine. $0.65.
1876-CC Good. $0.90.
1876-S Good. $0.75.
1877-CC Good. $0.85.
1877 About Fine. $0.90.
1877-S About Fine. $0.90.
1878 Proof, slightly impaired. $1.00.
1880 Proof. $0.95.
1882 Proof. $1.10.
In the December 1905 issue of The Numismatist, the Arnold Numismatic Company, Providence, Rhode Island, advertised Proof trade dollars, various 1873-1883 dates, for $1.30 each. The George Rice Collection, sold by St. Louis Stamp & Coin Company, April 13, 14, 1906. The trade dollars offered were mostly of average quality.
1873 Fine. $2.25.
1873-CC VG. $3.10.
1874 VF. $1.70.
1874-CC VF. $2.35.
1875 VG. $0.80.
1875-CC Fine. $2.15.
1876 Uncirculated. $0.80.
1876-CC Fine. $2.15.
1877 Uncirculated. $1.10.
1877-CC VG. $1.80.
1878 VF. $1.50.
1878-CC VG. $4.10.
Ben G. Green's 23rd Sale, May 25, 1906, contained a straightforward run of Proofs. Note that the 1873 was ignored, and laurels for the highest price went to 1878. Green, in the medical supplies and prosthetics business in Chicago, had a lively coin trade on the side. Virgil M. Brand, wealthy, local brewer, was one of his clients.
1873 Br. Proof. $1.10.
1874 Br. Proof. $1.70.
1875 Br. Proof. $1.50.
1876 Br. Proof. $1.10.
1877 Br. Proof. $1.50.
1878 Br. Proof. $2.05.
1879 Br. Proof. $1.35.
1880 Br. Proof. $1.25.
1881Br. Proof. $1.35.
1882 Br. Proof. $1.35.
1883 Br. Proof. $1.45.
Thomas L. Elder's Sale of May 23, 1907 (Elder's 11th public auction) included a run of Philadelphia Mint Proofs. Despite being the 'only coin called "rare," the 1873 languished at just 90¢, indicative of an oversight of this date which would extend in the market for decades thereafter. The 1878, which by this time was recognized as a key coin-the first "Proof-only" date in the series-took first place at $1.65.
1873 Proof. Rare. $0.90.
1874 Proof. $1.60.
1875 Proof. $1.40.
1876 Proof. $1.40.
1877 Proof. $1.15.
1878 Proof. Scarce. $1.65.
1879 Proof. Scarce. $1.40.
1880 Proof. Scarce. $1.00.
1881 Proof. Scarce. $1.00.
1882 Proof. $1.15.
1883 Proof. $1.05.
Henry Chapman's sale of the Matthew Adams Stickney Collection, June 25-29, 1907. Stickney was one of the great nineteenth century numismatists and amassed a formidable cabinet by the time of his death in 1894. Although he was an early entrant in the mintmark sweepstakes, the grades of his Carson City and San Francisco coins were not particularly noteworthy. This is because there was no ready source of supply in dealer circles for branch mint issues, and most had to be obtained from bullion dealers, who mostly handled worn pieces.
Among Proofs, the highest price was realized by the 1874, a scarce issue. No particular notice seems to have been paid to the 1878 Proof.
1873 Br. Proof. $1.60.
1873-S VF. $1.25.
1874 Br. Proof. $2.00.
1874-S Fine. $2.50.
1875 Br. Proof. $1.70.
1875-CC VG. $0.65.
1875-S VF. $0.65.
1876 Br. Proof. $1.25.
1876-CC VG. $1.30.
1877 Br. Proof. $1.30.
1876 Unc. Mint lustre. $0.80.
1876-S Minute S. VF. $1.10.
1876-S Larger S. Unc. $1.25.
1877-S EF. Mint lustre. $0.60.
1877-S Remarkable freak of coinage-only one-half of the edge has been milled, and in consequence it is both a plain and a milled edge at the same time. Fine. $1.30.
1878 Br. Proof. $1.25.
1878-S Unc., mint lustre. $1.10.
1879 Br. Proof. $1.00.
1880 Br. Proof. $1.10.
1881 Br. Proof. $1.50.
1882 Br. Proof. $1.50.
1883 Br. Proof. $1.55.