Q. David Bowers
Mint State grades: Among Mint State Philadelphia Mint trade dollars, the 1876 is the most plentiful date in existence today, although in lower Mint State ranges the 1877 gives it a run for the money. Many Uncirculated coins seen in collections today have deep gray or even black toning and may represent specimens saved by the public as a souvenir of the 1876 centennial year, or perhaps there is another explanation.
In a survey of auction appearances of 21 Mint State 1876 trade dollars, Mark Borckardt found 14 (66%) to be Type 1/1, six (29%) to be 1/11, and one (5%) to be II/II. Although this sample is small, it does give an indication of relative availability.
My estimates of the surviving population are as follows: MS-65 or better: 40 to 60; MS-64: 150 to 300; MS-63: 200 to 400; MS-60 to 62: 700 to 1,200.
Proofs: The Proof coinage for this year amounted to 1,150 coins according to Mint records, and I see no reason to doubt this figure. 1876 was the year that the Centennial Exhibition was held in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia to observe the 100th anniversary of American independence. The Mint was invited to set up a display of coins and a sales facility there, but declined, stating that visitors were welcome to come to the Mint itself. Evidently many did.
The monthly production figures for Proofs are as follows: January: 200; February: 50; March: 200; April: 100; May: 100; June: 200; July: none; August: 200; September: none; October: none; November: 100; December: none. These numbers indicate that by the end of June, just as the summer tourist season was getting underway , some 850 Proofs had been delivered, a figure which on its own to that point would have constituted the highest mintage in the series. (This statement assumes that the mintage of 1873 Proofs was 500 or 600 coins, not 865 as given in internal Mint records found by Harry X Boosel.) Apparently, these sold out by August, as during that month 200 more were delivered. This must have served the demand, for no further coinage occurred until November, when 100 coins were delivered, probably for general inventory and for customers seeking them as Christmas stocking stuffers. It was Mint policy to always have a small supply of Proofs on hand throughout the year and to end the year with a few pieces left over.
The 1876 is remarkable as the only Proof issue available in three different types: I/I, I/II, and II/II. Most encountered are of the I/II type.
Availability of Proofs: Today, Proofs are readily available (within the context of the trade dollar series). However, nice quality Proofs seem to trade less frequently than the population data suggest. In 1992 a leading dealer sought to put together a date set of 1873-1883 Proof trade dollars, and found that the 1876 was the last coin acquired, and that 1873 was also difficult to track down. The rarity of 1873 is to be expected, but the elusive nature of the 1876 came as a surprise.
Most are in the lower levels of Proof-60 through Proof-63, however, and still others are impaired. As a general rule, many 1876 Proof coins of all denominations were handled carelessly, probably because many were sold to the general public, to people who didn't know enough to handle coins carefully by their edges. Bruce Amspacher has commented that the Proofs are "notorious for poor quality."
In a 1982 survey of 14 auction appearances of Proof 1876 trade dollars, Mark Borckardt found none of I/I, 12 of I/II, and two of II/II.
Varieties:
OBVERSE TYPE I: RIBBON ENDS POINT LEFT, 1873-1876
REVERSE TYPE I: BERRY BELOW CLAW, 1873-1876
Business strikes:
1. Breen-5798. Obverse type of 1873-1876. Most surviving 1876 trade dollars are of the I/I type.
2. Breen-5798. Obverse type of 1873-1876. As preceding, but reverse with broken letters (hub damage); tops of E's and F gone, missing serifs on UNI D S M RI. No period after FINE.
Proofs:
1. Breen-5798. Proofs have broken letters on the reverse. Presently very rare. These may have formed a small part of the 250 Proofs made in January and February. Walter H. Breen knew of only four specimens in 1991.(Additionally, Walter Breen's Encyclopedia of u.s. and Colonial Proof Coins, p. 155, mentions a one-sided Proof (Proof obverse only; business strike reverse) from the John Zug estate.)
OBVERSE TYPE I: RIBBON ENDS POINT LEFT, 1873-1876
REVERSE TYPE II: NO BERRY BELOW CLAW, 1875-1885
Business strikes:
1. Breen-5799. Often chopmarked. Eight pairs of dies. This issue is about twice as scarce as I/I.
Proofs:
1. Breen-5799. The vast majority of Proofs are of this style. Some have light striking at stars 5 and 6 and traces of light striking on the head. Starr:776, Stack's, October 1992, was slightly doubled at the inside of the shoulder of the eagle's left wing, and slightly doubled on the left of the letters in UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
OBVERSE TYPE II: RIBBON ENDS POINT DOWN, 1876-1885
REVERSE TYPE II: NO BERRY BELOW CLAW, 1875-1885
Business strikes:
1. Type II/II. Very rare. Apparently, only a few were struck. In a survey of 21 auction appearances of Mint State 1876 trade dollars, Mark Borckardt found only one of the Type II/II issue.
Proofs:
1. Type II/II. Possibly five or more times rarer than Proofs of I/II. A specimen in the W.E. Seton
Collection has these characteristics: Obverse:
"Pimple" below ear on neck of Miss Liberty; another pimple on wrist centered above where branch joins arm; some Proof finish in space on top of bale. Reverse: Very delicate doubling of left side of most letters in TRADE DOLLAR.