Silver Dollars & Trade Dollars of the United States - A Complete Encyclopedia

4. The Atwater Specimen. Proof-65

• Mint official, possibly Col. A. Loudon Snowden
• William Idler
• Capt. John W. Haseltine and Stephen K. Nagy
• William Cutler Atwater Collection, B. Max Mehl sale, June 1946, Lot 378, $1,450. "Perfect brilliant gem Proof." Mehl noted that in the recent three years (actually 19 months) he had sold three 1885 trade dollars (Olsen's, 1944; Granberg's, in his Roe sale, 1945; and this one). This represented all he had handled in the preceding quarter century.
• Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr.
• Eliasberg estate. Stars 5 through 9 and Miss Liberty's head lightly struck.

5. The Olsen Specimen. Proof-60

• Mint official, possibly Col. A. Loudon Snowden
• William Idler
• Capt. John W. Haseltine and Stephen K. Nagy
• Private collection
• Fred Olsen Collection, B. Max Mehl sale, November 1944, Lot 1767, $1,150. "Brilliant Proof. Of excessive rarity; Probably not more than four specimens known. Listed in the Standard Catalogue at $1,000.00 and certainly worth it. In point of actual rarity it is worth at least double that of the 1804 dollar."
• George Sealy Ewalt Collection, Stack's, November 1965, Lot 43, $11,000. "This coin is a brilliant Proof with faint hairlines in the field which do not impair the value of this outstanding rarity."
• Leo A. Young Collection, Rarcoa's section of Auction '80, Lot 1626, $110,000. "The 1885 trade dollar ... is a simulated series coin for which no listing can be found in the Annual Reports of the Director of the Mint. Nonetheless, with ONLY FIVE PIECES KNOWN TO EXIST, it is a RARE and desirable piece of U.S. numismatics. . . The piece offered here, the Leo A. Young specimen, is a BRILLIANT PROOF.
with obverse hairlines." For many years Leo A. Young was a dealer in Oakland, California (and other locations). Among his many catalogues, perhaps the best known is that for the 1959 ANA Sale.
• Julian Leidman. Sold to the following for c. $125,000.
• Michael Follett. Texas rare coin dealer; long-time advertiser in The Numismatist.
• Private collection
• Rarcoa's session of Auction '84, Lot 1810, $96,250. The catalogue description repeated that used in Auction '80. This was one of two 1885 trade dollars in Auction '84; the other was the Granberg coin. Sold to the following.
• John N. Rowe, III. Well-known Dallas, Texas professional numismatist. Sold to the following.
• L.R. French, Jr.
• L.R. French, Jr. Family Collection, Stack's, January 1989, Lot 202, $104,500. "Brilliant Proof, with light hairlines in the fields. Light toning on the devices. The fields are still well mirrored. There are some light freckles on Liberty's arm. The reverse die has a faint raised guide line in the field just in front of the 12 denticles to the left of UNITED, showing conclusively that it is not the reverse die used on the 1884 issue." Sold to the following.
• Charles Barasch, of International Coins & Currency, Inc., Montpelier, Vermont. Purchased for the following.
• Private Northeast collection, where it was located as of 1992.
Notes concerning 1885 trade dollars which cannot be specifically attributed today to one of the five coins in the above list, but which, undoubtedly, are part of it:
1. In The Numismatist, March 1914, Edgar H. Adams offered at fixed prices Proof 1884 and 1885 trade dollars for $400 and $1,000 respectively.
2. In The Numismatist, June 1944, p. 546, the Celina Coin Company advertised a complete set of Proof trade dollars, including these listings: "1884 Very Rare, $400.00," and "1885 Excessively Rare, $1,000.00." These were sold by Burdette G. Johnson from the Col. E.H.R. Green estate to the Brandts brothers. In a subsequent issue of The Numismatist, only the 1884 was listed, indicating that the 1885 had been sold separately. This 1885 may be No.2 or No .. 3 in the above registry.

Market Notes
The following auction offerings are in chronological sequence and give an idea of the market at the times indicated, although it is not known if all specimens actually found buyers at the prices indicated:

1911, April E. H. Adams sale to V. M. Brand. Proof-65 $750

1913, July Granberg Specimen. Proof-63 to 64 $1,140

1944, Nov. Olsen Specimen. Proof-60 $1,150

1946, June Atwater Specimen. Proof-65 $1,450

1950, May Granberg Specimen. Proof-53 to 54 $1,450

1950, June Adams Specimen. Proof-53 $1,350

1954, Feb.Farouk Specimen. Proof-62 $1,665

1965, Nov. Olsen Specimen. Proof-60 $11,000

1980, Aug. Olsen Specimen. Proof-50 $110,000

1984, Jan. Granberg Specimen. Proof-63 to 64 $110,000

1984, July Granberg Specimen. Proof-53 to 64 $90,750

1984, July Olsen Specimen. Proof-60 $96,250

1987, Feb. Granberg Specimen. Proof-63 to 64 $96,250

1988, Feb.Farouk Specimen. Proof-62 $121,000

1989, Jan. Olsen Specimen. Proof-60 $104,500

1885 Trade Dollar:Catalogue Values

Values as given in A Guide Book of U.S.Coins 1945(1946 prices) to date. Actual auction records are a better indication of value, but catalogue listings areof interest. No prices were listed for 1975 and 1980.