1877 $10 (Proof)

P. Scott Rubin: The 1877 Proof Eagle is an extremely rare coin. Only seven to nine specimens are believed to still exist out of a reported mintage of only 20 coins. It was not until 1941 that an 1877 Proof Eagle was offered separately at auction. I am aware of only three 1877 Gold Proof Sets being offered before 1941.

We know the original purchasers from the Mint of five complete Gold Proof Sets of 1877:
Herman Ely collection sold at Woodward’s January, 1884 Auction lot 952.
Thomas Cleneay collection sold at S.H. & H. Chapman’s December, 1890 Auction lot 428.
William B. Wetmore collection sold at S.H. & H. Chapman’s June, 1906 lot 160.
Brock Family Collection now in the American Numismatic Society Collection.
The United States Mint Collection saved since day one and now in the Smithsonian Institution Collection.

While we only know of the present location of two of the above complete Gold Proof Sets of 1877, we know the Garrett Specimen of the $10 Proof 1877 Eagle is not from one of the above mentioned sets, since the Garrett set was either bought by T.H. Garrett directly from the Mint or from a Dealer intermediary.

The original owners of the other currently known individual specimens are not known. What we do know is that five or six specimens have been offered at auction in the last 25 years. The finest of these is an NGC graded Proof-65 Cameo that reached a record price for the date when sold in Heritage’s 2013 FUN Platinum Night Sale for $76,375.

David Akers (1975/88):

Proofs of this date are extremely rare, equal to those of 1865, 1867, 1868, 1871, 1873 and 1875. Only 7-8 are known.