bborus's Coin Album
The 1864-S dime comes from a mintage of 230,000 pieces, which was produced with a single die pair. Most of the mintage circulated and has been lost to attrition. In Mint State, surviving coins are rare. This Choice example displays satiny silver-gray surfaces with a hint of light golden color. All design elements are sharply brought up, and there are no singular surface abrasions.
Ex Richmond Collection (NGC Cert# 1716019-043), Ex Pelican Bay Collection (NGC Cert# 1716019-043). Coin was graded MS65 at NGC at time of purchase and was down graded to MS64 when sent to PCGS. This example became the 5th graded MS64 at PCGS. Briggs 1-A, Flynn-RPD-001. The 1865-S is a well-known condition rarity in Gem Mint State or finer grades. The mintage was small -- only 41,000 pieces were struck. Virtually all of the mintage circulated in West Coast commerce at a time when silver coins were in extremely short supply. Consequently, even circulated examples are rare in all grades today. The typical surviving 1865-S quarter is well worn, with an average certified grade of just 40.1. This MS65 example is the former Richmond Collection coin and currently serves as NGC Coin Explorer's plate coin. Frosted Gem surfaces display an attractive pearlescent sheen from light-gold toning supported by strong silver luster throughout both sides. The smooth surfaces show only a few faint grazes and no individual marks of note. The 1 in the date is repunched at its base and the strike weakens slightly at 8 and 6, as well as at a few star centers. The surface quality and eye appeal are exceptional. NGC Census: 1 in 65, 1 finer.
A moderately low mintage of 704,000 coins aided in the limited survival of high-grade representatives of this issue, with Premium Gems being rare. A blush of light champagne toning warms softly frosted surfaces on this well-preserved MS66+ piece, while razor-sharp design definition only adds to the immense visual appeal.
Ex Towers Collection. Arrows, Minute S, WB-103, Die Pair 3, R.3. A die chip on Liberty's chest and two other prominent lumps in the middle-left (facing) gown folds confirm the obverse, while the Minute S mintmark is high and left of the feather tip. Die cracks at stars 4, 5, and 8 suggest a late die state. Pleasing gold toning envelops the frosty, sharply struck surfaces and reddish-gold accents visit the borders. Scarce at this grade or any finer.
CAC. Like most issues in the Barber series, the 1914-S half dollar is conditionally scarce in Gem condition and rare any finer. This CAC-endorsed coin displays satiny luster with a hint of champagne toning. The eagle's right (facing) talons and the fletchings are a trifle soft, as usual.
CAC. Like most issues in the Barber series, the 1914-S half dollar is conditionally scarce in Gem condition and rare any finer. This CAC-endorsed coin displays satiny luster with a hint of champagne toning. The eagle's right (facing) talons and the fletchings are a trifle soft, as usual.
Trivial marks are noted on the obverse of this lovely Gem, preventing an even higher grade assessment. Both sides are fully lustrous with brilliant mint frost, and delicate champagne toning enhances the eye appeal. Scarce in this grade and rare finer.
Fully white with semi reflective fields on both sides. San Francisco and the production of Silver dollars got off to a rough start in 1859. Although there seems have have been an ample supply of silver in that wild Gold Rush city, none had been coined locally into silver dollars. Limited production of dimes, quarters and half dollars had been undertaken in the late 1850s, but no silver dollars. The San Francisco Mint Superintendent Hempstead wrote to Mint Director James Ross Snowden in November if 1858 and requested dies and permission to coin silver dollars. Snowden agreed, and 10 pairs of dies were sent west. These initial San Franscico silver dollars mostly went overseas to China, where they were accepted in trade but most were melted, as the Chinese preferred the Mexican silver coins. None of these 1859-S silver dollars were hoarded and saved when they were released, hence survival is random. Mint State coins are the hardest to find, as most known examples show considerable wear from years of service in commerce. Here is one of the few that did survive with all its mint frost and luster intact. A delight for the date specialist! Only 20,000 struck. Two die varieties are identified for the 1859-S Seated Liberty silver dollar, and this is a late die state of Osborn-Cushing 1, showing a delicate die crack through the base of the date. The 1859-S had a mintage of only 20,000 coins, and survivors are elusive in all grades. Mint State pieces are especially rare. Only 46 submissions have been graded Mint State and both PCGS and NGC, 23 at each grading service, and those figures include countless resubmissions.. This lovely Mint State piece shows striking weakness at the usual locations, including the stars at the upper right obverse, the top of the left (facing) wing, and the eagle's neck. The surfaces are brilliant and untoned, with prooflike fields. This is an outstanding example for an advanced collector.
CMQ - Exceptional Quality. A brilliant and beautiful example with bountiful mint luster and bold to sharp strike detail. The surfaces are remarkably well preserved and approach perfection for the issue. Production of the 1879-O marked the reopening of the New Orleans Mint following the Civil War. With a mintage of 2,887,000 examples, this issue is readily available overall thanks to the storage and eventual release of thousands of Mint State coins. According to Q. David Bowers in his 1993 silver dollar encyclopedia, the largest releases came in 1957 (five to 10 bags) and during the early 1960s (multiple 1,000-coin bags). As with many Morgan dollars, the 1879-O is rare in the finest Mint State grades, which for this issue means MS-66 and higher. One of the most impressive examples of this New Orleans Mint Morgan dollar that we have offered in recent sales, this coin is sure to appeal to discerning bidders.
Ex Vanderbilt Collection. Tied for second FINEST graded! A truly impressive, SUPERB coin! You know it is deserving of its lofty grade. A brilliant luster flashes in the fields, and the sharply struck devices stand out. Only the smallest, most insignificant marks can be detected with a strong glass. The eye appeal is beyond impressive! This very pleasing GEM will delight any advanced Morgan dollar collector.
The Open and Closed 9s variety, VAM-6 shows a closed left 9 and an open right 9, with horizontal polishing lines at the hair edge below Liberty's ear and at the eagle's right (facing) leg. This Superb Gem is fully brilliant and lustrous with both sides showing satiny, misty-gray luster delivering exceptional eye appeal. The surfaces are unabraded as expected for the high grade, and the devices show excellent design definition with only slight central weakness, as usual. No numerically finer examples have been certified at either service, making this a significant opportunity for Morgan specialists and Registry collectors.
During its first year of operation, the San Francisco Mint produced gold dollars, quarter eagles, half eagles, eagles, and double eagles. While the quarter eagles and half eagles are major rarities, Mint State dollars are also elusive with PCGS reporting only 22 examples finer than this piece (4/25). This sharply defined piece has pleasing yellow luster, has a few grade-limiting marks.
Ex Sand Hill Collection. A very pretty and CHOICE example of this very scarce date. Only 13,000 were struck and only 175 are estimated to survive in all grades, 20 in all Mint State grades (per PCGS CoinFacts). Well struck up with semi-Prooflike, rich orange-gold surfaces. While the initial look is that of a higher grade, close inspection shows some very minor marks consistent with the assigned grade. Coming from a mintage of 13,000 pieces, the 1860-S gold dollar is scarce, and it is underrated -- particularly in Mint State. This MS63 coin is a rarity, with most Uncirculated coins known residing in MS61 or MS62. The strike is razor-sharp, and each side exhibits rich orange-gold patina with faintly reflective fields. Light contact marks define the grade.
Small S. This is a scarcer variety for the 1856-S three dollar gold piece, which claims a mintage of 34,500 coins. That total is somewhat high in the context of the series but clearly low in the grand scheme of American numismatics. In 2005, Dave Bowers estimated 450 to 575 pieces extant in circulated grades, making the 1856-S fairly collectible. However, only 10 to 15 examples were believed to survive in Mint State, confirming the issue's status as a condition rarity. The present MS61 coin displays full strike definition on the headdress, curls, and wreath, along with, frosty glowing luster around the borders on each side. Orange-gold surfaces exhibit scattered marks and hairlines typical of a coin in this grade.
Despite the low mintage of just 82,000 pieces, a limited number of high-grade Uncirculated examples of the 1908-S survive. This issue was well-produced by the San Francisco Mint, with generally sharp strikes and fewer handling marks than other S-mint half eagles. Eye appeal is above average on most Choice Uncirculated or finer examples. This smooth and lustrous 1908-S displays all of the positive attributes of the issue, with exceptionally few post-mint distractions. Gleaming orange-gold surfaces flash occasional lilac accents, and the strike is crisp on both sides. Scrutiny with a loupe reveals no significant abrasions or marks on the obverse, and just a solitary carbon fleck (pinpoint in size) on the reverse beneath M in AMERICA. Mint luster flows evenly across the fields and devices.
Although the United States did not enter World War I until April 1917, reductions of gold exports and monetary policy limited the 1914 double eagle production to under 100,000 coins, which were primarily used to back Gold Certificates. About 6% to 10% of the mintage survives today, according to Roger Burdette's research. This near-Gem Uncirculated survivor displays frosty orange-gold color and vibrant mint luster. The strike is bold with minor softness at the torch hand and Capitol building. A few light marks at Liberty's midriff account for the assigned grade. PCGS reports only 61 numerically finer examples, plus another 61 pieces in 64+
Ex Bella Collection. The 1920 Saint-Gaudens double eagle is a famous condition key, plentiful in MS64 but prohibitively rare any finer. PCGS reports only 96 coins numerically superior to the current example (2/24). Original rose-gold and peach-orange color complements satiny luster. Minor abrasions are not bothersome for the grade.
Underrated Issue in High Grade. The 1923 Saint-Gaudens double eagle avoided the Gold Recall mass meltings and most of the mintage found its way to European holdings, where the coins were used in bank-to-bank transfers. Research by Roger Burdette indicates about 59,000 repatriated 1923 twenties exist today. Not surprisingly, the average survivor grades MS62 although present coin is far finer than that -- a splendid MS65 example. It was most likely carefully preserved domestically, perhaps one of the pyx coins obtained from the Mint Cashier, or otherwise obtained from the Philadelphia Mint. Radiant orange-gold color gleams from sharply struck, frosted surfaces. The eye appeal is terrific. PCGS reports only six numerically finer examples, plus 14 pieces in 65+
One of two die pairs of the 1875-S twenty cent piece that earn a place in the Cherrypickers' reference, BF-16 shows the top of a misplaced 7 in the dentils below the primary numeral. On the reverse, the mintmark is boldly repunched. This Premium Gem example is one of the two finest BF-16 coins attributed at PCGS (11/20), and it is conditionally scarce in this grade as a date representative. Only a handful of finer 1875-S twenty cent pieces are reported, all varieties included. This piece is beautifully lustrous and tinted a warm golden hue. Minor strike softness on the obverse stars and Liberty's lap is not bothersome. No major abrasions are seen.
