1885 50C, DCAM PR65+ DCAM Certification #26549360, PCGS #96446

Ron Guth

The mintage of Proof 1885 Half Dollars was slightly larger than in the previous year, but it was still a mere 930 coins.  With only 5,200 circulation strikes to complement the Proofs, this is a tough date for any collector to acquire.  The number of surviving Proof 1885 Half Dollars is slightly above the 1884's and 1886's, but less than the 1882's and 1883's.  This doesn't translate to much, since they are all priced roughly the same in average grades.  In top grades, this date is slightly tougher than some of its contemporaries but there are a sufficient number of PR66's to go around.  Approximately one in five examples are Cameo Proofs.  Deep Cameo Proofs are extremely rare (a familiar refrain for Proof Half Dollars of this period).