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Two-Piece 1916 Proof Set NGC.... (Total: 2 coins)
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Sold on Jan 7, 2010 for:
$4,312.50
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Description
Two-Piece 1916 Proof Set
Last Year of Issue Until 1936
Two-Piece 1916 Proof Set NGC. "Effective at once, you
will please discontinue the manufacture of proof coins."--Mint Director Fredrich von Engelken, October 18th, 1916
as quoted in Roger W. Burdette's Renaissance of American Coinage 1916-1921
The end of the Barber design for silver coinage indirectly brought with it the end of the first era of American proof sets as well. With the Barber design officially on the way out and the numerous well-known difficulties in adapting the MacNeil and Weinman designs to coinage, manufacturing proofs of the silver denominations was a low priority for the Philadelphia Mint.
Complaints from collectors and coin dealers mounted, matched by Philadelphia Mint employees' increasing frustration with their demanding customers, yet no silver proofs were forthcoming. Only the cent and nickel, which had already experienced their "growing pains" as matte proofs, were offered as a two-coin set. Just 600 such sets were produced, and some may have gone unsold.
Roger W. Burdette, writing in his Renaissance of American Coinage 1916 - 1921, assigns responsibility for the demise of proof coinage to Philadelphia Mint Superintendent Adam Joyce, who wrote a letter to Mint Director Fredrich von Engelken dated October 17, 1916, laying out his case for the end of proof production. Burdette sums up Joyce's argument and von Engelken's reaction: "It didn't take von Engelken long to make a decision - the mint was losing money on each proof coin made, collectors were complaining, and paperwork had become a nuisance. Rather than look for ways to correct problems, the director decided to eliminate all proof coins."
Two decades would pass before the proof set tradition rose again.
Cent PR63 Brown. A strongly appealing Select specimen of the last standard-issue matte proof Lincoln cent, primarily violet and blue-brown overall but with considerable magenta intermixed. The obverse margins and a horizontal streak at the central reverse show muted copper-orange.
Nickel PR66. The most challenging and most costly of the widely distributed Buffalo nickel proofs, offered here as a gorgeous Premium Gem. Exquisitely detailed with wonderful satiny luster that graces textured surfaces, pale nickel-pink with broad gold elements and occasional orange accents.
From The Boca Collection, Part One.
View all of [The Boca Collection, Part I ]
Auction Info
2010 January Orlando, FL FUN US Coin Auction #1136 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
January, 2010
6th-10th
Wednesday-Sunday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 16
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
Page Views: 1,973
Buyer's Premium per Lot:
15% of the successful bid per lot.
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