1827/3 Original Quarter, PR62, 'Mickley's Favorite'
Plate Coin in the Breen Proof and Complete Encyclopedias

1827/3 25C Original PR62 NGC. B-1. Ex: Norweb Collection. Most advanced collectors of U.S. coins are familiar with the story of how 19th-century numismatist Matthew A. Stickney traded an Immune Columbia cent in gold and some other coins to the U.S. Mint in May 1843 for an 1804 silver dollar.
While that is the most widely known early U.S. numismatic transaction, specialists in early U.S. quarters recall a still earlier exchange. Joseph J. Mickley (1799-1878) was another noted 19th-century collector, who is often called the "Father of American Numismatics" and was the first numismatist to own the Mickley-Hawn-Queller 1804 Class I Original silver dollar, recently auctioned by Heritage for a record-breaking $3,737,500. Mickley, seeking a Bust quarter dated 1827 for his collection, went to the U.S. Mint late in 1827 and purchased four proof (as all are) 1827/3 Original quarters for a "Spanish or Mexican silver dollar" (Breen, Proof Encyclopedia).
The 1988 Breen Complete Encyclopedia provides provenances (updated from the 1977 Proof Encyclopedia) for all four of those pieces, as well as six other Originals. But this piece was "Mickley's favorite," likely due to its full strike on all star centrils, and it was the last of the four that Mickley would sell, in the same famous W. Elliot Woodward October 1867 sale that saw Mickley part with his 1804 Class I Original silver dollar. From the Breen-Browning quarter reference: "This was Mickley's favorite specimen. Probably the sharpest striking of all." This is the Plate Coin in the 1977 Breen Proof Encyclopedia, the 1988 Breen Complete Encyclopedia, and the 1992 Breen-Browning Early Quarters of the United States 1796-1838.
Although the Mint recorded 4,000 Bust quarters produced in 1827, it is likely that all of them were dated 1825 (there were no quarters produced in 1826). All of the known 1827/3 quarters are proofs, some impaired. The case that there were never 1827-dated business strikes produced is strengthened by the fact that when Mickley visited the Mint to obtain 1827 quarters, the Mint accommodated him by overdating an 1823 (also a rare date) die with a 7! Perhaps after Mickley's visit, a few more pieces were struck off from the same die, as there is only one Original die known.
Heritage has offered 1827/3 Restrike quarters seven times previously (with an eighth in the present offering), but this is the first time that Heritage has ever offered an 1827/3 Original. So far as we can ascertain, this appears to be the first auction offering of an 1827/3 Original by any company since January 2004, when the Farouk-Pittman specimen, graded PR63 by PCGS, fetched $126,500 (Stack's, 1/2004, lot 3700).
Besides a memorable Mint visit resulting in a trade by famous 19th-century collectors, the 1827/3 quarters, Originals and Restrikes, have much more in common with the 1804 silver dollars. Both coins can be fairly divided into Class I Originals, and Class II and Class III Restrikes, with similarities between each class. There are eight known 1804 Original silver dollars (with three in institutional holdings), and perhaps 10 Original 1827/3 quarters (roster in the 1992 Breen-Browning quarter reference). The Originals can be easily distinguished by die markers from the subsequent Restrikes, although the 1827/3 Original quarters are known to have been struck in 1827, while the 1804 Original silver dollars were struck in the mid-1830s.
There is a single Class II Restrike 1804 silver dollar, overstruck on a Swiss shooting thaler, and there are a small handful--perhaps three or four--of 1827/3 quarters struck over earlier Bust quarters, which have also been called Class II Restrikes. All of the Restrikes are a product of mating the original 1827/3 obverse with a reverse die from 1819. While the earlier Class II Restrikes can be distinguished by a relative lack of die rust, they are, as mentioned, overstruck on earlier quarters. The later Class III Restrikes, of which a dozen or more exist plus some copper strikings, show much obverse die rust, but no overstriking. The similarities between the later Class II and Class III Restrikes of both the 1827/3 quarter and the 1804 dollar have led some numismatists to believe that their production was contemporaneous, although the differences in obverse die rust on the 1827/3 Restrike quarters do not fit easily with such an explanation.
The Original coins of this fabled issue have a curl-base 2 in the denomination on the reverse, while the Restrikes, with the reverse of 1819, have a flat-base 2. All of the 1827 quarters were struck in proof format, and all are 1827/3 overdates. This piece is well mirrored on each side. Both obverse and reverse are also well balanced with light, nearly brilliant centers that are surrounded by golden-rose toning around the margins. The fields are lightly hairlined, but there are no obvious contact marks on either side. The 3 underdigit is obvious with only slight magnification. Small reverse die cracks run from the top of the scroll to the D in UNITED and the first A in AMERICA. The striking details are complete throughout, with all star centrils fully defined. The lack of die rust and with the curl-base 2 in the denomination mark this piece as an Original. All these qualities make this particular specimen Joseph Mickley's favorite of the four pieces he once owned.
Perhaps because the 1815-38 Draped Bust quarters are such a difficult series--there are no "easy dates" in top condition--the 1827/3 Original quarter seems undervalued compared to many other classics of U.S. numismatics. No 1827/3 quarter, Original or Restrike, appears in the current Top 250 auction prices as listed in the 2009 Guide Book. But with a legendary pedigree extending back to the earliest days of U.S. numismatics, and with countless associations and comparisons to the 1804 silver dollar, the 1802 half dime, and others, this coin and its siblings appear destined one day soon to assume a deservedly higher place in the numismatic pantheon.
Ex: Joseph J. Mickley, one of four obtained for face value directly from the Philadelphia Mint in 1827, saved by Mickley as his favorite coin, apparently because it was the best struck of the four pieces, and later sold in the auction of Mickley's collection; Mickley Collection (W. Elliot Woodward, 10/1867), lot 1706 (with dime and half dollar); J.P. Reichardt (later changed to Reakirt); Joseph P. Reakirt; Lt. Jay P. Reakirt; Columbus Stamp and Coin Company; Ambassador and Mrs. R. Henry Norweb; Norweb II (Bowers and Merena, 3/1988), lot 1542; anonymous Heritage consignor.(Registry values: P10) (#5373)

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