PO Box 619999
Dallas, TX 75261-6199
Street Address:
2801 W. Airport Freeway
Dallas, Texas 75261-4127
(Northwest corner of W. Airport Freeway [HWY-183] & Valley View Lane)
Important: Use our map link to see location / directions. Typing our address directly into a map search may misdirect you.
800-USCOINS (872-6467)(214) 528-3500
Fax: (214) 409-1425
Auction Name: 2025 October 2 - 5 GACC US Coins Signature® Auction
Lot Number: 3190
Shortcut to Lot: HA.com/1386*3190
1887 $20 JD-1, High R.5, PR62 Cameo PCGS. CAC. The Bland-Allison Act of 1878 required the U.S. Treasury to purchase massive amounts of silver ($2 to $4 million) from the Western mines every month and coin the bullion into silver dollars. Accordingly, the Philadelphia Mint concentrated most of its resources on producing large mintages of silver dollars for the following decade and produced only limited numbers of double eagles for circulation. In fact, no business-strike double eagles were struck at the Eastern facility during three years of the decade - 1883, 1884, and 1887. Of course, the San Francisco Mint continued to strike large numbers of double eagles for commercial use throughout much of this period, and the Carson City Mint contributed a few smaller productions to support the regional economy. Fortunately for collectors, the Philadelphia Mint continued to produce a number of proofs every year to satisfy collector demand.
In fact, a generous mintage of 121 proof Liberty double eagles was struck in 1887. The proofs were delivered in quarterly batches of 26, 28, 10, and 57 pieces, indicating strong demand throughout the year. A single die pair was used to strike all the proofs. The 1887 proofs were well produced and many examples seen have sharp strikes, with strong field/device contrast. In United States Proof Coins, Volume IV: Gold, John Dannreuther estimates the surviving population at just 30 to 40 examples in all grades. PCGS CoinFacts estimates an even smaller total of 25 to 30 examples are extant, suggesting that some owners, or their heirs, may have spent their holdings during hard financial times in the 1890s.
The present coin is an impressive PR62 specimen that exhibits razor-sharp definition on all design elements. The richly frosted devices contrast dramatically with the deeply reflective fields to produce a startling cameo effect. The pleasing yellow and orange-gold surfaces show a few minor nicks and hairlines in the fields, but none that merit individual notice. The overall presentation is quite attractive and the high quality within the grade is confirmed by CAC. This coin is pictured on PCGS CoinFacts. Population: 1 in 62 Cameo, 2 finer. CAC: 1 in 62, 1 finer (8/25).
Include Thumbnail(s)
