1857 G$1 MS68 PCGS Secure. CAC....

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1857 Gold Dollar, MS68
The Cataloger's Choice
Winter: 'I Was Floored'

1857 G$1 MS68 PCGS Secure. CAC. This reddish orange-gold Superb Gem is an amazing gold dollar, exhibiting delicate blue and lilac overtones. The strike is bold with highly lustrous, frosty mint brilliance. Slight weakness is evident at the top of Liberty's headdress and at the wreath knot, although even those design points are sharper than usual for this issue. There are no marks on the pristine surfaces on either side, save for a minuscule planchet flake just above eye-level in the left obverse field. This piece is the cataloger's choice for the most beautiful gold dollar in the Duckor Collection.

Variety and Die State: Breen-6050. Normal Dies. Nearly vertical die striations cover both sides. Delicate clash marks appear inside the wreath on the reverse.

Population (6/15): This MS68 coin is the sole finest PCGS-certified 1857 gold dollar. The best at NGC grades just MS66.

Commentary: Considered a common date from a mintage of 774,789 coins, the 1857 gold dollar is actually difficult to locate in higher Mint State grades when compared to the most common Type Three gold dollars. Since we began our Permanent Auction Archives in 1993, 238 Mint State examples have been offered, and only 15 of those appearances graded finer than MS65. The Duckor Collection coin is the first MS68 to appear in any Heritage auction since the 1993 beginning of our archives. However, we sold this same coin in our 1992 ANA sale. At that time, we wrote:

"The 1857 gold dollar is a somewhat common issue in lower grades but becomes very elusive when one is sought in MS65 grade. The few Gems that exist are all from a small hoard of some 15 pieces that was uncovered in 1983 and quickly dispersed. Only 10 coins have been graded as MS65 or better by the major services according to the May [1992] population data. This is the finest known 1857 gold dollar, and in fact, it is the only [MS68] certified prior to 1864 by either service.

"This is a marvelous gold piece. Its surfaces shimmer with bright, frosted mint luster that races around the coin as it is tilted beneath a light. The unaided eye cannot detect any surface blemishes on either side, just the slightest evidence of die clashing is all that distracts the viewer's attention. The strike is not complete, but this is a characteristic of 1857 dollars, none of the hoard coins had a full strike, so this should not be viewed as a detracting feature. An outstanding type coin and easily the finest known of this scarce early Type Three gold dollar."

Although the MS65 or finer population has swelled since 1992, certainly due in part to resubmissions, the present example is still the only MS68 at either service.

Douglas Winter Commentary: Steve already owned a beautiful MS67 PCGS example of this date, but when he upgraded to this amazing finest known coin, I knew it had to be an exceptional piece. When he later showed me this coin, obtained via private treaty from David Hall, I was floored. This coin shows phenomenal lilac and reddish-orange color and is clearly the best I've ever seen of this date.

There are four or five really exceptional 1857 gold dollars, and PCGS has graded three in MS67. I have seen two of those three, and they really can't be compared to the Duckor coin. It last sold at auction for $16,000 as lot 2150 in the Heritage 1992 ANA sale and, in case you weren't a market participant in 1992, that was a ton of money for a relatively common date Type Three gold dollar in what was a pretty terrible coin market.

Provenance: ANA Sale (Heritage, 8/1992), lot 2150; purchased from David Hall Rare Coins.
From The Duckor Family Collection of Gold Dollars.(Registry values: N1)

Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# 25CD, PCGS# 7544, Greysheet# 8019)

Weight: 1.67 grams

Metal: 90% Gold, 10% Copper

View all of [The Duckor Family Collection of Gold Dollars ]

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