1849 G$1 Closed Wreath MS66 PCGS Secure. CAC....

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1849 Closed Wreath Dollar, MS66
Brilliant Prooflike Surfaces
From the David Akers Collection

1849 G$1 Closed Wreath MS66 PCGS Secure. CAC. Ex: Duckor/Akers. Full prooflike surfaces and a compete strike capture the viewer's attention with a single glance. This brilliant honey-gold example displays mirrored and striated fields contrasting against gently lustrous devices that present a cameo appearance.

Variety and Die State: Breen-6005. Heavy Numerals with outlines around the digits, denomination, and legend letters. This early strike shows no clash marks, die cracks, or other anomalies. Breen's Heavy Date and Thin Numerals varieties are from the same master die that included the full date. The Thin Numerals variety was created when a completed reverse die was lapped, minutely reducing the depth of the numerals on that working die.

Population (6/15): PCGS reports three in MS66, and one finer coin in MS66+. NGC shows one MS66 and another in MS66 ★ .

Commentary: The diminutive gold dollar and the massive double eagle were direct results of the California gold discoveries of the previous year. The gold dollar denomination was considered a dozen years earlier, when pattern coins were produced in 1836. By then the Bechtler family of North Carolina had been producing small gold dollar-sized coinage since the early 1830s, yet the government proposal never came to fruition.

Walter Breen reported three proof examples in his Proof Encyclopedia, although those coins are now identified as circulation strikes. However, this example from the Akers and Duckor collections exhibits considerable proof characteristics. Although clearly not a proof, we have no doubt that this Premium Gem was offered as such in the past.

Douglas Winter Commentary: The 1849 gold dollar is numismatically significant as the first issue of the new denomination produced at the Philadelphia mint. A number of varieties exist but for type collectors, the Closed Wreath is a popular choice due to its high level of production. As a date, the 1849 isn't really scarce until you reach the MS65 level, but properly graded MS66 examples are very rare, as evidenced by the current PCGS population figure of just three in this grade with a single MS66+ (owned by collector Bob Simpson) being the likely finest known of the variety.

In recent years, the best 1849 Closed Wreath dollar to sell at auction was the MS66 PCGS-CAC example that realized $17,250 as lot 1358 in the February 2010 Heritage sale, still the record for this variety. More recently a non-CAC MS66 PCGS sold for $11,163 as lot 3903 in the February 2013 Heritage sale.

The Duckor coin, which was formerly in the gold dollar collection formed by David Akers, has an uncommon prooflike appearance and an exceptionally bold strike. I would almost bet that it had been offered by an old-time dealer such as Max Mehl as a "proof" and given its remarkable appearance, I can see why.

Provenance: Purchased from David Akers.
From The Duckor Family Collection of Gold Dollars.(Registry values: P4)

Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# 25BA, PCGS# 7503, Greysheet# 8009)

Weight: 1.67 grams

Metal: 90% Gold, 10% Copper

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

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