1895 $1 PR61 Cameo PCGS....

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Historic 1895 Morgan Dollar, PR61 Cameo

1895 $1 PR61 Cameo PCGS. Numismatists love a good mystery. In an earlier era, the reasons for the rarity of the "King of American Coins," the 1804 silver dollars, were the subject of endless speculation. "The mintage is recorded as 19,570 coins, so where are they today?" In 1842 Mint employees Jacob Eckfeldt and William Dubois published a volume whose cover depicted an 1804 silver dollar, a previously unknown coin. This prompted collector Matthew A. Stickney to visit the Mint in the following year, obtaining an 1804 silver dollar in trade for several other rare coins.
While the subject of the 1804 silver dollar has been dealt with, by us and others, extensively elsewhere, suffice it to say that in its day the coin was the subject of endless rumors. Some of them were quite creative. In The Rare Silver Dollars Dated 1804 and the Exciting Adventures of Edmund Roberts, Q. David Bowers writes:

"One theory is that they were lost when the ship sank which was transporting them to France in payment for the territory then known as Louisiana.
"Another theory held that the entire mintage of 19,570 1804 silver dollars, except for a few that were saved beforehand, was shipped to Tripoli on the Barbary Coast of the Mediterranean, either to pay ransom to pirates or to pay wages to American seamen who were fighting the pirates. Unfortunately, the dollar-laden ship sank, and all of the coins went to Davy Jones' Locker. ..."

So, how different are the stories surrounding the "King of Morgan Dollars" and the reputed business strikes dated 1895? The only difference, perhaps, is in the creativity of the stories. Even then, Breen has written that the 12,000 business strike wound up being melted under terms of the Pittman Act, shipped as silver ingots destined for coinage and commerce in India.
Although numismatists today believe they have solved the major mysteries concerning the 1804 silver dollars, those surrounding the 1895 silver dollars continue to haunt them. As with a few other legends of 19th century numismatics--how about the 700 1873-S Seated dollars?--this is a case where we may never be able to supplant mystery with history.
The present silver-gray PR61 Cameo example offers surfaces far nicer than the numeric grade suggests. There are few visible signs of contact, although a few hairlines appear in the fields. Slight suggestions of gold occur near the rims, but the surfaces are largely untoned. The strike is sharp as expected, and the moderate field reflectivity contrasts well with the frosted devices. An excellent opportunity to fill that last--or first?--hole in a high-grade Morgan set. Population: 2 in 61 Cameo, 68 finer (8/10).
From The Helen Gates Kirk Collection.(Registry values: N7079)

Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# 27ZR, PCGS# 87330, GSID# 7842)

Metal: 90% Silver, 10% Copper
Weight: 26.73 grams
ASW: 0.77346oz

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