1855-S $3 PR64 Cameo PCGS. CAC. JD-1, unique as a proof....

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1855-S Three Dollar Gold, PR64 Cameo
Unique Branch Mint Proof Gold Issue
First San Francisco Mint Three Dollar
Ex: Tom Bender #2 Registry Set

1855-S $3 PR64 Cameo PCGS. CAC. JD-1, unique as a proof. Ex: Tom Bender. All branch mint proofs are extremely rare issues, and this 1855-S proof three dollar gold piece is certainly no exception. With just a single example known to collectors, the 1855-S proof is among the most elusive issues in the U.S. federal series. Produced to commemorate the first striking of the three dollar denomination at the San Francisco Mint, which just opened for coinage operations the year before, the early history of this coin is shrouded in mystery, adding to its historic interest and mystique. Carefully preserved by a California family for more than a century, this coin only surfaced in relatively recent times, to amaze present-day collectors with its outstanding quality and absolute rarity. Heritage Auctions is privileged to present this unique numismatic treasure in this important offering.

A Need for Branch Mint Coinage
The 1848 discovery of gold in California forever changed the region and the nation. The Western population quickly swelled with prospectors, and a scarcity of coinage made life difficult. Gold dust was the medium of exchange in California, and the individual prospectors typically received less than half its real value. One option was to ship the gold dust to the mints in New Orleans or Philadelphia, where pure dust was worth at least $16 per ounce. However, payment of express charges, commissions, and insurance substantially reduced the net value. Another option was to sell the dust to local bankers who also substantially discounted the value, shipping large quantities to New Orleans or Philadelphia.

Individuals and small companies were soon established in California to produce coins from the copious fresh gold supply. In Private Gold Coins and Patterns of the United States, Donald H. Kagin writes:

"During our nation's history, the Federal Government has theoretically been responsible for issuing coinage whenever and wherever the need existed. Many times, however, when the Federal Government was slow to meet its responsibilities, private individuals took it upon themselves to provide alternatives to the official, but unavailable, coins of our nation."

The private coinage in California was not without its problems, principally inadequate weight and/or fineness. Eventually the Federal Government stepped in, opening the United States Assay Office, following Congressional legislation passed on September 30, 1850. The first issues appeared early in 1851, carrying the name of Augustus Humbert, U.S. Assayer. Authorized by the United States, the new issues forced most private coiners out of business and clearly proved advantageous to the individual miners, who would now receive full value for their gold dust and nuggets. The Assay Office was only a temporary measure, however, and a full-fledged branch of the U.S. Mint finally opened in San Francisco in 1854. Kagin writes:

"The United States Assay Office was a reasonable, although temporary, solution to the need for a standard medium of exchange, but what the Californians earnestly desired was their own branch mint. Proposals for a California branch mint appeared as early as December 1849, but legislation failed until July 3, 1852. Finally, the San Francisco branch mint officially opened on April 3, 1854."

Striking Special Coins

As might have been expected, the San Francisco Mint suffered its share of setbacks when it first opened for coinage operations. A shortage of parting acids, among other difficulties, severely limited the coinage of most denominations, and no three dollar gold pieces were struck at the new mint in 1854. The citizens of San Francisco were proud of their new coinage facility, however, and Mint personnel were eager to establish the importance of their new branch. Accordingly, Superintendent Lewis A. Birdsall had a specially struck Liberty double eagle sent to the Philadelphia Mint for inclusion in the Mint Cabinet in 1854.

The Mint Cabinet specimen was probably the first double eagle minted on the opening day, April 3, 1854. Considered a proof or presentation strike, the coin is now part of the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution. In his Encyclopedia of United States and Colonial Proof Coins, Walter Breen discussed this 1854-S double eagle:

"When I saw it in 1951, neither Stuart Mosher (then curator as well as The Numismatist editor) nor I had any idea it was a branch mint coin, and great indeed was our astonishment at finding the S mintmark. It would have passed as a Philadelphia proof had I not looked at the reverse."

More recently, Jeff Garrett and Ron Guth published a slightly different opinion regarding the Smithsonian's 1854-S double eagle in their Encyclopedia of U.S. Gold Coins 1795-1933:

"Although the coin has been called a Proof by most researchers, it is the authors' opinion that the coin would be more accurately described as a presentation strike. The surfaces are deeply prooflike but lack the deep, orange-peel appearance of true Proofs of the era."

Many numismatists believe more special strikings were made when other denominations were struck for the first time the following year. Currently, one 1855-S Seated Liberty quarter is known in proof format, and three 1855-S proof half dollars have been reported. It is believed that this proof three dollar gold piece was also coined to commemorate the first striking of the denomination in 1855. However, like the proof quarter and two of the half dollars, this piece was not sent to the Mint Cabinet. It seems those specially struck pieces were obtained by local luminaries and preserved in private hands for many years. A small business-strike mintage of 6,600 three dollar gold pieces was also accomplished that year, making the issue quite elusive in both formats. The same die pair was used to strike both the proof and regular-issue coins.

History of the Present Coin
Traditional wisdom suggests this coin was obtained by a California family at its time of issue and carefully preserved for more than a century, as it has certainly never been in circulation. Writing about the origin of this piece in 1984, David Akers noted:

"This coin is undoubtedly UNIQUE and its existence was not known or even rumored until it surfaced in the San Francisco Bay Area a short time ago. Its proof status is, in our opinion, absolutely certain and the coin was surely struck to mark the first minting of the Three Dollar denomination at the San Francisco Mint. (At least one Quarter and two or three Half Dollars were struck for a similar purpose in 1855 and this coin is identical in overall 'fabric' to those pieces. There is also a single proof 1854-S $20 in the Smithsonian minted a year earlier to commemorate the first $20 struck in S.F.)"

The existence of the proof 1855-S three dollar was apparently known to a few individuals by the third quarter of the 20th century. In The United States $3 Gold Pieces, 1854-1889, Q. David Bowers writes:

"The known example was shown to one of the authors (Bowers) by John Struzan in the 1970s. It later was acquired by David Stagg III, who sold it in 1983 to Jimmy Hayes and John Dannreuther, after which, graded as Proof-63, it appeared in Paramount's section of Auction '85 [sic, actually Auction '84] as lot 881 and later was in several other sales, still as Proof-63, now certified by NGC."

When Walter Breen penned his Proof Encyclopedia, published in 1977, the proof 1855-S three dollar gold piece was unknown to him, as it made its first public appearance in the 1984 Apostrophe Sale. Breen's 1989 Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins does mention this specimen, and suggests a second proof example was known to him, but gives no further details, other than to say it was in a private collection. Similarly, Jeff Garrett and Ron Guth report that a single example was supposedly sent to the Mint Cabinet, but note "if the coin was sent, it no longer exists in the Smithsonian collection." Until such time as the second piece makes its appearance, this proof 1855-S three dollar gold piece has to be considered unique.

A consortium of Jeff Garrett, John Dannreuther, and Jimmy Hayes purchased the newly discovered gold piece privately from San Francisco coin dealer David Stagg III at the 1983 San Diego ANA convention. Garrett later described it as "a supremely rare Proof that any serious collector would love to own." Although he writes in Encyclopedia of U.S. Gold Coins 1795-1834 that the coin first surfaced at the 1984 ANA convention, it was actually publicly offered for the first time just prior to the convention, when it was consigned to Paramount's session of Auction '84, held the preceding weekend.

David Akers, associated with Paramount in 1984, wrote the first description of the 1855-S proof three dollar piece, the same coin that is offered here today. A keen numismatic observer, Akers commented:

"We have examined this coin for many hours, comparing it both to business strikes of the period and to proofs, including an 1855 Philadelphia Mint proof $3. It is totally unlike any business strike 1855-S $3 in overall appearance and texture (albeit from the same dies) and it is remarkably similar to the 1855 $3 proofs struck at the Philadelphia Mint. In fact, if there were no 'S' mintmark on the reverse, one would immediately take it for an 1855 Philadelphia Mint proof."

The next two auction appearances, in Superior's section of the Apostrophe Sales in 1988 and 1990, offered this piece as PR63 NGC. The catalogers essentially just reprinted the Akers description from 1984. In the January 2000 Rarities Sale, Bowers and Merena offered this 1855-S proof three dollar piece, now certified PR63 PCGS, according to the catalog. Little further information was offered about this coin in that catalog. Four years later, the coin appeared in lot 2025 of the 69th Anniversary Sale (Stack's, 10/2004). Graded PR63 PCGS, it realized a healthy price of $276,000, to prominent New Jersey coin dealer Brian Hendelson.
The present coin was last offered more than 11 years ago, when it was featured in lot 7487 of the ANA Signature (Heritage, 8/2011). Graded PR64 Cameo NGC at that time, the coin realized a staggering $1,322,500, a record price for any three dollar gold piece. It has been a highlight of Tom Bender's #2 ranked PCGS Registry Set, $3 Gold With Major Varieties and 1855-S Proof (1854-1889) ever since.

Physical Description
Noted gold specialist David Akers aptly described the physical appearance of this proof 1855-S three dollar gold piece in Auction '84:

"A very attractive, brilliant proof with a 100% full strike, a sharp, square edge and deep mirror fields that have considerable 'orange peel.' (This 'orange peel' texture is one of several characteristics of virtually all 19th Century U.S. proof gold coins.) The color is a rich greenish-gold and orange. There are some light hairlines on the surfaces but virtually no contact marks or abrasions. In front of the face and behind the head there is the 'porosity' (resulting from double striking and conforming exactly to the shape of the wreath on the reverse which received the metal flow) that is seen on almost all proof threes. From the standpoint of quality and overall appearance, this coin is very pleasing, better than most 1854 proofs we've seen as well as most of the 1856 and 1857 proofs."

This piece exhibits every design detail exactly as it appeared in the dies, with obvious cameo contrast between the lustrous devices and fully mirrored fields. As others have noted, it has every outward appearance of a Philadelphia Mint proof, except of course for the S mintmark on the reverse. The high quality within the grade is confirmed by CAC. Call it "Supremely Rare" or a "Landmark Rarity," the 1855-S is unique as a proof and it is arguably the single most important coin in the present sale. Add its fascinating numismatic history, and this specimen is a must for the advanced collector or Registry Set enthusiast. This coin is pictured on the PCGS Cert Verification page and is the plate coin for John Dannreuther's United States Proof Coins, Volume IV: Gold. Population: 1 in 64 Cameo, 0 finer. CAC: 2 in 64, 0 finer (12/22).
Ex: Reportedly held in a Sierra Foothills family collection since the time of issue; shown to Q. David Bowers by John Struzan in the 1970s; unknown intermediaries; David Stagg III; sold to a partnership of Jeff Garrett, John Dannreuther, and Jimmy Hayes at the 1983 ANA Convention in San Diego for $35,000; Auction '84 (Paramount, 7/1984), lot 881, realized $41,250 to bidder #132; Superior Galleries; possibly sold to a Superior customer; Auction '88 (Superior, 7/1988), lot 345, realized $52,800 to bidder #431; Martin Paul (The Rarities Group); Auction '90 (Superior, 8/1990), lot 1294, as PR63 NGC, realized $85,200 to bidder #391; Ron Karp (New York Gold Mart); placed in a private collection in the 1998-1999 time frame; The Rarities Sale (Bowers and Merena, 1/2000), lot 340, bought in by the book; 69th Anniversary Sale (Stack's, 10/2004), lot 2025, as PR63 PCGS, realized $276,000; Brian Hendelson; ANA Signature (Heritage, 8/2011), lot 7487, as PR64 Cameo NGC (Cert # 1578367-003), realized $1,322,500; currently ranked #2 Tom Bender PCGS Registry Set, $3 Gold With Major Varieties and 1855-S Proof (1854-1889), as PR64 Cameo PCGS.
Note: This pedigree was based on John Dannreuther's list of Significant Examples in United States Proof Coins, Volume IV: Gold.
From The Bender Family Collection, Part III.

Coin Index Numbers: (PCGS# 88054, Greysheet# 8778)

Metal: 90% Gold, 10% Copper
Weight: 5.02 grams
AGW: 0.16oz

View all of [The Bender Family Collection, Part III ]

View Certification Details from PCGS