1860 $1 MS65 PCGS. CAC....

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Sold on Mar 4, 2016 for:

$50,525.00 Bid Source: HA.com/Live bidder

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1860 Seated Dollar
Rarely Seen Brilliant Gem

1860 $1 MS65 PCGS. CAC. In 1860, Seated dollars were little-used in domestic commerce and large quantities of the issue were never released to the public. Silver continued to be the precious metal of choice for foreign trade (especially in China and the Orient) where silver dollars found a home -- albeit a tenuous one -- since most of the export dollars were unceremoniously melted for their bullion value.

Likewise, circulation-strike Seated dollars were virtually ignored by collectors. There was little desire to find a high-grade business strike when a pristine proof could be purchased at the Mint. 1860, in particular, was an important year at the Mint for proof issues since it was the first full year of offering proofs to the general public. The demand was overestimated, and results were more of a bungle than a bang. The large mintage of 1,000 proofs saw more than half of the pieces melted at year-end as unsold.

Surviving Gem Seated dollars are rare regardless of date or mint. PCGS reports just 68 MS65 or finer examples for the entire 33-year series, without any allowance for duplications or resubmissions. 1860 happens to be a high-mintage year by virtue of the large production of Seated dollars at the New Orleans Mint, but the Philadelphia issue is as rare in high Uncirculated grade as any other date, despite its own healthy mintage of 217,600 pieces.

The present offering is an exceptional example that has been off the market for more than 25 years. Housed in an early 1990s-vintage PCGS green label holder, the coin is brilliant-white and frosty. Cartwheel mint luster flows with unbroken radiance across both sides, and the coin displays a creamy-smooth presence that captures the eye of even the most discriminating specialist. CAC rightfully endorses the coin.

A few high point contacts exist as well as a pair of tiny reeding marks on the reverse beneath STATES and the eagle's wing, and the strike is minutely incomplete on a few of the top stars and Liberty's head. Even so, there is no denying that this is an outstanding Gem Seated dollar of the highest order. Such appearances are rare at public auction, and we expect spirited bidding when this important lot crosses the block. Population: 4 in 65, 2 finer (2/16).
From The Dr. John Young Collection.(Registry values: N7079)

Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# 24Z2, PCGS# 6949, Greysheet# 7209)

Weight: 26.73 grams

Metal: 90% Silver, 10% Copper

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