Walter Breen
Silver proof sets. [925+?] Number complete with both silver dollar and trade dollar not definitely known but - from the above delivery data on trade dollars -possibly as few as 925 may have contained both dollars. There were 500 sets delivered during the first quarter, 200 during the second and 275 during the third (all dime to silver dollar inclusive and presumably containing minor coins as well); total 975. Extant sets, aside from those in Smithsonian and ANS, mostly appear to have been assembled. (But compare Bartlett: 1005; Garrett:309 at $3100.) The reason for breakup of most sets would appear to be date collector demand for the low mintage silver coins. From here on through about 1889, aside from a couple of years of large dime mintage, the mint's principal output consisted of Morgan dollars, pleasing nobody except the owners of the western silver mines who had found an enormous captive market for their bullion; this coinage of dollars interfered drastically with the economy, producing relative and finally absolute shortages of subsidiary silver, and trapping the available silver bullion in non-current form. The dollars went from mints to banks, promptly being returned to Treasury vaults, where they stayed, while banks, merchants and paymasters petitioned for dimes, quarters and halves, and got very few. The dismal history is told, in part, in Taxay's U.S. Mint and Coinage, Chapter 20 - in a most tragicomic manner.
Gold Dollar. [87] Widely spaced date. B-1. Heavy letters, partial extra outlines. Rev. 1 centered below 0, second 8 below L; wreath tops joined; recuttings within 8's at r. (also on uncs.); ct. Garrett:469 at $1800. The coin appears rarer than it actually is, and one reason doubtless was the Leon T. Lindheim hoard. Lindheim found himself with several of the proofs, and conceived the idea of seeing how many he could assemble (to put it delicately); his adventures in this enterprise, resulting in a hoard of 54 pieces, are described in the Numismatic Scrapbook, December 1965: 3308ff. His No. 22 is described as obv. proof, rev. unc.; I have not seen it and cannot vouch for the striking qualities. (But when Paramount bought the hoard, only eight turned out to qualify as proofs.)
Mintage: 60, March 16 (of which 40 went with the sets), 10 on Sept. 30, 17 on Dec. 31. These are not distinguishable.
Quarter Eagle. [51] *B-1. Hollows (die polish) at eye, BER, in and below ear; curl away from brow; left base of first 1 r. of center. r. base of final 1 left of center. Rev. Filling in AMER, slight doubling at AM. Very rare, under strong date collector pressure. Many survivors are impaired, some drastically cleaned, e.g. Wolfson:224 (impaired), Bell 11:215 (likewise), NN 51 :871 (ditto), Dr. Bolt:841 (scrubbed). A perfect proof is possibly harder to find than the $3 in similar condition, and it would be one of the most undervalued of the quarter eagles of this decade. Cf. LM 9/67:360. However, as the 1968 N.Y. Metropolitan - Dines - Scanlon piece brought $2,200, Ullmer: 377 $4,250, and Garrett:468 $6,250, at this rate it may be less undervalued by the time you read these words. The still rarer (and sometimes deceptive) B-2 business strikes have none of the mentioned hollows, doublings or fillings; curl joins brow as usual; r. base of final 1 about over space, otherwise date Similarly placed.
Mintage: 40 with the sets, Feb. 19 (delivered March 26), 9 in second quarter, 1 each in third and fourth quarters, total 51. These are not distinguishable. None melted, 1874-89; presumably the extras outside the sets were all separately sold.
Three Dollars. [54] *B-1. No chip between RT; no die file marks; A's and R clear. Rev. Top of wreath barely open; r. edge of upright of 1 directly below r. tip of r. foot of A; no rust marks around wreath; no clash mark between RS. One of the more coveted rarities, owing largely to date collector pressure. Probably less than 25 proofs survive, some nicked up, cleaned or otherwise impaired. (1) SI. (2) ANS. (3) Eliasberg. (4) Garrett:467, $6,500. (5) NN 51:966, R.P. (6) Wolfson:309, choice. (7) Merkin 11/65:340, gem, small red stain at bottom rev. border. (8) Grant Pierce: 1268, Jay: 292, Scanlon: 2232. (9) Ullmer: 426, possibly same as no. 6 or 7. A number of others continue to play Musical Chairs at conventions (the music being provided by the jingling of common double eagles or silver dollars as the threes go from one dealer to another to another in the bourses). At least four are in "complete" sets (no 1870 S) in plastic holders, possibly more. As some early B-2 business strikes retain prooflike surfaces and could be deceptive as AU "impaired proofs", we append a description: Obv. Tiny chip between RT; fragment of extra crossbar in lower part of A of STATES; JBL weak. Rev. Die failure line like rust, at first partial and parallel to inner edges of wreath, later around most of wreath; clash mark from center of ear between RS (not constant). All B-2's were made on June 4 - unusually rapid die deterioration.
Mintage: 40, Feb. 9, for sets; 10 more, March 26; 4 in last quarter. These are not distinguishable unless the last 4 were from rusted or repolished dies. (That in SI is no help - it came from a set, Feb. 25.)
Half Eagle. [42] Date slants up to r., left base of first lover left edge, r. base of final 1 almost over r. edge; polish at IBERTY and in ear. Possibly 10 to 12 survive including a couple of nicked pieces. (1) SI. (2) ANS. (3) Eliasberg. (4) Garrett: 466, $4,000. (5) Atwater: 1702. (6) Newcomer, Boyd, WGC:435. (7) "Memorable" :380, possibly same as either of last two. (8) Melish:2177, ditto. (9) QS 9/73:1186, ditto. (10) Ullmer:456, $4,250, ditto. A few deceptive first strikes exist from various dies.
Mintage: 40 with sets, Feb. 19, delivered March 26; 1 each in June and December.
Eagle. [42] Date to r., incomplete curls behind neck. Left base of first 1 r. of center, r. base of final lover left edge. At least equally rare; mintage in same amounts on same dates. (1) SI. (2) ANS. (3) Eliasberg. (4) Garrett: 465, $5,500, hairlined. (5) Atwater: 1459. (6) WGC :686. (7) "Memorable" :579, same as last? (8) Amon Carter Sr. & Jr., ex (5)? (9) Ullmer:497, $5,250, same as one of last few?
Double Eagle. [61] Centered date to r., left base of first lover center, r. base of final 1 nearly over r. edge. Rev. Right tail feather broken, lys below beak fragmented. Under intense date collector pressure as few of the 2,220 business strikes survive. (1) SI. (2) ANS. (3) Bell I, Eliasberg, "H. R. Lee", NN 49:140, J. Cohen. (4) Clapp, Eliasberg. (5) Garrett:464, $19,000. (6) Newcomer, Boyd, WGC :884. (7) "Memorable" :70l. (8) Menjou 1:1820. (9) Atwater:1273 (source of one of last three?). (10) Dr. Green: 750. (11) Dunham:2324. (12)KS 3/65:191. (13) S 6/73:1193, $21,000. (14) Alto:448. (15) Ullmer: 529, $40,000. (16) 1976 ANA: 3250, $15,500. (17) Melish:983. (18) Woifson:929, two small rim stains. The last 9 are thought to duplicate earlier listings.
Mintage: 40 with sets as above, 4 in second quarter, 17 in December. These are not distinguishable.
Gold proof sets. [40] Minted as of Feb. 19, delivered March 26, all sold by June 30. Garrett's was dispersed, totalling $43,050. Unknown intact except as below.
Complete proof sets. SI, from Mint, from Coiner, Feb. 25, at $44.44 face (no proofing charge from now on). (2) Brock, Morgan, ANS, purchase date unknown.