1873 $5 Closed 3, DCAM (Proof)

Proof 1873 Half Eagles with a Closed (or Close) 3 are monster rarities due to an initial mintage of only 25 pieces. Even so, at least half of the original mintage still survives today. The PCGS Population Report suggest that most examples are Brilliant Proofs, but this may not necessarily be so because PCGS did not recognize Cameos and Deep Cameos in the early years. Thus, one can assume that as more coins are graded and regraded, the populations will move away from Brilliant Proof into either of the two Cameo categories. Nonetheless, it is true that Deep Cameo examples are the exception rather than the rule. The few Deep Cameo examples certified by NGC and PCGS are Gems with deep, black-and-white contrast.