1855-S $3 AU55 Certification #43576837, PCGS #7973

David Akers (1975/88)

This date is very scarce in all grades and it actually has the fewest number of auction appearances in our 238 catalogue auction survey of any regularly issued date in the series with the exception of the 1873 Closed 3 which may or may not have been intended for circulation (See comments on 1873 Closed 3). The 1855-S is also tied with the 1857-S for second lowest number of auction records in unc. and it has the fewest auction records in AU. Overall, it has the lowest average grade of any date in the entire series. A quick look at auction records from 1950 to 1976 shows that no 1855-S was catalogued as better than EF since 1950. I have only seen two AU's, as well as a small number of EF's, but I understand that the Bass Collection contains a choice unc that was formerly in the Krug Collection. All things considered, the 1855-S is one of the rarest and certainly among the most unappreciated dates in the series.