Photos and descriptions used with permission and courtesy of Heritage Auction Galleries

Unknown to Walter Breen and to our knowledge unrecorded in any reference, this is a coin that Breen would have said “carries its own credentials.” In his 1977 proof reference, Breen only records an 1892-O dollar as a Branch Mint proof. There is no mention of a half dollar. However, there is more of a reason for the New Orleans Mint to have produced a specimen half dollar than a dollar. It may well be that the half dollar was produced first, and the silver dollar struck as an afterthought. The significance of the 1892-O half dollar was addressed extensively in an article by Paul M. Green in the May 2, 2006, issue of Numismatic News:

” …the written information of the time suggests there was quite a bit of interest in the Columbian Exposition half dollars, which might have been natural as they were the first half dollar commemorative of the United States. The new dimes, quarters and half dollars for circulation were apparently not as interesting.

“There should have been some interest in the 390,000 Barber halves produced at New Orleans that year if for no other reason than the fact that half dollar production at New Orleans was unusual. The New Orleans facility had produced its last half dollar three decades earlier in 1861, when the Civil War was dividing the nation. (more…)

Photos and descriptions used with permission and courtesy of Heritage Auction Galleries

Of the 373 1865 proof silver dollars that have been certified as of (1/08) by both NGC and PCGS combined, the current coin stands above all others with regard to state of preservation and technical grade. A smattering of examples exist at the PR66 and PR67 levels, but only one, the piece offered here, has been awarded the seemingly unattainable grade of PR68. The fields are deeply mirrored and the devices display significant mint frost which yields an unacknowledged cameo contrast beneath the multiple layers of toning. Rose and sea-green toning are seen over each side to varying degrees of intensity. The devices are fully struck in all areas, as one would expect. What is unexpected, however, are the extraordinarily clean surfaces. We simply do not see any defects on this coin.

Although 46,500 Seated dollars dated 1865 were struck for circulation, the number of survivors is comparable to that of the 500 proof coins produced that same year. According to Bowers in his seminal work on the subject, Silver Dollars & Trade Dollars of the United States (1993), the reason for this fact is twofold: most of mintage of 1865 business strike dollars were exported to Central and South America whereas the full production of 500 proof pieces were distributed with the 1865 silver proof sets. Today fewer than 400 business strikes are extant, with the vast majority of those survivors in circulated grades. Approximately the same number of proof examples are available today, based on a thorough review of auction records, population data and independent analyses of numismatic researchers. The problem encountered by advanced collectors of business strike Seated dollars, however, is the fact that few Mint State pieces dated 1865 exist. The inclusion of a high grade proof specimen into one’s regular issue collection is often a tempting, and sometimes the only option. (more…)