By Doug Winter – RareGoldCoins.com

Continuing my fascination with Proof-only issues, I’d like to discuss the rare Proof-only double eagles dated 1883, 1884 and 1887. These issues are not all that well-known outside of Type Three Liberty Head collectors and I think they merit more than a passing mention.

Beginning in 1881, production of double eagles at the Philadelphia mint became little more than an afterthought. And it would remain as such until 1888. In 1883, there were no business strikes produced. The Mint did strike 92 Proofs; ostensibly for the limited numbers of collectors who were interested in Proof double eagles at this point in time.

The Mint struck considerably more Proof 1883 double eagles than they were able to sell and it is believed that as many as half of the original mintage was melted later in the year. Of the four dozen or so that were distributed to collectors and dealers, around twenty at most are known today. This figure includes at least three that are impounded in museums and another two or three that are impaired.

The 1883 is the second rarest collectable Liberty Head double eagle, trailing only the 1884 (I consider the 1849 and the 1861 Paquet reverse non-obtainable and do not include them). Despite this coin’s indisputable rarity, it is only fairly recently that the 1883 became known as a major rarity. Prices for this issue had remained fairly stagnant for many years, hovering in the $75,000-100,000 range. This only changed in 2004 when Heritage sold an example for $172,500. Today, a Gem is worth at least $200,000-225,000.

There are a small number of Gems that have been graded by the services and at least one has been slabbed as PR66 by NGC. I know of six or seven Gems and the two nicest that I have personally seen are Heritage 1/06: 3580 (graded PR65 Ultra Cameo by NGC) and Heritage 1/04: 3224 (graded PR65 Deep Cameo by PCGS and possibly also ex Dallas Bank collection).

There are a few diagnostic criteria that make this an easy issue to authenticate. All show roughness on the back of the eagle’s neck and fragmentation of the fleur de lys beneath its beak. These die markers do not exist on any business strike reverses of this era.

The 1884 is the rarest of these three Proof-only issues. A total of 71 were struck and it is possible (although unconfirmed) that a few were melted as unsold, given the fact that so many Proofs dated 1883 suffered this fate. There are slightly fewer than twenty known. I wrote in 2000 that 15-17 exist and I think this number might be a tiny bit on the low side. A total of twelve have sold at auction since 2000 but this includes a number of coins that have sold more than once. (more…)

The proof five dollar coinage of 1907 through 1909 provides quite an object lesson in the evolution of Mint technology and consumer tastes. The 1907 Liberty Head proof, last of the series, was produced in a mostly brilliant or “semibrilliant” proof format that was introduced in 1902; as a result, most proof gold from 1902-1907 lacks much cameo contrast–half eagles or otherwise.

The 1908 gold coins of the new Bela Lyon Pratt and Augustus Saint-Gaudens designs were launched with a new “matte” proof format that was all the rage in European mints of the era. The Robert Loewinger reference, Proof Gold Coinage of the United States, offers this:

“The [matte proof] process originally started in Belgium and was popularized in the Paris Mint. The finish was applied after striking and was made by sandblasting the coins at different forces and speeds with different sizes of grains of sand. Also pickling the coins in a weak acid was another technique that was used on these coins after striking.”

We are unsure how widespread the “pickling” was, but the sandblasting was a well-known, widespread Mint technique that produced a granular (sometimes fine, sometimes coarser), usually dark, subdued finish to the product, a function of the lack of normally reflective surfaces. The matte proof coins of 1908 are usually dark, brownish-gold to olive-brown, and they were extremely unpopular with collectors accustomed to a more brilliant finish.

The Mint in 1909 reverted to a lighter Roman or satin finish for proof gold. The updated Akers Handbook offers these thoughts:

“The proof 1909 introduced the Roman Gold proofing method in the Indian Half Eagle series, although at least one specimen was prepared using the dark matte finish of 1908. Despite having brighter, flashier surfaces than the proof 1908, the proof 1909 still failed to gain wide acceptance among the contemporary public The Mint melted many examples at year’s end. Interestingly, even though most survivors present as overall smooth, the issue has the lowest average grade in the entire proof Indian Half Eagle series.”

A  PR67 piece is being offering in the current 2010 October Stamford Coinfest Signature US Coin Auction #1145, and is one of the nicest survivors of the proof 1909 half eagle mintage, recorded as 78 pieces. It is one of six so graded at NGC, with but two coins finer.

By Steve Roach
First published in the Nov. 1, 2010, issue of Coin World

Gold is currently the engine that is driving the rare coin market.

It seems that Coin World’s Market Analysis of late has been alternating between gold one week and everything else the next week. However, an emphasis on gold is appropriate as the market has never seen gold hit the levels that it is currently hitting.

On Oct. 11, the price of gold hit a record London PM fix of $1,351 an ounce and at one point during the day hovered at $1,360.

On Oct. 12, the banking investment firm Goldman Sachs raised its gold price forecasts to $1,400, $1,525 and $1,650 for three-, six- and 12-month horizons, citing falling interest rates and a slowdown of the U.S. economic recovery.

Other investment firms are similarly bullish on the prospects of gold to continue rising in value.

Gold is up nearly 25 percent in 2010, and if trends continue, gold will be heading for its tenth consecutive annual gain.

The U.S. Mint’s release of Proof 2010-W American Eagle gold coins in early October has taken pressure off the secondary market for earlier 1-ounce issues.

At an issue price of $1,585, the 2010 1-ounce coins are trading at the same level as older issues in the wholesale markets, where several dealers are paying up to $1,600 an ounce for coins available for immediate shipment to fill orders from wholesalers who still have customers demanding these coins for inclusion in Individual Retirement Accounts.

As of Oct. 12, the Mint’s Web site posts an expected delivery date of Oct. 27 for new orders of Proof 2010-W gold American Eagles.

The recent announcement that the Mint will produce Proof 2010-W American Eagle silver coins has also cooled off the market for earlier coins tremendously.

Immediately after the news about the Proof 2010-W silver coins broke, market makers reduced their buy prices for Proof silver American Eagles from $55 to $45, in line with the Mint’s $45.95 price of the Proof 2010-W coins when they go on sale Nov. 19 at noon with a household limit of 100.

The Mint has not given any indication of how many Proof 2010-W American Eagles silver coins may be produced.