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FUN Signature US Coin Sale 1251 4-6 & 8-9 Jan 2017
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Proof Seated Dollars
1852 $1 Original PR65 PCGS Secure. CAC. OC-P1. Original Proof. Osburn-Cushing Die State a/a. There is ongoing debate among researchers whether or not all 1852 proof Seated dollars are Restrikes, or if a few Original proofs were actually coined in 1852. One recently published opinion on the subject comes from Seated dollar authorities Dick Osburn and Brian Cushing on their website, seateddollarvarieties.com, where they propose that a handful of original proofs were struck of the rare 1852 Seated dollar, and that two examples are confirmed to survive − the present coin, and the coin in the ANS collection:
"We've confirmed the existence of two examples of the original proof, so probably 5 or fewer were originally minted. One of the two known examples is the coin which resides in the reference collection of the American Numismatic Society ... The second coin is graded PR66 by NGC, and is currently the finest known 1852 proof, original or restrike. This coin was sold by Heritage in their 2015 Central States Numismatic Society signature auction as part of a collection known as the Virginia Cabinet. Heritage handled the coin again in the 2016 Winter FUN auction."
The bold statement, no doubt, will rekindle discussion regarding the existence of original vs. restrike proofs. Mint records do not lend support to either argument, as official proof production was not recorded until 1858, and small quantities of Restrikes produced by the so-called "Midnight Minters" in the late 1850s and early 1860s were necessarily excluded from official reports.
Heritage numismatist and cataloger David Stone recently located correspondence dated March 29, 1852 between collector M. A. Stickney and Mint assayer William E. DuBois, on the subject of 1851 and 1852 silver coinage. DuBois wrote:
"I must apologize for not having attended to your request for the specimens of 1851; while waiting for the completion of the set, I forgot the whole matter. I have now the silver dollar, half dollar, quarter dollar, and half dime, of 1851; the remainder you will have to get from circulation. In fact there is no longer any attention paid here to securing master coins or pieces of high polish, since Mr. Eckfeldt's decline and decease, and since the business of the Mint has become so pressing. The pieces I have just named, of 1851, are not master coins; merely new and clean specimens. Of the silver coins of 1852, the dollar and half dollar are not yet issued, and I do not know when they will be; if they are, it will be merely for the name of the thing."
DuBois then wrote an addendum to the letter:
"There is every prospect of a new issue of silver this year; and probably a new gold dollar with a hole in it; the Engraver is now at work on dies for the latter."
The only complete 1852 proof sets known to have existed at one point are the Col. Robert C. H. Brock - J. P. Morgan set, now in the ANS, and the eight-piece Richard B. Winsor set, which is believed to be a later appearance of Joseph J. Mickley's six-piece silver proof set, offered in W. Elliot Woodward's 1867 sale of that collection. It is theoretically plausible that these two sets were acquired intact directly from the Mint in 1852, but the timeline also allows for the possibility that they were assembled by their original owners in the early 1860s, to complete date runs of proof sets in their owners' collections (collector demand was, after all, much of the reason restrikes were produced to begin with). The Winsor catalog listed that set's cent as being "uncirculated," not a proof, which supports the likelihood that at least part of that set was in fact assembled.
In early listings, 1852 proof dollars were simply listed as being proof, with no distinction as either Original or Restrike. A study of the die characteristics of 1852 proof dollars reveals the possibility of as many as six different die pairs, composed of several reverse dies paired to a single obverse. Some of the reverse dies used for the 1852 are the same as those used to strike proof 1851 dollars, all of which were coined during the restrike period.
Just one die marriage is from the 1840 reverse hub, lending credence to the theory that coins struck from that reverse die are possibly original proofs produced for 1852, as well as for other early proof issues. The research by Osburn and Cushing support such a scenario. Significantly, the ANS coin is the only other 1852 proof from the 1840 reverse die that can be attributed to the striking of original proofs. Walter Breen − and others − question the accuracy of that assessment, stating that the "original" die pair may have actually been kept in storage until the late 1850s and then used for Restrikes. The new Osburn-Cushing research essentially puts that theory to rest, a position supported by PCGS in assigning the Original designation.
This magnificent 1852 proof dollar ranks is currently tied as the finest certified example of all 1852 proofs reported by NGC and PCGS combined (10/16), either as a restrike or an original. NGC lists one PR66 example, but it is the same as the present coin, which is now in a PCGS holder. The design elements boldly stand above the deeply mirrored recesses, and would warrant a Cameo designation were it not for deep original toning that blankets both sides in cobalt-blue, aqua-gray, and lavender-gold hues. No contact marks are present, and any faint hairlines in the fields are well-hidden by the rich patina. Eye appeal is outstanding.
Osburn and Cushing's discovery that the coin was struck from the correct die pair (OC-P1) to qualify as an Original proof was not known at the time of our earlier description of the coin, when it was offered as part of the Virginia Cabinet Collection at the 2015 Central States Signature Auction (Heritage, 4/2015, lot 5149). Then, the coin was holdered as a Restrike by NGC as PR66. It has since been reholdered with the Original proof designation in a PCGS Secure holder.
1852 $1 Original PR65 PCGS Secure. CAC. OC-P1. Original Proof. Osburn-Cushing Die State a/a. There is ongoing debate among researchers whether or not all 1852 proof Seated dollars are Restrikes, or if a few Original proofs were actually coined in 1852. One recently published opinion on the subject comes from Seated dollar authorities Dick Osburn and Brian Cushing on their website, seateddollarvarieties.com, where they propose that a handful of original proofs were struck of the rare 1852 Seated dollar, and that two examples are confirmed to survive − the present coin, and the coin in the ANS collection:
"We've confirmed the existence of two examples of the original proof, so probably 5 or fewer were originally minted. One of the two known examples is the coin which resides in the reference collection of the American Numismatic Society ... The second coin is graded PR66 by NGC, and is currently the finest known 1852 proof, original or restrike. This coin was sold by Heritage in their 2015 Central States Numismatic Society signature auction as part of a collection known as the Virginia Cabinet. Heritage handled the coin again in the 2016 Winter FUN auction."
The bold statement, no doubt, will rekindle discussion regarding the existence of original vs. restrike proofs. Mint records do not lend support to either argument, as official proof production was not recorded until 1858, and small quantities of Restrikes produced by the so-called "Midnight Minters" in the late 1850s and early 1860s were necessarily excluded from official reports.
Heritage numismatist and cataloger David Stone recently located correspondence dated March 29, 1852 between collector M. A. Stickney and Mint assayer William E. DuBois, on the subject of 1851 and 1852 silver coinage. DuBois wrote:
"I must apologize for not having attended to your request for the specimens of 1851; while waiting for the completion of the set, I forgot the whole matter. I have now the silver dollar, half dollar, quarter dollar, and half dime, of 1851; the remainder you will have to get from circulation. In fact there is no longer any attention paid here to securing master coins or pieces of high polish, since Mr. Eckfeldt's decline and decease, and since the business of the Mint has become so pressing. The pieces I have just named, of 1851, are not master coins; merely new and clean specimens. Of the silver coins of 1852, the dollar and half dollar are not yet issued, and I do not know when they will be; if they are, it will be merely for the name of the thing."
DuBois then wrote an addendum to the letter:
"There is every prospect of a new issue of silver this year; and probably a new gold dollar with a hole in it; the Engraver is now at work on dies for the latter."
The only complete 1852 proof sets known to have existed at one point are the Col. Robert C. H. Brock - J. P. Morgan set, now in the ANS, and the eight-piece Richard B. Winsor set, which is believed to be a later appearance of Joseph J. Mickley's six-piece silver proof set, offered in W. Elliot Woodward's 1867 sale of that collection. It is theoretically plausible that these two sets were acquired intact directly from the Mint in 1852, but the timeline also allows for the possibility that they were assembled by their original owners in the early 1860s, to complete date runs of proof sets in their owners' collections (collector demand was, after all, much of the reason restrikes were produced to begin with). The Winsor catalog listed that set's cent as being "uncirculated," not a proof, which supports the likelihood that at least part of that set was in fact assembled.
In early listings, 1852 proof dollars were simply listed as being proof, with no distinction as either Original or Restrike. A study of the die characteristics of 1852 proof dollars reveals the possibility of as many as six different die pairs, composed of several reverse dies paired to a single obverse. Some of the reverse dies used for the 1852 are the same as those used to strike proof 1851 dollars, all of which were coined during the restrike period.
Just one die marriage is from the 1840 reverse hub, lending credence to the theory that coins struck from that reverse die are possibly original proofs produced for 1852, as well as for other early proof issues. The research by Osburn and Cushing support such a scenario. Significantly, the ANS coin is the only other 1852 proof from the 1840 reverse die that can be attributed to the striking of original proofs. Walter Breen − and others − question the accuracy of that assessment, stating that the "original" die pair may have actually been kept in storage until the late 1850s and then used for Restrikes. The new Osburn-Cushing research essentially puts that theory to rest, a position supported by PCGS in assigning the Original designation.
This magnificent 1852 proof dollar ranks is currently tied as the finest certified example of all 1852 proofs reported by NGC and PCGS combined (10/16), either as a restrike or an original. NGC lists one PR66 example, but it is the same as the present coin, which is now in a PCGS holder. The design elements boldly stand above the deeply mirrored recesses, and would warrant a Cameo designation were it not for deep original toning that blankets both sides in cobalt-blue, aqua-gray, and lavender-gold hues. No contact marks are present, and any faint hairlines in the fields are well-hidden by the rich patina. Eye appeal is outstanding.
Osburn and Cushing's discovery that the coin was struck from the correct die pair (OC-P1) to qualify as an Original proof was not known at the time of our earlier description of the coin, when it was offered as part of the Virginia Cabinet Collection at the 2015 Central States Signature Auction (Heritage, 4/2015, lot 5149). Then, the coin was holdered as a Restrike by NGC as PR66. It has since been reholdered with the Original proof designation in a PCGS Secure holder.