Heritage World Coin Auctions
CSNS Signature US Coin Sale 1254 26-28 Apr 2017
View prices realized
► Sale information
Find similar lots
Seated Dollars
1863 $1 MS65 PCGS. OC-1, Low R.3. Only 27,200 business-strike Seated Liberty dollars were minted in 1863, along with 460 proof examples. Civil War hoarding caused the government to suspend specie payments, and most of the small mintage was struck on private account for depositors of silver bullion. Banks, bullion dealers, and merchants also bought coins at a premium, for use in foreign trade. Walter Breen stated most silver dollars of the era were "exported to Latin American and East Indian ports." The combination of low mintage and high exportation rate resulted in a minuscule supply of 1863 dollars available for numismatic purposes. The date is scarce in all grades today, and Mint State examples are rare.
As a date, 1863 Seated dollars were popular with collectors almost immediately. However, most examples offered in early auction catalogs were proofs, as that format was more available to collectors of the 19th century than regular-issue coins of the era. The trend continues today, because the proof mintage had a relatively high survival rate, and proofs are definitely more available than their Mint State counterparts.
Many business strike 1863 dollars feature prooflike fields, including this Gem, featuring brightly reflective fields under delightful iridescent toning, reminiscent of a toned proof. Both sides have rich multilayered purple, gray, and lilac centers, surrounded by blue at the margins. The strike details are full, and some light, diagonal die striations appear in the fields. Noticeable strike doubling shows on the reverse. A small field mark by star 12 prevents an even higher grade. Housed in a green-label PCGS holder. Among the 59 Mint State 1863 Seated dollars that PCGS has certified are three MS65, four MS66, and one MS67; NGC has certified two MS65 and three finer (1/17).
Ex: FUN Signature (Heritage, 1/2010), lot 2600; Eugene H. Gardner Collection, Part II (Heritage, 10/2014), lot 98597.
From The Mesquite Collection.
HID02901242017
1863 $1 MS65 PCGS. OC-1, Low R.3. Only 27,200 business-strike Seated Liberty dollars were minted in 1863, along with 460 proof examples. Civil War hoarding caused the government to suspend specie payments, and most of the small mintage was struck on private account for depositors of silver bullion. Banks, bullion dealers, and merchants also bought coins at a premium, for use in foreign trade. Walter Breen stated most silver dollars of the era were "exported to Latin American and East Indian ports." The combination of low mintage and high exportation rate resulted in a minuscule supply of 1863 dollars available for numismatic purposes. The date is scarce in all grades today, and Mint State examples are rare.
As a date, 1863 Seated dollars were popular with collectors almost immediately. However, most examples offered in early auction catalogs were proofs, as that format was more available to collectors of the 19th century than regular-issue coins of the era. The trend continues today, because the proof mintage had a relatively high survival rate, and proofs are definitely more available than their Mint State counterparts.
Many business strike 1863 dollars feature prooflike fields, including this Gem, featuring brightly reflective fields under delightful iridescent toning, reminiscent of a toned proof. Both sides have rich multilayered purple, gray, and lilac centers, surrounded by blue at the margins. The strike details are full, and some light, diagonal die striations appear in the fields. Noticeable strike doubling shows on the reverse. A small field mark by star 12 prevents an even higher grade. Housed in a green-label PCGS holder. Among the 59 Mint State 1863 Seated dollars that PCGS has certified are three MS65, four MS66, and one MS67; NGC has certified two MS65 and three finer (1/17).
Ex: FUN Signature (Heritage, 1/2010), lot 2600; Eugene H. Gardner Collection, Part II (Heritage, 10/2014), lot 98597.
From The Mesquite Collection.
HID02901242017