1893-CC $1 Branch Mint, CAM PR(PCGS#388529)

The August 2013 Chicago ANA World's Fair of Money

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

4382

等级

PR66

价格

1,981,273

详细说明

Exceptional Gem Cameo Branch Mint Proof 1893-CC Morgan Dollar Among the Finest of About a Dozen Known 1893-CC Morgan Silver Dollar. Proof-66 Cameo (NGC). This 1893-CC has been attributed as a Branch Mint Proof, a status similar to several others in the series. This is based upon inspection which reveals characteristics that are commonly seen on Philadelphia coins specifically struck as Proofs. Wayte Raymond asserted that 12 specimens were struck to observe the cessation of coinage operations at the Carson City Mint in 1893, but we have seen no documentation of this and do not know whether it is conjecture or fact. That said, the present coin and others like it appear as full Proofs upon close examination. In the 1982 book The Morgan and Peace Dollar Textbook, Wayne Miller described one of these special coins as follows: "Although some cameo contrast is evident especially on reverse, this coin is more brilliant than (a) cameo Proof. The fields are deeply mirrored, and the strike is very bold. The piece is an obvious Proof at first glance." Research by Mark Van Winkle greatly expanded on the diagnostics of this issue and was published in a 1995 article in Coin World which noted that there are two tiny raised dots left of the upper serif of the B in PLURIBUS and a faint die crack through stars 8-11, on the reverse a crack extends through the upper part of AMERICA to the wing above and star below on this example. A branching die crack from star ten extends to the rim up above on some examples, but not so here. This coin was struck earlier as the die cracks are faint in this very limited production run of Proofs. Additional diagnostics of note are a closed 3 in the upper loop where a die chip attached the upper ball to the center, other die chips extend off the back of that digit where the upper and lower loops meet. Die file lines on the reverse connect the eagle's neck to the right wing and double clashmarks are noted left of the upper left branch set of leaves midway to the wing. Unpolished within the tiny ribbon loops that tie the wreath. The CC mintmark tilts down with the second C rotated clockwise. The present coin matches the observations and diagnostics as set forth by Miller and Van Winkle. Radiant mint brilliance shimmers in the fields as the coin rotates under a light, a sharp strike to the devices and fully denticulated borders further confirm the extra care with which this coin was struck. Both sides are also beautifully toned in vivid orange-russet with a deeper frame of blue around the rims. Exactly how many Proof 1893-CC Morgan dollars are extant is a matter of conjecture as no serious census study has ever been attempted (to the best of our knowledge). PCGS and NGC population data can be dismissed out of hand as a combined total of 23 coins graded is obviously inflated by resubmissions. Bowers (1993) pedigrees only four specimens--a number that is too low. We believe that most of the coins produced have survived at one level of preservation or another and offer an estimate of 10-12 known, this example clearly one of the finest to survive of that small number. PCGS# 7347. NGC Census: 1; 1 finer (Proof-67 Cameo finest) within the Cameo Proof designation.