1893-O $1, DMPL MS(PCGS#97225)

November 2020 U.S. Coins Auction

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

6361

等级

MS65DMPL

价格

2,360,566

详细说明

Exceptional MS-65 DMPL 1893-O Morgan Ex Young; Bodway; Lee; Larry H. Miller Wayne Miller: "The Finest Known 1893-O Silver Dollar" 1893-O Morgan Silver Dollar. MS-65 DMPL (PCGS). CAC. Described by Wayne Miller (1982) as "the finest known 1893-O silver dollar," this beautiful Gem is among the truly outstanding highlights in the Larry H. Miller Collection. The author goes on to describe this coin as: "...very deeply mirrored prooflike with frosty devices and virtually no bagmarks. Although slightly flat over the ear and with some weakness in the wreath and the eagle's claws, it [has] full breast feathers, and overall incredible eye appeal." To this description we add simply that delicate peripheral toning in iridescent gold rings both sides and adds to the coin's remarkable appearance. While Wayne Miller commented that the Amon Carter, Jr. specimen was also a "superb 1893-O," in the market of the early 21st century only one other example of this issue rivals the coin offered here. That is the Ralph Stone specimen, also certified MS-65 DMPL by PCGS and verified by CAC, which sold as lot 106 in Sotheby's May 2018 sale of the Ralph and Lois Stone Collection. Prior to that sale, it had been more than a decade since a Deep Mirror Prooflike Gem 1893-O dollar was offered through auction: the present example in Heritage's December 2005 sale of the Jack Lee III Collection. As opportunities to acquire extraordinary condition rarities such as this come along infrequently, we cannot overstate the significance of this offering for advanced Morgan dollar enthusiasts. With only 300,000 coins struck, the 1893-O is the lowest mintage Morgan silver dollar from the New Orleans Mint. This is an issue for which numismatic scholars have been unable to shed much light on the distribution of examples. Even Q. David Bowers (1993 and 2019) provides little insight on the subject, noting in general that, "Many were distributed in the early days, accounting for the worn pieces in existence now." Of Mint State survivors the author points to a likely source as a "few bags" paid out at face value from the Treasury Department in Washington, D.C. circa 1948 to 1955. But by the late 1950s dealers had realized that even in roll quantity the 1893-O was elusive. If any were included in the Treasury Department releases of 1962 to 1964, Bowers surmises that these were only "scattered coins," and he writes that "I have no records of bags of 1893-O being included." Due to the low mintage, the 1893-O is one of the scarcer Morgan dollars in circulated grades. Mint State coins are elusive, and this is certainly one issue that will pose a considerable challenge for quality-conscious collectors. Heavily abraded and lackluster surfaces are typical, and even in attractive MS-64 as certified by PCGS or NGC the 1893-O is difficult to come by. Gems are of the utmost rarity and desirability. Equally as rare as Gems are Prooflike and Deep Mirror Prooflike coins of any grade; PCGS reports only 29 grading events for the issue in both categories combined, to which NGC adds 37 grading events. Combining both a Deep Mirror Prooflike finish and Gem-quality surfaces, the Larry H. Miller specimen is unsurpassed in quality and desirability for the 1893-O Morgan dollar. It is an amazing coin, far exceeding the norm in terms of strike, surface preservation and eye appeal for this conditionally challenging key date issue. Provenance: From the Larry H. Miller Collection. Earlier ex RARCOA's sale of the Leo A. Young Collection of Morgan Silver Dollars, Auction '80, August 1980, lot 1794; RARCOA's sale of the Barbara Goldfreed Collection, Auction '87, July-August 1987, lot 1252; George Bodway; Jack Lee I Collection; Jack Lee II Collection; Heritage's sale of the Jack Lee III Collection, November 2005 Dallas, TX Signature Auction, lot 2313 PCGS Population: 2; 0 finer in this category. CAC Population: 2; 0. PCGS# 97225. NGC ID: 255T. Click here for certification details from PCGS.