The Midwest Winter Sale 2008
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Please Note: A 15% Buyers' Premium is added to the hammer price of all lots in this sale.
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(About The Images)
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Lot Title:
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1895 Morgan dollar, NGC PF-66 CAM
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Description:
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The 1895 Morgan dollar scarcely requires introduction, and anything your cataloger can write has likely been repeated dozens of times in other auction catalogs. Suffice it to say that today, only proof specimens are known, and those few that have been purported to be business strikes have always turned out to be proof coins - either impaired or circulated proofs. Fortunately, the proof era during which the 1895 was produced was an era of high quality proof production, and surprising to many collectors is the fact that most of the extant 1895 proof Morgan dollar grade PF-63 or better. In correspondingly high business strike grades, the New Orleans and San Francisco silver dollar issues for 1895 are rarities in their own right, but ownership of the 1895 proof is mandatory for the collector wishing to have a representative of every Morgan dollar date-and-mintmark ever issued.
As would be expected of the NGC grade of "PF-66 CAMEO", this "very gem" representative is a knockout in each of the characteristics that establish a coin's eye appeal. From the standpoint of strike, there is no doubt whatsoever as to the level of detailed achieved by the very powerful impact of the planchet between the dies, as every last strand of Liberty's hair - even above the ear - is fully delineated. On the eagle's head, the eye and pupil are razor sharp, and there is not a feather that isn't fully struck. The cameo is achieved by extravagant contrast between the deeply frosted fields and the extraordinary depth of reflectivity of the surrounding fields. Indeed, this coin is so deeply mirrored that there is essentially zero cartwheel luster. Were it not for a lack of frost in those deepest areas of the detail where the texture on the dies wears off first, this coin would be an obvious "ultra cameo", and as it is, few competing coins have display the kind of contrast this one does. Finally, the preservation is superb, with no visible hairlines in the fields and very little by way of handling marks. All that stands between this coin and virtual perfection is a pair of extremely thin hairlines on Liberty's cheek in an upside-down "V" pattern. These hairlines are so negligible that they appear as toning streaks at hand's length. Capping off the technical merits is a thin veneer of gold tone draped across both sides, and gravitating a bit toward the margins in order to achieve a "framed" appearance. It is a pleasure to have cataloged this astounding coin from the "MWB" collection.
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Low Estimate:
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$50,000.00 |
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High Estimate:
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$62,500.00 |
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Lot Status:
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Bidding has been closed for this lot. |
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Hammered Price: |
$72,000.00
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Price Realized:
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$82,800.00 |
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Price history for items of the same classification:
| Lot # | Auction | Current Bid or Hammer Price | Description |
| 809 | The Collectors' Auction 2012 on 10/05/2012 | $53,750.00 |
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1895 NGC PF-65 CAMEO.
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A complete set of circulation strike Morgan dollars does not require inclusion of a Philadelphia 1895 example, since those were all melted down, leaving only Proof coins in their stead. However, the... |
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| 645 | The Collectors' Auction 2009 on 10/16/2009 | $64,250.00 |
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1895 NGC PF-65 Cameo.
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While the term "Gilded Age" has become synonymous with an era of American history that extended from the early years of Reconstruction through the first decade of the twentieth century, many forget... |
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| 913 | The Midwest Summer Sale 2006 on 07/21/2006 | $27,750.00 |
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1895 PCGS PF-55.
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This piece is one of just 880 Proof issues struck. No business strikes exist, although a submission in a mint report alludes to 12,000 being produced. Perhaps out of these 880 specimens, only 600 to... |
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