The term "rare" is often used in describing key date coins, such as the 1909-S VDB cent and 1916-D dime. While these are undoubtedly the most important coins in their respective series, the mintage of each is in the hundreds of thousands, and it is simply insatiable demand which gives them the illusion of rarity. Any auction of even moderate size will offer at least a few of those so-called "rare" keys, which is apparent even in today's sale. Mintage of this 1885 coronet gold quarter-eagle in proof format is minuscule by comparison, and by orders of magnitude. Mint records show just 87 produced, and for that matter, business strike mintage was limited to just 800 (many of which are incidentally prooflike). Either mintage for a regular issue in the aforementioned small-denomination series would result in a high-demand rarity of unprecedented magnitude! Proof coronet gold is truly rare, and auction records show them appearing on the market far less often than most collectors might realize. Providing a reliable reflection of absolute rarity, both grading services together have seen fewer than sixteen 1885 proof quarter-eagles in all grades, and without doubt, some of those are resubmissions.
The grade of PF-64 on this PCGS rattler does not carry a "cameo" designation, but this delightful 1885 displays blatantly obvious contrast between the densely frosted devices and the reflective fields. While proof gold of this era did not necessarily supply "mirrored" fields, "reflective" is certainly an appropriate description. The strike is unerringly sharp and precise, bringing up every single possible detail, including a tiny curved die defect on the center of Liberty's cheek, and two near-parallel die lines within the upper vertical shield stripes. Technical grading considerations take into account elusive hairlines and an exceedingly thin, nearly invisible scratch in the upper left obverse field.