1895-S $1 MS65 认证号05118704, PCGS号7238

Head and shoulders above the rest of the coins in this set - this super Key Date Year Morgan is by itself an unbelievable sitting atop an unbelievable set! Some prevenance of her storied past travels through auctions - here she is listed with the Heritage Site when this coin was auctioned off December 11th, 2011 - “Elusive Gem 1895-S Morgan Dollar - First-Generation PCGS Holder - The 1895-S $1 MS65 PCGS. A handful of Morgan dollar issues show an unusual month-by-month mintage pattern, in which 100,000 pieces were struck consecutively. (The 1892-S issue, for example, saw that production in all 12 months, for a total of 1.2 million pieces.) According to the Guide Book of Morgan Dollars, such production from February to May in 1895 created the 1895-S Morgan dollar, today a well-established elusive issue and a condition rarity at the Gem level. The present piece has a delicately frosted, softly struck portrait under pale gray patina. The margins on each side are green-gold, and a few spots of charcoal are noted at the lower left reverse border. Housed in a first-generation holder.(Registry values: P8, N4719) (NGC ID# 255Z, PCGS# 7238)” Interestingly to date only two other 1895-S mint state coins in first generation holders have been sold by Heritage an MS62 in January 2006 and an MS61 in April 2008 – maybe even more telling of how rare this date is in an original holder, Heritage only lists one other sale of a Morgan bearing this lofty date as an 1895-O in AU58 in May of 2007. Which further confirmed my belief that this coin would not only be the pinnacle coin of our rattler date set, but that it may just be the pinnacle coin for any rattler Morgan dollar set. These thoughts also had me scared to think of what the price may ultimately settle on because of the unique rarity of this coin, and that is aside from the fact that the coin is gorgeous and appears to be a strong candidate for upgrade. With only 6 coins higher as of this writing 4 in 65+ and 2 66's - this coin is worth all the plus money and more! She resides in our PCGS population report published December 1st, 1989 - with a mere 6 coins sharing the same grade, and surprisingly 1 outstanding coin graded higher at MS66 - with all my years of searching I highly doubt this MS66 coin is still housed in her 1st generation holder anymore - making this MS 65 also virtually un-improvable without sending her in for a regrade and re-holdering - which are the only options available at the time of this update.

Q. David Bowers

The following narrative, with minor editing, is from my "Silver Dollars & Trade Dollars of the United States: A Complete Encyclopedia" (Wolfeboro, NH: Bowers and Merena Galleries, Inc., 1993)

Numismatic Information

Hoard coins: Examples of 1895-S filtered out of the San Francisco Mint over a long period of years in the normal course of business. Around the year 1900 there was a flurry of interest in 1894-O, 1894-S, 1895-O, and 1895-S silver dollars, and a few specimens were sold for several dollars each. The interest soon faded, and Uncirculated pieces could be obtained for less than $2 apiece. Pieces have always been available at a price.

A few bags of 1895-S dollars were released by the San Francisco Mint in 1942, much to the delight of Bay Area numismatists. From that time through the very early 1950s, more bags were paid out, but then the distribution stopped. By 1953-1955, 1895-S dollars were considered to be rare. John Skubis recalled that K.O. Cunningham, of Nevada, offered a bag for $5,000 to $6,000 around this time, but John did not buy it, for he was fearful that a lot more would be released at face value. Indeed, some additional coins were released, but most went to casinos or the public-rather than to dealers.

The Redfield estate had most or all of a mint bag, nearly all of which coins were severely bagmarked, and many of which had been damaged by a coin counting machine.

Circulated grades: Worn 1895-S dollars are available but are among the scarcer issues in the Morgan series. Probably, only about 5,000 to 10,000 survive.

Mint State grades: Most Mint State coins exist in lower levels such as MS-60 or MS-61 and are very heavily bagmarked. Nearly 1,000 of these were sold as "MS-65" in the 1970s and are from the Redfield estate. Many Mint State coins show die striations in the fields. I estimate that about 2,500 to 5,000 coins survive at this level. In MS-63, the population is in the range of 1,000 to 2,000, after which it drops sharply to just 400 to 800 at the MS-64 level. MS-65 or finer specimens are truly rare, and I estimate that only about 50 to 100 remain.

Illustrative of the elusiveness of top grade coins, Wayne Miller once examined a group of 140 Mint State coins and picked out just eight coins he liked, of which just three or four were gems.

Most Mint State coins are well struck and have excellent lustre. Many have semi-prooflike surfaces. An attractive 1895-S dollar with a minimum of bagmarks is an object of intense numismatic desire, and competition is strong whenever such a piece appears on the market.

Ask a silver dollar dealer this question: What two Morgan dollar issues usually are seen heavily bagmarked? The answer is apt to be: 1893-CC and 1895-S.

Prooflike coins: Prooflike coins are scarce, but among the few top grade Mint State 1895-S dollars, quite a few are prooflike. When seen, they usually are in lower grades, have low contrast, and are not particularly attractive. DMPL coins are about twice as scarce as PL. As of September 1992, NGC and PCGS certified 42 PL (all but one below MS-65) and 21 DMPL (none MS-65 or better). The alleged "Proof' in Mehl's C.W. Cowell sale (Nov. 11, 1911), at $2, was probably a DMPL. On the other hand, one or more of the following may have been the real McCoy: 1) John Zug, advertised in The Numismatist December 1934, at $5, was priced above the 1895 ($4.50) and all other Philadelphia Proofs. 2) William Cutler Atwater (Mehl,June 11,1946), $ 15.75-above all Philadelphia Proofs except 1878 8 Tailfeathers, 1895, and 1903. 3) Bolender's 183rd Sale (Feb. 23, 1952), "extremely rare," $90-above all Philadelphia Proofs except 1895. 4) "Anderson Dupont" (Stack's, Nov. 11-13, 1954), $32.50, exceeded only by 1891 and 1895.
Varieties

Business strikes:

1. Normal date: Breen-5639. Most likely not all the 10 obverses and six reverses were used, including those used to strike four varieties listed by VAM (uti-lizing two obverse dies and four reverses). Double punched S: Breen-5640; VAM-3: "largest shift of S mintmark known for Morgan dollars." (Other repunched mintmarks occur with great frequency throughout the Morgan series; this 1895-S is singled out here because it is the most egregious of the type.)

2. S Over Horizontal S: Breen-5641; VAM-4. With S mintmark punched over previous erroneous horizontal S. A triangle-shaped area of raised metal can be seen above and to the left of the S. Very rare. This variety was the subject for a cover story in the Fall-Winter 1991 issue of the Journal of the SSDG. In the article, Jeff Oxman suggested that this variety is worth a 25% premium over a regular 1895-S.

Dies prepared: Obverse: 10; Reverse: 6

Business strike mintage: 400,000; Delivery figures by month: January: none; February: 100,000; March:100,000; April: 100,000; May: 100,000; June-December: none.

Estimated quantity melted: Probably well over 100,000.

Availability of prooflike coins: Many Mint State coins are semi-prooflike or prooflike. DMPLs are twice as rare as PLs. Most are in lower grades. Such coins are not in great demand as they usually have low contrast and unappealing surfaces.

Characteristics of striking: Sharp

Known hoards of Mint State coins: Several bags were distributed from the San Francisco Mint in the 1950s. In the 1970s the Redfield estate contained an estimated 1,000 coins. Most coins are heavily bagmarked.

Commentary

Mint State coins are usually heavily bagmarked.