1888 G$1, DCAM PR(PCGS#97638)

1888 G$1, DCAM PR (PCGS#97638)

The March 2012 Baltimore Auction

详细说明: 1888 Gold Dollar. Proof-65 Cameo (NGC). Orange-gold surfaces exhibit frosty devices and boldly reflective fields. A pleasing Gem with eye appeal easily equal to the task of the assigned grade and perhaps then some. One of 1,079 Proofs of the date struck during a period when investing in Proof coinage of the Mint was in full swing. Worth a premium bid. Numismatic Reflections by Q. David Bowers In 1888 Proof coins were indeed popular, but the number of collectors desiring Proof gold dollars was relatively small, probably not more than a few hundred. Why were so many made? The answer is that they were purchased by the jewelry trade. The Mint declined to sell circulation strike gold dollars to jewelers who mounted them in bracelets, brooches, and elsewhere. It was simply more expedient for them to order Proofs which were available at a premium, but not significantly more. As I speculated in my Official Red Book of U.S. Gold Dollars, the tremendous mintage for 1889 probably went nearly entirely to the jewelry trade. Interestingly, the 1889 mintage, far and away the largest gold Proof production of the 19th century, left for numismatists what is the very rarest date among Proof gold dollars of the 1880s! Mysteries like this are interesting to contemplate. The presently offered 1888 is a Gem and desirable in every way, but is much rarer, as noted, than the mintage figure indicates.