1900 Lesher$ HK-787 Silver Type 1 with No. MS(PCGS#19000)

November 2020 U.S. Coins Auction

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

3068

等级

MS62

价格

39,343

详细说明

Rare Mint State HK-787 Lesher Dollar First Type, with No. 82 Ex Virgil Brand 1900 Lesher or Referendum Dollar. First Type. HK-787, Zerbe-1. Rarity-6. Silver. No. 82. MS-62 (PCGS). 35 mm, octagonal. Phenomenal quality for a type that is elusive in all grades, this is also a beautiful piece with a splash of vivid reddish-apricot iridescence enlivening the right half of the obverse. Otherwise brilliant, both sides are sharply struck with a lively satin to semi-reflective finish. The following is from the December 1900 issue of monthly bankers periodical "Dicker man's United States Treasury Counterfeit Detector 'REFERENDUM' Dollars." -- A Victor, Col., dispatch to the Denver Evening Postsays: "A unique enterprise has been established in Victor by Joseph Lesher, a Colorado pioneer and silver mine owner. He has procured a die, laid in a supply of silver bullion, and manufactured several silver coins, each containing one ounce of pure silver. He calls his coins 'referendum' dollars, because they are to be referred to the people for acceptance or rejection. Mr. Lesher proposes to demonstrate that the 'intrinsic value' theory is a delusion and a snare. His silver at the present quotation costs him 65 cents per ounce, the expense of coining is 15 cents -- 80 cents in all, but he values his dollars at $1.25, and intends to keep them above par. Although he is confident that the silver alone is really worth $1.29 an ounce, he admits that other people may be prejudiced: therefore he promises to pay $1.25 in United States money on demand for each 'referendum dollar.'" HK-787 was the first type of Lesher dollar issued, and a mere 100 were struck and distributed. Of those Wilde's survey recorded 46 examples of this type, and most are in lower grades than seen here. This one is engraved with the number 82 near the lower reverse border. A great way to start collecting these popular pieces is to obtain both rarity and high grade, and this one certainly has both. Provenance: Ex B. Max Mehl's C.W. Cowell Collection sale, December 1923, lot 927; Virgil Brand; Horace Brand; Wolf; our (Bowers and Merena's) Phillip Flannagan Collection sale, December 2001, lot 5419; Q. David Bowers; our (Stack's) sale of the Q. David Bowers Collection, October 2010 Philadelphia Americana Sale, lot 6219; Keatley. Click here for certification details from PCGS.