Prior to 1881, gold proofs are almost entirely sold only in complete denomination sets. Gold proof sets sales continued in 1881, with 40 distributed by the end of the first quarter, but individual proof quarter eagles were struck and sold throughout the year as well, bringing the mintage for this issue to 51 pieces. These…
Proof Coronet eagle production remained relatively stable during the final 15 years of the 19th century. In fact, the mintages for many of those issues are similar to a majority of those struck between 1859 and 1867. The Mint manufactured 66 proofs in the case of the 1895 eagle, which represented an increase of 13 coins over its predecessor, the 1894. By comparison, a total of 567,770 pieces were coined for circulation in 1895.Dave Bowers estimates in A Guide Book of Gold Eagle Coins (2017) that 16…
Proof $5 Lib Rarity The 1883 proof Liberty half eagle claims a mintage of 61 pieces, a notable increase over the previous year, but still a tiny number in absolute terms. Forty examples were issued with the proof sets on February 10 and the rest were struck as individual pieces throughout the year. Unfortunately, the…
The One and Only The first of the No Rays proof issues in the Shield nickel series, a design change that would last until the series’ end in 1883. Out of an estimated 600+ proofs produced for the 1867 No Rays, this is the single finest of just three specimens rated as having Ultra Cameo…
Extremely Rare Prior to 1858, the U.S. Mint had no organized program for selling proof sets to collectors, and so production of proofs was small and erratic. This held true especially for gold coins; Garrett and Guth state of the proof 1857 gold dollar: “The mintage is unknown, but it may be somewhere in the…
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