Gem
1884 Gold $1 NGC PR68 CAMEO
- $37,500. Click on Coin Image to
enlarge
Gem
Cameo. Tied for the finest graded. Here is a stupendous,
Superb Gem proof 1884 Gold Dollar that has great Cameo
contrasts. Smoldering orange-gold devices float on deep
mirrored fields. The coin is really flashy and gem .
I mean cmon, PROOF 68 Cameo! As expected for a coin
of this stature, the strike is bold and full in every
respect and just awe inspiring. Have not had a gem gold
dollar like this for nearly 10 years!
Please contact
me by email
or telephone 1-941-291-2156
to reserve this great coin.
James B. Longacre designed the gold
dollar. The Indian Princess motif was first used in
1854. These coins did not strike up well because the
obverse portrait was in high relief and there wasn’t
enough of a metal flow to fill the dies on both sides.
Longacre had underestimated the power of the coining
presses in use at the time. This was especially true
of the branch mint coining presses, and Longacre did
not see the problem until the Indian Princess design
was in circulation. Many examples showed central weakness,
the hair or the date was blurry or illegible. Most coins
wore down quickly and were sent back to the mint to
be recoined.
To remedy this situation, Longacre created
a second Indian Princess type. The new coin retained
the same diameter, and the obverse relief was lowered.
In addition, the portrait was modified so the relief
areas were not opposite. The solution that Longacre
chose was to adapt the design of the three dollar gold
piece. The words of the legend were placed nearer the
border. The head was placed farther from the letters,
and the feathers’ shapes, sizes, and locations
also changed. The new design modifications were successful
and the coin remained in use until 1889.
When Longacre first came to work at
the Mint, he was opposed by Franklin Peale, the Chief
Coiner. Peale was probably responsible for some blundered
dies that Longacre was criticized for making. Peal was
involved in a private, illegal medal manufacturing business
using Mint facilities. He was concerned that this new
political appointee would interfere with his business,
and he resisted Longacre’s appointment as Chief
Engraver. In the end Peale was found out and fired in
1854. Longacre flourished in his position and was responsible
for creating many new designs including the Indian Head
cent, the two-cent piece, the Shield nickel, the Liberty
Head gold dollar, the Indian Princess gold dollar, the
three-dollar gold piece, and the Liberty Head double
eagle.
