1895. NGC graded Proof 65. Popular "King of the Morgan Dollars" date. Well struck with pleasing russet and electric blue toning areas around the borders. Only 880 made. With the circulation strikes, if any were actually made, seemingly lost forever to the mass meltings of 1918-20, the Proof 1895 Silver Dollar has been one of the keys to completing the extremely popular Morgan Dollar set. By all accounts, most of the surviving pieces are make worse through careless handling over the years or through crude attempts at cleaning. Gems of the caliber offered here are therefore rare and highly sought after.
To call this lovely specimen simply a Gem is to do it a disservice. So choice is this beauty that it may reasonably be akin to flawless. A light-cameo Proof, its keen-edge devices are set within attractively mirrored fields. Varying shades and depths of toning enhance the periphery on both sides as described earlier.
The American Numismatic Association was in its infancy when this Proof was first sold by the Philadelphia Mint. Back then, Proof set buying had become an annual custom for a few hundred American coin collectors. In all, 880 Proof sets with the Silver Dollar were sold in 1895, a number whose meaning did not become clear until later generations of numismatists attempted to complete their sets of Morgan Dollars.
By the later 1950s and 1960s collectors sought to own an example of each mint's products for each respective year. It became clear that none of the 12,000 1895 Philadelphia Mint Dollars reportedly struck for circulation existed. Not a single verifiable example could be pointed to; with this, the demand rose for this issue and has never fallen since due to the limited supply. As seems inevitable whenever a great rarity like a Gem Proof 1895 Morgan dollar changes hands, the appeal only builds, year after year.
Pop 34; 23 in 66; 10 in 67; 3 in 68. (PCGS # 7330) .
Estimated Value $60,000 - 65,000.
Morgan Dollars
