Lovely warm, even, khaki-orange toning blankets both sides of this key date three-dollar gold piece. The finish is prooflike and the fields are reflective, serving as a nice backdrop to more satin-textured devices. The strike is bold with only a touch of striking softness is seen at the top and bottom of Liberty s portrait on the obverse, also on isolated portions of the reverse wreath. Both the technical quality and eye appeal are superior for the assigned grade and a premium bid is warranted. The 1873 is one of the rarest issues in the three-dollar gold series of 1854 to 1878 and also one of the most enigmatic. The mystery begins with the Annual Report of the Director of the Mint, which provides a mintage figure of just 25 Proofs for the 1873 $3. The style of the date logotype (Close 3 vs. Open 3) is not provided, nor is there any mention of a circulation strike mintage in the report. Yet numismatists have long recognized the existence of circulation strikes of this date. One of the first to question the validity of the notion that just 25 $3 gold pieces were struck in 1873 was B. Max Mehl, whose cataloging for lot 143 in the May 1922 James Ten Eyck Collection sale is quoted in the 2005 book The United States $3 Gold Pieces: 1854-1889 by Q. David Bowers and Doug Winter: "According to Mint records, only 25 specimens were struck. This, however, I do not believe is correct as a larger number was undoubtedly struck. However, it is of great rarity." The total number of 1873 $3 gold pieces extant exceeds 25 pieces, making it clear that additional coins were produced. Additionally, the physical characteristics and level of preservation of most of the Close 3 examples suggest that they were neither produced nor intended for distribution as Proofs. True Proofs of this date are known with both the Close 3 and Open 3 date logotype. Numismatic scholars do not agree on which type constitutes the original 25-piece mintage mentioned in the mint director s report for that year and which type is a later restrike. It is sufficient to say that the Proof 1873 $3 is a major numismatic rarity in either format, with a combined extant population of probably no more than 25 coins. Returning to the mystery of the circulation strike 1873 $3 gold piece, these coins bear little resemblance to the Proofs apart from semi to fully prooflike surfaces, a characteristics often associated with key date (read: low mintage) circulation strike gold coins from the late 19th century. What s more, these coins almost always display isolated areas of striking softness, as here. Finally, the vast majority of such pieces have seen obvious commercial use and, in fact, Bowers and Winter account for only seven to 11 Mint State survivors. All of these factors point to an issue produced and distributed as a circulation strike. Winter and Bowers conclude: "Today, circulation strikes, all of the Closed [sic] 3 variety, are rare. As nearly all show significant wear, logic suggests that they were issued in one of two ways: (1) Bought at a premium in the East and used in commerce on the West Coast, or (2) Held at the Treasury or by banks and released into circulation after December 17, 1878, when gold and paper achieved parity for the first time since late 1861. As the wear on most pieces is extensive, the West Coast scenario is more likely." Since all known circulation strikes exhibit the Close 3 date style, as pointed out by Bowers and Winter, your cataloger (JLA) believes that these pieces were struck early in 1873, alongside other regular issue circulation strike coins of the date, and before the Mint changed to the Open 3 style sometime after Chief Coiner Archibald Loudon Snowden filed a formal complaint over the unsuitability of the Close 3 logotype on January 18. The absence of a listing for this issue in the mint director s report may just be an unintended oversight or other clerical error. Although the original mintage of the circulation strike 1873 Close 3 is unknown, numismatic researchers have attempted to estimate the number of coins struck based on the number extant. These figures vary widely, however, and generally fall somewhere in the range of 100 to 1,000 coins. Bowers and Winter provide one of the more concise estimates of 600 to 900 pieces struck. Regardless of exactly how many examples were originally produced, the 1873 Close 3 is a very rare coin in circulation strike format. Fewer than 150 examples are believed extant in all grades, including the seven to 11 Mint State survivors accounted for by Bowers and Winter. The Mint State survivor we offer here represents a rare bidding opportunity for the advanced $3 gold collector. ， Est. $25,000-$35,000
