The strike is needle sharp with a somewhat more satiny texture and the devices contrast appreciably with glassy fields. A subtle orange peel texture is discernible in the fields when examined with a loupe, adding appeal to this rare 19th century Proof Liberty eagle. A thin contact mark in the left obverse field before Liberty s chin and a more expansive mark in the left reverse field are mentioned solely as provenance markers. This is clearly a superior specimen for the assigned grade, and is at the threshold of full Choice Proof quality. The Proof 1865 Liberty eagle is a major numismatic rarity that represents a challenge for even the most advanced collectors. The original mintage is a scant 25 pieces, all of which were struck on March 8, almost exactly one month before Lee s surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia to Grant at the McLean House in Appomattox, Virginia, an act that essentially ended the Civil War. As the final Proof Liberty eagle of the No Motto design type, and struck during a historic and pivotal year is U.S. history, this is a desirable issue for numismatists and Civil War enthusiasts. Due to its extreme rarity, however, very few will have the opportunity to see an example, and fewer still will be able to own one. Exactly how many Proof 1865 eagles are extant is a matter of debate among numismatic scholars. Writing in the 1980 reference United States Gold Coins: An Analysis of Auction Records, Volume V, David W. Akers states, "Proofs are very rare, somewhat rarer than those dated 1862, 1863, or 1864, and only 7 or 8 are known." The estimate of "possibly as many as eight survive" given by Breen in his 1989 edition of the Encyclopedia of United States and Colonial Proof Coins: 1722-1989 squares nicely with Akers numbers. More modern publications, however, take a more liberal view. The 2008 book Encyclopedia of U.S. Gold Coins: 1795-1933 by Jeff Garrett and Ron Guth gives an estimate of eight to 12 survivors, while the current online version of the PCGS Population Report states that there are "12 to 16 known." In our opinion an estimate of eight to 10 pieces extant is most accurate, although all figures confirm the rarity of this issue. We have confirmed that only five different Proof 1865 eagles have been offered at auction since 1962, confirming not only the absolute rarity of this issue, but also the infrequency with which examples trade. It is likely that owners appreciate the rarity of their charges and keep them tightly held collections. Indeed, several examples that have traded at auction in decades past seem to have been off the market since, confounding the efforts of both researchers attempting to build an accurate census of known examples and advanced collectors seeking to obtain a specimen.To the five distinct examples that have traded at auction since 1962 can be added two specimens permanently impounded in museum collections, for a total of seven different Proof 1865 Liberty eagles with solid provenances, at least as far as their more recent auction appearances are concerned:1 - <strong style="line-height:1.5;">The James A. Stack Specimen. Ex our (Stack s) sale of the James A. Stack, Sr. Collection, March 1995, lot 585; our August 2013 Chicago ANA Rarities Night Auction, lot 4512. <strong style="line-height:1.5;">PCGS Proof-66+<strong style="line-height:1.5;">Deep Cameo, and likely the finest known Proof 1865 eagle. This coin s realized price of $528,750 in our August 2013 sale set the record for highest price paid at auction for an example of this issue. 2 - T he Eliasberg-Bass Specimen. Ex Wilcox, 1896; John H. Clapp Collection; Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr.; our (Bowers and Ruddy s) sale of The United States Gold Coin Collection (Eliasberg), October 1982, lot 722; our (Bowers and Merena s) sale of the Harry W. Bass, Jr. Collection, Part II, October 1999, lot 1497. PCGS Proof-64+ Cameo.3 - The Present Example . Ex our Baltimore Auction of June 2014, lot 2570. NGC Proof-62+. Prior provenance unknown.4 - The Garrett Specimen. Ex our (Bowers and Ruddy s) sale of the Garrett Collection, Part III, October 1980, lot 1669. Cataloged as Choice Brilliant Proof. Prior provenance unknown, but probably obtained by T. Harrison during the 19th century, and possibly from the Ely Collection. To the best of our knowledge this coin has not traded at auction since our 1980 Garrett Collection sale, and it is not known whether it represents one or more of the several unmatched grading events on the PCGS Population Report and/or NGC Census .5 - The Boyd-Wolfson Specimen. Ex Waldo Newcomer; F.C.C. Boyd; Abe Kosoff s sale of "The World s Greatest Collection" (Boyd), Part VI, January 1946, lot 670; J.F. Bell; Abe Kosoff s sale of "A Memorable Sale of U.S. & Territorial Gold Coins" (Bell), March 1948, lot 564; our (Stack s) sale of the Samuel W. Wolfson Collection of United States Coins, Part I, October 1962, lot 689. Cataloged as Brilliant Proof in our Wolfson Collection sale. The plate coin for the issue on page 129 of the 1989 book Walter Breen s Encyclopedia of United States and Colonial Proof Coins: 1722-1989 . This coin has not been traced since its 1962 auction appearance, and it is unknown if it is included among the entries on the PCGS Population Report and/or NGC Census. 6 - The Smithsonian Institution Specimen. Ex United States Mint; National Numismatic Collection in the Smithsonian Institution. Described as Proof-64 Deep Cameo by Jeff Garrett and Ron Guth in the 2008 book Encyclopedia of U.S. Gold Coins: 1795-1933 . Permanently impounded and, thus, unobtainable for private ownership. 7 - The ANS Specimen. Ex Brock; J. Pierpont Morgan; American Numismatic Society. Permanently impounded and, thus, unobtainable for private ownership.The historical numismatic auction record includes additional appearances for Proof 1865 Liberty eagles although due to the absence or poor quality of images in the catalogs, it is not possible to connect these coins to the known specimens in the previous list. It is certainly possible that some of these earlier appearances represent distinct coins, but even more probable that at least some are earlier appearances of one or more of the examples enumerated above. As follows:1 - Ex B. Max Mehl s sale of the James Ten Eyck Collection, May 1922, lot 294.2 - Ex B Max Mehl s sale of the Belden E. Roach Collection, February 1944, lot 342.3 - Ex B. Max Mehl s sale of the William Cutler Atwater Collection, June 1946, lot 1443.4 - Ex Jerome Kern; B. Max Mehl s "Golden Jubilee Sale," May 1950, lot 510.5 - Ex Steve Ivy s 1980 ANA Sale, lot 328.Solidly enshrined among the rarest and most important gold coins that we have ever handled, this Proof 1865 eagle deserves serious consideration by advanced collectors in the numismatic and Civil War history arenas. As the past auction record makes clear, once this coin finds its way into a new collection, it may be many years before it returns to the open market. Worthy of the strongest bid.， Est. $45,000-$55,000
