Over a long period of years only a few collectors have ever owned a Choice or Gem Proof 1873 $3 like the beautiful D. Brent Pogue example. The deep yellow-gold surfaces offer deeply reflective fields that support frosty design motifs, creating vivid cameo contrast. The dies have been polished to the extent that the front edge of the leftmost ostrich plume is lacking, as is all but a tiny vestige of the leaf left of the date on the reverse. Contact marks are at a minimum. The obverse reveals some tiny flecks near Liberty’s truncation and the U in UNITED, but only under low magnification. A faint diagonal mark, only visible at a bold angle to a light, connects the central dentil above the E in STATES to the upper loop of the final S in that word. On the reverse we detect some light ticks in the field at 9:00 between the dentils and the wreath, and we note a small, round planchet flaw, as struck, near the dentils at 11:00. The Guide Book reports a Proof mintage for this date of 25 pieces, which is more of an estimate than a fact, as Mint records are silent. About a dozen to 20 Proofs can be accounted for today. The 1873 $3 issues, both circulation strikes and Proofs, are among the rarest of the series in both the Close 3 and Open 3 styles. It is thought that just 600 to 900 circulation strikes of the date were produced of the Close 3 style along with a handful of Proofs. The Open 3 style offered here was struck only in Proof format with no attendant circulation strikes. Most of the 1873 $3s in today’s marketplace are circulation-strike Close 3 pieces, and most of them are found in circulated grades of EF and sometimes AU. The 1873 Open 3 Proof $3 has long been known as one of the most important rarities in the series. The present gem cameo Proof example stands head and shoulders above much of the competition. PCGS# 88037. NGC ID: 28AF.
