This frosty honey-gold gem 1884 $3 offers exceptional eye appeal that leaves a lasting impression. Lively cartwheel luster glides across the smooth surfaces, and wisps of pale olive iridescence add to the aesthetics. The obverse tends toward frosty while the reverse is more satiny with a hint of reflectivity. The strike is sharp and full on the obverse though a trifling bit of weakness can be found at the reverse bow. We note a vertical line of tiny ticks in the field beneath Liberty’s chin with a loupe, but not much else. On the reverse there is a tiny mark between the dentils and the wreath at 10:00 and some minuscule chatter beneath the date. Such comments may be superfluous as PCGS would have called this a higher grade. As it is, the offered coin stands alone at the top of the roster–the finest seen at PCGS since it was formed 30 years ago. Only 1,000 examples of the date were struck, all of those delivered by the coiner on December 13, in time once again for the holiday gift-giving season. In one of those curious twists of numismatics, there are more Mint State examples of this rarity thought to exist today than there are circulated coins. Perhaps only 25 to 35 circulated examples can be located today with any great success, while perhaps 50 to 75 Mint State coins can be traced. In grades above MS-64, this date is a great rarity. PCGS has assigned a grade of MS-65 or finer on just six occasions. In his June 1885 sale of the Stewart Douglas Collection, Harlan P. Smith offered lot 289, a Mint State 1884 $3 that brought face value at the sale. It was not until decades later that the true rarity of the date would be acknowledged in auction catalogs and dealers’ newsletters. PCGS# 8006. NGC ID: 25N7.
