A warm amber glow meets vibrant electric-blue saturations in a subtle iridescent sunrise that blooms from the lower obverse border. A cooler mottling of cobalt tones dominates the reverse, with each of the palettes painting brilliant and virtually pristine surfaces. Deep and watery, the fields contrast nicely with the more frosted devices, lending a particularly abrupt cameo to the obverse complexion. Two die marriages sharing a single reverse die were employed to produce 1876 twenty-cent pieces, each striking both circulation strike and Proof examples. With a total mintage of 1,260 Proof coins, this figure nearly matches the 1,200 coin mintage of the inaugural 1875 issue and, as such, both issues are of nearly congruent rarity in todays market. While the extant population of 1878 Proofs is considerable higher than either issue, the void of circulation strikes for the year ensures that pursuit of these pieces will always be aggressive and costly. As a relic from our nations Centennial and a truly breathtaking piece to behold, this specimen is a thoroughly superb representative of the Proof double-dime series. ,,PCGS# 5304. NGC ID: 27H3.,PCGS Population: 15; none finer. ,The current PCGS CoinFacts plate coin.
