A gorgeous piece displaying remarkable Cameo Proof quality for an issue that is rare in all grades. Handsome orange-gold patina blankets surfaces that offer bold contrast between satiny devices and reflective fields. The central high points are a bit lightly struck, but the balance of the features are fully impressed with razor sharp detail. The presidential election of 1876 proved to be one of the most contentious elections in all of U. S. history. Even though Samuel Tilden won the popular vote over Rutherford B. Hayes, 20 electoral votes were still in dispute. This situation necessitated an informal backroom deal known as the "Compromise of 1877" to be concocted, giving Hayes the presidency on the proviso that federal troops be withdrawn from the South, thus ending Reconstruction. The terms of this deal and how the electoral votes were ultimately awarded still remain controversial to this day. The Indian Wars were being waged in earnest, with a number of important battles between the U. S. Army and the Oglala Sioux and Nez Perce, including the capture and death of Crazy Horse on September 5. Labor unrest began to also rise to the surface, culminating in the Great Railroad Strike in Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis. While the nation was still in the midst of the depression precipitated by the Panic of 1873, collecting Proof gold coins was not necessarily on the minds of the few well-heeled collectors of the day who could afford to put aside such expensive coin sets. The 1877 half eagle is a breed apart in an already highly rarefied field: only 20 Proof examples were produced that year. The first 10 gold Proof sets were delivered on February 24, followed by the second and final delivery of 10 sets on May 31. The coins were available for sale beginning on June 2. Of these 20 sets, only two survive, one at the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution and the other residing in the collection of the American Numismatic Society. The Smithsonian set originated from the Mint Cabinet and was transferred to the museum in 1923. The ANS set dates back to the collection of Robert C. H. Brock, then to financier J. P. Morgan, then finally ending up in the ANS cabinet.Numismatists have long recognized the sheer rarity of this issue and has been cherished for generations. In 1989, Walter Breen in his <em>Encyclopedia of United States Colonial and Proof Coins 1722-1989</em> wrote of the 1877 half eagle, "Extreme rarity. Proofs are rarer than of the smaller denominations, it being doubtful if as many as a dozen survive." Nearly twenty years later, Garrett and Guth put the estimate at 10 examples known of an issue they described as "a rarity of the highest magnitude." Today, numismatic scholars have only been able to conclusively identify nine individual specimens, two of which are in permanent collections as part of the two known sets. Many of these coins trace their pedigrees to some of the greatest collections in American numismatic history: Bass, Trompeter, Garrett, Eliasberg, Clapp - all collectors who were not prone to casually selling their masterpieces. Auction appearances of this remarkable rarity are almost as rare as the coin itself; Garrett and Guth could only note three such appearances in the fifteen year span between 1993 and 2008. Particularly telling is that there have only been four times this issue has crossed the auction block so far this century representing just three distinct specimens. No more than three dozen presentations at auction in total can be traced back to the late 19th century. Some of the earliest sales show examples as part of larger sets that have long since been broken up and dispersed. A formidable rarity in any grade, this coin is made all that much more desirable by its breathtaking eye appeal. Most Proof gold coins from the era were not purposely struck to produce a frosted appearance for the devices as they are today. For many issues of the era, locating a Cameo example can be an exercise in great patience and determination. Such is the case with the 1877 half eagle: the present specimen is the sole example that has earned the Cameo designation at PCGS. Destined for the finest of Proof gold cabinets where it will be a centerpiece for many years to come.,,PCGS# 88472. NGC ID: 28CE.,PCGS Population: just 1; none finer. The only coin certified Cameo by PCGS. ,