1888 Three-Dollar Gold Piece. Proof-66 Cameo (PCGS). Secure Holder.，Lovely golden-orange surfaces are a bit more vivid on the reverse. Both sides are equally smooth with a virtually pristine appearance. Fully struck with marked cameo contrast to the finish, this coin is notable for both its technical quality and aesthetic appeal. The most available Proof three-dollar gold piece in todays market, the 1888 has an unknown mintage that it usually listed as 291 pieces. According to Q. David Bowers and Douglas Winter in the 2005 reference <em>The United States $3 Gold Pieces: 1854-1889</em>:<p><em>"91 Proofs are verified as part of the total, with 1 coin delivered in February, 55 in March, 33 in May, and 2 in June. In addition, in April, 200 coins were to be delivered to the meal clerk, in charge of Proof coin sales, but were not delivered until July 19, and then for exchange, whatever that meant. It is not certain if all of these were Proof strikings. If they were, the total production figure was 291, which seems slightly generous in view of the number estimated today. Possibly 291 were struck, but not all were sold. Nothing has been found in the literature to indicate an especially large collector demand for Proofs in this particular year."</em><p>The authors provide for 120 to 150 coins extant, although <em>PCGS CoinFacts</em> is even more generous with an estimate of 150 to 200 survivors. The latter range seems a bit high in our experience and is probably based, at least in part, on resubmissions swelling third-party certification populations. In any event, this issue is rare when you consider the demand for high grade Proof gold type coins from todays advanced collectors. This upper end Gem is sure to see spirited bidding at auction.，PCGS# 88052. NGC ID: 28AX.，PCGS Population: 7; with a single Proof-66+ Cameo finer in this category.，
