1838戈布雷希特银币 NGC PF 66
1838 Gobrecht Silver Dollar. Name Removed. Judd-85 Restrike, Pollock-94. Rarity-7+. Dannreuther Reverse Die State d-e (intermediate die state). Silver. Plain Edge. Die Alignment III. Proof-66 * (NGC).
A nicely toned, highly appealing Gem that will serve with distinction in the finest collection of silver dollars or Liberty Seated coinage. Delicate silver-gray toning blends with antique-gold, lilac, and a splash of cobalt-blue on the obverse. The reverse exhibits lilac-gray through the center with soft sunset and gold tones intermingled around the periphery. Fully impressed with razor-sharp definition, this feature combines with the truly exceptional level of preservation to provide outstanding visual appeal. As with all known examples of Judd-85, this coin was struck in Die Alignment III, Libertys opposite the letter N in ONE. The eagle flies level following a normal coin turn. The dies are the same as those of Judd-84, but here the edge is plain rather than reeded. For the collector assembling a complete date set of Gobrecht dollars the 1838 will likely prove to be the most challenging to acquire. While traditional numismatic wisdom states that a small number of originals were struck that year in Die Alignment I, modern scholarship has discounted this theory. In fact, no Die Alignment I examples of this date are known to exist. The Die Alignment I-II reverse die cup was already starting to deteriorate on late die state 1836 Gobrecht dollars, so it seems likely that the Mint simply abandoned it in favor of the Die Alignment IV cup when it came to striking the 1838 coins. An example of this issue in Die Alignment IV is part of the National Numismatic Collection in the Smithsonian Institution, suggesting that this is the alignment used to strike originals of this date. Those coins were made as patterns to illustrate the revised Gobrecht dollar design with 13 stars added to the obverse periphery and the 26 stars omitted from the reverse field. Original 1838 Gobrecht dollars were exceedingly rare in their time, as they are now, leading the Mint to create restrikes for sale to contemporary collectors. These pieces were struck in both Die Alignment III and IV with either a reeded (Judd-84) or plain (Judd-85) edge and display light cracks through some of the peripheral letters. This is just such a coin, although it should be noted that this Die State "d" example does not show the tiny void below the F of OF that appears in (later) Die State "e" examples. Since this reverse die was previously used to restrike other Gobrecht dollar varieties, one can, therefore, deduct this is a very early striking, possibly the first, Judd-85. All Judd-85s have die cracks on the reverse including faint ones through MERI and TE, and from LAR into the field. A small, raised die spur runs from the upper curve of the D of UNITED into the field. Likely struck during Henry R. Lindermans second term as mint director (1873-1878), an era during which many restrikes and other numismatic delicacies are known to have been produced expressly for distribution to contemporary collectors. Mintages were not recorded as these are not regular issues, although with only about eight specimens known the variety now known as Judd-85 was obviously produced in limited numbers. As one of the two finest certified examples known to NGC (PCGS has not graded an example of Judd-85 finer than Proof-65+), this is an outstanding representative of one of the rarest Gobrecht dollar varieties.NGC Census: 2, only one of which has been awarded a * designation for superior eye appeal.From our (Stacks) sale of the L.R. French Family Collection, January 1989, lot 17; Heritages sale of the Lemus Collection, Queller Family Collection Part Two, January 2009, lot 1521; our Americana Sale of January 2013, lot 13218.
