1872 Two-Cent Piece. MS-64 RB (PCGS).Rich olive and gray-brown patina adorns both sides of this undeniably original near-Gem. The toning is a bit bolder on the reverse, although both sides readily reveal glints of vivid reddish-orange and pale rose as the surfaces rotate under a light. Satiny in texture with an expectably smooth appearance for the assigned grade. Although initially meeting with great success in the coinage-starved Eastern and Midwestern states during the final years of the Civil War, by the early 1870s the glory days of the two-cent piece as a circulating denomination had come to an end. The circulation strike portion of this series concluded in 1872 with a mintage of just 65,000 coins -- the lowest for the type. Scarce and eagerly sought at all levels of preservation, the 1872 enjoys its strongest demand among advanced collectors in the finest Mint State grades, as here.From the Maurice Snow Collection.
