1877 Indian Cent. Snow-PR3. Proof-66 BN (PCGS). This wonderfully original Gem exhibits dominant toning in warm olive-brown. Plenty of faded golden-apricot color remains, predominantly around the peripheries, and iridescent lilac undertones enhance the eye appeal. Fully struck, expertly preserved, and sure to please the discerning Indian cent enthusiast. With a mintage of 852,500 pieces and a low rate of survival in high grades, the circulation strike 1877 is the key date issue in this series causing the years Proof mintage to see heightened demand. The United Sates Mint did not begin recording the number of Proof minor coins struck each year until 1878, so there is no way of knowing how many Proof cents were produced in 1877. In his 1977 emEncyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Proof Coins,/em Walter Breen estimated the mintage of the 1877 at 510+ pieces, but more recent research by R.W. Julian confirmed that Breens figure represented only the total number of silver and minor coin Proof sets sold. According to Rick Snow (2014), a more accurate estimate is 910 coins, which takes into account the fact that the Mint also sold at least 400 minor coin Proof sets that year. It is thought that upward of 1,500 Proof 1877 cents were actually struck, the unsold pieces either destroyed in the Mint or released into circulation. Most 1877 Proof cents are in lower grades through Proof-64 RB. The present upper end Gem is a significant condition rarity in its own right and numbers among the finest PCGS-certified examples in the BN category.
