1885 Morgan Silver Dollar. MS-67 DMPL (PCGS). A condition rarity par excellence with superior quality in every respect. Frosty devices are sharply defined and set against a backdrop of mirrored reflectivity in the fields. Brilliant and virtually untoned with the faintest dusting of original patina, this is a beautiful coin worthy of the strongest bids. It is tied at the very top of the PCGS Population Report with only 1 other coin, making it a truly significant offering for advanced specialists of the series. <p><p><p>The Philadelphia Mint delivered 17,787,000 circulation strike silver dollars in 1885, one of the more generous totals in the Morgan series. Thousands of these coins remained in federal storage until released by the Treasury Department from the 1930s through the early 1960s. Q. David Bowers (1993) notes that the year 1954 saw a particularly large dispersal of this issue. With many of these coins finding their way into numismatic hands, the 1885 is the most plentiful pre-1921 Philadelphia Mint Morgan dollar in Mint State after only the 1886 and 1887. Quality conscious type collectors are also drawn to this issue due to the beauty of most PL and DMPL examples in todays market. This is just such a coin, although at the Superb Gem grade level it is a decided condition rarity whose offering in this sale represents a fleeting bidding opportunity.
