1895 Morgan Silver Dollar. Proof-65 Cameo (NGC). CAC. An outstanding absolute and condition rarity to represent this key date entry in the Morgan dollar series. Richly toned surfaces exhibit peripheral color of steel-blue that passes to antique-copper before giving way to silver-tinged brilliance in the centers. Striking detail is impressively sharp, as befits the method of manufacture, the surfaces glowing with a boldly cameoed finish as the coin dips into a light. Direct viewing angles also call forth iridescent undertones of antique gold, powder blue and reddish-gold -- very attractive. Expertly preserved to confirm the validity of the Proof-65 numeric grade from NGC, and worthy of the strongest bids.<p>The sole Proof-only issue in the popular Morgan silver dollar series, the Philadelphia Mint 1895 has long enjoyed legendary status. Early generations of collectors were puzzled by an entry in Mint records that showed a circulation strike delivery of 12,000 coins for this year, and many theories arose to explain why the only 1895-dated examples found were of the 880-piece Proof issue. Some said the circulation strikes were never struck at all and the 12,000-piece figure represented nothing more than a bookkeeping error. Others suggest that the 12,000-coin mintage reported for 1895 represents an adjustment to the Mints ledgers to account for a final delivery of 1894-dated silver dollars. In an article titled "King of Morgan Dollars Revisited" (2006, 2018), Roger W. Burdette provides conclusive evidence from available government documents that, indeed, the Philadelphia Mint did produce 12,000 circulation strike Morgan dollars from 1895-dated dies on June 28 of that year. With the exception of six circulation strikes provided to the Assay Commission (along with four of the Proof 1895 dollars), the entire mintage of this issue must have remained in storage until the coins were destroyed as part of the 270,232,722 silver dollars melted under provision of the Pittman Silver Purchase Act of 1918.<p>To date not a single circulation strike 1895 dollar from the Philadelphia Mint has been confirmed, although the possibility exists that at least a few examples might have survived and await discovery. Of the aforementioned six examples forwarded to the Assay Commission, Burdette shows that only two were destroyed during the Commissions work. One or more of the four remaining coins might have been purchased as souvenirs by the Commission members (which was customary in most years), while any that were not would have been mixed with other coins and released from the Mint to banks and sub-treasuries as a matter of routine. Assuming that was the case, and assuming that at least one of those coins avoided being returned to the Mint in later years for melting, or meeting a similar fate at the hands of commercial smelters, anywhere from at least one to four circulation strike 1895 dollars from the Philadelphia Mint might still exist. Until such a coin is discovered and identified, every collector seeking to assemble a complete date and mint set of Morgan silver dollars must acquire a Proof for the 1895. This exceptionally vivid Cameo Gem Proof should attract strong bids from advanced Morgan dollar collectors.
