1860-S Three-Dollar Gold Piece. MS-61 (PCGS). Here is a dazzling semi-prooflike Mint State example of this key date rarity in the brief and challenging San Francisco Mint three-dollar gold series. Modestly reflective fields support satiny devices that range from bold to full in striking detail. The color is a pale golden-honey shade with faint traces of pink iridescence evident under a light. Wispy handling marks do little more than define the grade, and are fewer than one would expect at the MS-61 level.<p>The 1860-S is one of the rarest circulation strike issues among the early varieties in the three-dollar gold series, as well as the rarest collectible San Francisco Mint issue. Walter Breen (<em>Encyclopedia</em>, 1988) noted that 2,592 of the 7,000 coins struck were found to be underweight and were melted and later turned into other denominations, leaving a net mintage of just 4,408 coins. Virtually all circulated heavily and few if any were intentionally saved. Today the 1860-S is seldom seen in any grade, though the occasional well worn VF example surfaces in the marketplace. EF and AU pieces are rarities, and Mint State coins are so elusive as to be nearly unobtainable. In 1971, Don Taxay suggested that there were no Mint State examples of the date to be found, although an up-to-date estimate would be five to seven coins -- a paltry total, to be sure.<p>This is only the fourth Uncirculated 1860-S that we have offered since 2005, and it comes with an impressive numismatic provenance stretching back to the Jerome Kern Collection. In his 1950 sale of that cabinet, the legendary B. Max Mehl described this piece as, "The most perfect and most beautiful specimen of this date and mint $3.00 gold piece I have ever seen." While a few others have been certified finer, in the modern numismatic market any Mint State 1860-S three-dollar is a Condition Census rarity that would serve as a highlight in the finest collection. From the Huberman Collection. Earlier ex Jerome Kern; B. Max Mehls Golden Jubilee Sale, May 1950, lot 203; B. Max Mehls 115th Sale, November 1954, lot 2669; our (Stacks) sale of the Harold L. Bareford Collection of United States Gold Coins, December 1978. Lot tags included.
