1859 $1.00 NGC PR65 Ultra Cameo CAC

One of 80 Proofs struck; most were unsold and later melted. Today there are probably no more than twenty or so known known and this is clearly among the finest of the survivors. This superb fresh-to-the-market Gem has an amazing amount of contrast between the frosted devices and the reflective fields. This contrast gives the coin a full "black and white" appearance that is very impressive to say the least. There is a tiny mint-made "C" shaped lintmark in the left obverse field that serves as identification. Otherwise, this piece is extremely solid for the grade with great visual appeal. As with all pre-Civil War Proof gold, the 1859 dollar is an extremely rare issue and most are seen in the PR63 to PR64 range. There have only been two auction records for comparable examples since the 1990's: Heritage 11/02: 7485 ($17,250; graded PR65 UC by NGC) and Goldberg 9/03: 1057 ($13,225; graded PR65 DC by PCGS). The highest graded example that I have personally seen was Heritage 2010 ANA: 3395 ($32,200; graded PR66 by NGC) and it lacked the contrast or overall eye appeal that this piece shows. A truly rare and very important piece of Proof gold.