UNDERRATED PCGS/CAC MS63 1873 CLOSED 3 GOLD DOLLAR

The mintage figure for this variety has long been accepted as 1,800 business strikes but I believe that this is underestimated and the correct number is more in the area of 3,500-4,000. That said, this is an extremely underrated and undervalued variety that tends to be overlooked due to the availability of its more common Open 3 counterpart. The Closed 3 is very hard to find in properly graded MS63 and Gems are quite rare. I think that there are around four to six MS65’s and possibly another one or two that grade MS66 by today’s standards.

This very high end coin has the look of an MS64 and it is very frosty with light clashmarks on both sides. The reverse is more reflective than the obverse and it is of Gem quality when viewed on its own. A few small ticks in the left obverse field preclude a higher a grade (in PCGS’ opinion, at least) but this is probably the single nicest MS63 example of this date that I have seen.

The last two APR’s for PCGS MS63 examples of the 1873 Closed 3 are $2,564 and $2,938; both records were in 2014 sales and are for non-CAC coins.

CAC has approved just this 1 coin in MS63 and 4 finer.

From the North Dakota Collection