SILVER DOLLAR, 1886-O, PCGS MS 64 CAC

A well struck example, with even, slightly muted lustre and hard white fields; the whole with an attractive and consistent frostiness. An exception to Wayne Miller’s comment that most of the emission is heavily bagmarked. The marks are scattered, one small one above Liberty’s brow serves as an identifier under magnification. As Dave Bowers has observed, the 1886-0 issue is “an anomaly”. Despite a massive production of nearly eleven million pieces and the great releases of silver dollars by the government in the mid-20th century, few mint state examples of the issue are known, and at the upper end of the spectrum they are great rarities. This example is an appealing coin of a surprising scarcity.

Certificate number: 4026868 (Generation 3 holder). PCGS records two hundred and twenty-nine at this grade, twenty-three as 64+, but only three MS 65 examples (one of which carries the plus designation); NGC has not certified any examples above MS 64. CAC has certified thirty-nine at this level and only three (MS 65) finer. Around the time of purchase, neither of the major services had graded any examples finer. (02-18)