1860-S $3 MS(PCGS#7981)

Summer 2026 Global Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

경매인

Stack's Bowers

로트 번호

5172

등급

AU55

가격

9,455

로트 설명

Here is a noteworthy Choice About Uncirculated example of this key date rarity in the challenging San Francisco Mint three-dollar gold series. Modestly reflective fields support frosty devices that range from bold to sharp in striking detail. The color is a handsome blend of deep honey, warmer reddish-orange, and iridescent lilac-blue shades. Wispy handling marks are singularly inconspicuous to the unaided eye, and are fewer than one would expect for a lightly circulated early San Francisco Mint gold coin. 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, 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. 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; an up-to-date estimate would be just five to 10 coins. In attractive AU-55 the offered coin is very scarce in its own right and represents pretty much the finest realistically obtainable for this key date issue.