| In or about December 1836, silver dollars were minted by the U.S. Mint using Christian Gobrecht’s new design which featured the Seated Liberty obverse and the reverse of a boldly detailed eagle flying upward through a field of 26 stars. The original Gobrecht Liberty Seated Silver Dollars weigh approximately 416 grains of .8924 fine silver and feature a smooth edge. Although the coin is listed as a pattern in the Judd reference book as J-60, and despite the highly polished dies and the PR designation assigned the coins by PCGS, the original Gobrecht Dollars are technically not patterns nor are they proofs. Instead, the coins were regular issue coins struck for general circulation for the purposes of reintroducing the dollar. Based on the wear found on many examples it is clear that many of these coins did in fact circulate for some time. With only 1,000 coins minted, the original issue, coin alignment Gobrecht Silver Dollars are one of the lowest mintage coins issued for general circulation and are highly demanded by type coin collectors in particular.
This example of the 1836 Gobrecht Silver Dollar, from the original striking and struck in coin alignment (Die Alignment I), has been graded PR62 by PCGS and is encapsulated in one of the newer-style edge-view Secure Plus holders. TrueView photos of the coin were taken by PCGS which capture the beauty of this coin in both direct light and indirect light. Because of the difficulty in capturing the overall look of the coin in a single image or even a few images, I have also included a short high-definition video of the coin in an attempt to give you a better idea of what this coin will look like in hand. Please note that you may need to adjust the video quality to 1080p and may need to increase the size of the video to full screen in order to see the coin in maximum detail.
When the coins were minted, the feeder mechanism that was used by the Mint inadvertently damaged the rim of the reverse die. This damage to the die was transferred to the struck coins and is the reason for several of the marks which appear similar to typical rim bumps in the photos, but are instead Mint made marks found on most original Gobrecht Dollars. Based on those marks and other die lines found on the reverse of the coin, including a line through the O of ONE, a die scratch below the D of DOLLAR and various die chips in the denticles, this example appears to be a relatively late die state of the original Gobrecht Dollar. While the fields of this coin are somewhat mirrored, because they are not actual proof coins, the mirrors are not as deep as other proof coins of the era. When tilted directly into a light, the coin reflects a mostly white and slightly golden color; tilted away from a light the coin is an even medium grey color with slightly hazy surfaces. Both sides of the coin exhibit scattered hairlines and other small marks in the fields, typical of examples in this grade. A few larger marks are also present including one in the obverse field between Liberty’s elbow and leg,
one on Liberty's chin, one at the top of the shield on the obverse and one near the A of DOLLAR on the reverse. None of the issues noted are overly distracting, however, as the bold details and proof-like flash of this coin gives it terrific overall eye appeal. A wonderful example of this popular type coin and highly-demanded low-mintage rare silver dollar. |
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