1859 $1 MS(PCGS#6946)

1859 $1 MS (PCGS#6946)

Spring 2025 Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

详细说明: A generally silver-gray example with wisps of steel-olive and rose-russet patina enhancing both sides. The sharp increase in Liberty Seated dollar mintages at Philadelphia in 1859 and 1860, as well as the resumption of coinage at the New Orleans Mint during those years, heralded the start of a new era for the nation's flagship silver coin. This transition can be partly explained by the influx of domestically mined silver from the Comstock Lode. Another factor also came into play in 1859 and 1860, and that was the sudden increase in demand for U.S. silver dollars to use in the export trade to the Orient. The opening of new treaty ports in 1858 and 1860, most of which were in the north of China, resulted in an acute shortage of Mexican dollars. The United States Mint's unusually large mintages of 635,700 and 732,600 silver dollars in 1859 and 1860, respectively, were meant to fill that vacuum to the benefit of American merchants. Suffering a high rate of attribution through export and domestic melting, the 1859 is far scarcer than a sizable mintage of 255,700 pieces might suggest. Along with the 1860, it is one of the most underrated issues in the Liberty Seated series.<p>