1839 $1 J-104, Gobrecht Restrike PR(PCGS#11446)
1839 $1 J-104, Gobrecht Restrike PR (PCGS#11446)
February 2025 Showcase Auction - U.S. Coins
- 拍卖行
- Stack's Bowers
- 批号
- 1112
- 等级
- PR63+
- 价格
- 384,003
- 详细说明
- The rarity and widespread popularity of all Gobrecht dollars are sure to result in spirited bidding for this rare 1839-dated specimen. The surfaces exhibit smoky golden-gray patina with some mottling to the color at lower right obverse. Soft undertones of golden-apricot and lilac-blue are also discernible when the coin rotates under a light. Typical of a restrike of this Judd number, the strike is razor sharp to full throughout and nicely showcases this iconic silver dollar design. There are no sizeable marks, the in-hand appearance smoother perhaps than one might expect for the assigned grade.<p>The Choice level of preservation allows ready appreciation of the diagnostics used to differentiate the various states of these dies which, in turn, confirm this Judd-104 specimen as a restrike. The original 1839 Gobrecht dollars, coined in the last week of that year, "are in Alignment IV, have weak mirrors, more [semi-prooflike] than fully [prooflike], and typically come with a weakly struck foot," according to <em>gobrechtdollars.com</em>, a website built by John W. Dannreuther, Saul Teichman, and Craig Sholley. Restrikes, by contrast, show "a strong mirror from polishing" and are better struck, "generally with a fully struck foot". Restrikes are "also rather easily distinguished from Originals by the very granular (rusty) letters and eagle," according to their study of the issue.<p>Two major varieties of silver 1839 Gobrecht dollars with the starless reverse were produced: reeded edge Judd-104, offered here, and plain edge Judd-105. Judd-107 was struck from the same dies in copper, while Judd-108 (silver) and Judd-109 (copper) are mules struck during the Linderman era from Starry Reverse B (a.k.a. "The Cracked Reverse"). Judd-107 and Judd-109 are both unique, and Judd-108 is extremely rare, with just three specimens known. Though specimens of Judd-104 are somewhat more numerous, the 1839 as a date is the second rarest in the Gobrecht dollar series after 1838. Only 75 to 100 examples of the 1839 Judd-104 are believed extant (per the <em>uspatterns.com</em> website), a total that includes about a dozen Die Alignment III restrikes, as well as additional restrikes in Die Alignment IV, as here.