1876-S Doubled Die Obverse Trade Dollar (with Trueview)
OriginalDan
Posts: 3,743 ✭✭✭✭✭
This coin was purchased a few years ago, but just submitted and received a decision back from PCGS. Very excited to report that it graded AU50, the highest graded example at either service. The next example graded PCGS VF35 a long time ago. With about 13 known, this was an incredible find and a big deal for Trade Dollar variety folks.
If you haven’t seen this one before (not many have) check out the doubled feet, edge of dress, outstretched hand (thumb) and chin. The Liberty scroll is also very doubled.
If you’d like to zoom in, here’s the max size Trueview.
18
Comments
Highest graded unchopped example
Truly an amazing coin. The center piece of a trade set. Known and hunted for 30 years with only about a dozen known. Should be a top pop for years to come.
11.5$ Southern Dollars, The little “Big Easy” set
13 Known and highest graded example - That's an impressive coin!
Way to go Nice.
Hoard the keys.
Good on you!!! Great get!!!! Love it when good things happen to good people
m
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
Thanks for sharing, congratulations to the owner.
Pretty dramatic piece. I didnt see it until you gave me the pickup point, and then it jumped out at me.
Nice coin!
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
Out of the 13 they all basically have problems cleaned, chopped, damaged. Not a group of coins time has been kind to.
11.5$ Southern Dollars, The little “Big Easy” set
Huge brain fart there, that's what I get for posting too late at night. This newly graded example really can't be discussed without also mentioning Crypto's chopmarked example (ex. @tradedollarnut). In September of last year around the time of @DDR 's trade dollar meet-up (discussed previously, after he purchased TDN's chopmarked set), we put these two examples next to each other. Crypto and I both felt his chopmarked example was technically a better coin, chopmark aside. This was backed up by my offer to trade on the spot being quickly shot down. Even with the new PCGS holder, I have a feeling that @Crypto would still not make that trade.
Outside of the DDO Lincoln cents, is there a more dramatic doubled die obverse in U.S. coinage?
That's a great example. I am still waiting to find a REAL one.
Great coin and thanks for the enlarged pictures with the description. Since I like Trade Dollars anyway, I will now step up my searches a bit... would love to find one of these rarities. Cheers, RickO
I have been fruitlessly searching for over a decade for that variety. In that time, I have cherry picked multiple examples of the 1875-S/CC FS-501, 1875-S/CC FS-502, and 1876-CC DDR. But I have never never seen an 1876-S DDO in the wild, chopped or not. Without a doubt, that is the centerpiece of any Trade Dollar variety set. Well done on the grade. Congratulations, Dan.
Complete Set of Chopmarked Trade Dollars
Carson City Silver Dollars Complete 1870-1893http://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/showcase.aspx?sc=2722"
just looked at my 1876s trade, hoping for a miracle, no miracles here
H O L Y C O W!!!
As the current owner of the well-traveled "VF Details - Graffiti" example, I am duly impressed!!! The Holy Grail for sure!
mbogoman
https://pcgs.com/setregistry/collectors-showcase/classic-issues-colonials-through-1964/zambezi-collection-trade-dollars/7345Asesabi Lutho
Now that is a great find! I've only handled one and it sold very quickly.
An authorized PCGS dealer, and a contributor to the Red Book.
@OriginalDan
Another example of knowledge paying off. We certified one of these at INSAB in the 1980's. I never saw another until now. The micrographs I took of the doubling on that specimen don't show the entire coin but the visible wear on the arm is similar to yours. It is a lower grade than the second piece imaged here. That coin does not match yours so I'm thinking there are at least three AU's out there.
There are a few AU details Coins out there. Most range XF-AU details
There is a beat to hell F details chop mark, another beat to hell VF details graffiti and the rest are ehhh.
There is a rumor of a choice AU58 out there but it is always one collector away form confirming.
Joe has a registry in his book of these coins
11.5$ Southern Dollars, The little “Big Easy” set
Pictures!!!
11.5$ Southern Dollars, The little “Big Easy” set
Great coin, @OriginalDan. Glad to see you got around to getting this one slabbed, with such good results. @Crypto, I'm sorry to say that the chop just destroys the value of that coin, probably barely worth melt now.
Great coins all around, I doubt that we're going to find any more of this rare variety in the wild.
I saw the discovery specimen of this variety that happened to be at Collector's Clearinghouse in the very early 70's when I was visiting there before I went to work there. Spent decades trying to cherrypick one and never did.
TD
Without a doubt, the fugliest coin in my collection. But it's a keeper (until something better comes along...
)
mbogoman
https://pcgs.com/setregistry/collectors-showcase/classic-issues-colonials-through-1964/zambezi-collection-trade-dollars/7345Asesabi Lutho
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gratz!
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Nice coin. Good job!
Well Dan found this one in the wild along with the F details heavily damaged chop mark example sold to realone. I found the Mbogoman’s VF details in a junk lot and tenndave found the weird chopmark/ allegedly counterfeit example on ebay. Although it has all the die markers and reed count of the real ones ?!?
There might be a few out there, def every 76s gets flipped over and examined
11.5$ Southern Dollars, The little “Big Easy” set
There are some shield nickels and 1873 dime come to mind not to mention the 76cc trade. But not many
11.5$ Southern Dollars, The little “Big Easy” set
1876-CC Dime, 1876-CC 20 center..........
Dan,. I'll join in late. Congrats! Well done. Intensely difficult coin to find and as the informal keeper of the census estimate, still 13 examples known. One chopped, two certified with grades, all others with issues. No new examples found in last 2 to 3 years. Great work. If Trades were a more collected series, an easy five figure coin. As one of the top Double Dies in any series, a five figure coin. Best,. Keoj
Wow Dan, just freakin', jaw hits floor wow!!
a great looking example, too!
I think Joe meant one chopped example without issues. The VF chopped example that I used to own (and I assume you bought) is cleaned.
I made sure to cough on it, among other things, before I sent it out so maybe it picked up some “toning” to hide the cleaning?
Just kidding Al, have a nice day.
There’s still only one chopped DDO in the pop report.
Usually pop reports are inaccurate in one direction, meaning too high. I would assume it’s rare that the pop report is missing a coin altogether.
Alan’s coin is details, not straight graded. Also Fine details not VF. Cool coin but beat to death, scrubbed and bearly identifiable. Was sold as only could tell what it was by the foot.
11.5$ Southern Dollars, The little “Big Easy” set
Well here's the original HA auction.
And here's the coin:
(photo cred to Heritage)
I get it, why would you argue when you’re wrong and low comprehension although it never stopped you before.> @afford said:
You have never had a good eye or strong technical comprehension Alan. Not that ever stopped you from arguing
11.5$ Southern Dollars, The little “Big Easy” set
To say that coin is "cleaned" is being very generous.
Think that is bad, you should see
Detail / problem coins don’t make the pops
11.5$ Southern Dollars, The little “Big Easy” set
Agreed, it is scrubbed and beat to hell but still pretty cool for what it is. As I said most 76s ddo have issues even the “problem free examples”
11.5$ Southern Dollars, The little “Big Easy” set
Also it should be noted that the coin was bought raw off great southern on Ebay with typical GS pictures for well under 50% of its current value. For the next time we blanket bash GS
11.5$ Southern Dollars, The little “Big Easy” set
Yes, the OP coin was purchased from Great Southern Coins, believe it or not. After the bidding ended, I had a phone call with the guys over there and they said they fell out of their chairs when a fairly common 1876-S Trade Dollar in AU sold for multiple thousands of dollars. (Maybe because their shill bidders couldn't keep up!?)
Although GSC offers mainly bottom-feeder coins with somewhat deceiving photos that many take issue with, they're coin geeks like the rest of us, at the end of the day. They were really excited about the find and wanted to talk to me about it.
Great coin and heartwarming story!
I would add the 1934-D Peace DDO -- dramatic doubling of the rays, Liberty's profile, and the D in GOD.
I specialize in those, love them esp the small d rev but they aren’t really in the same league. Will say it is one of the last naked eye dollar errors and one of the last multi die pair combos before the mint engineered dies to the point where the variances are too minor to notice without crazy magnification.
11.5$ Southern Dollars, The little “Big Easy” set
@Crypto said: "Agreed, it is scrubbed and beat to hell but still pretty cool for what it is. As I said most 76s ddo have issues even the “problem free examples”
A very large number of all T$ have issues and this one certainly has been "scrubbed." I prefer to describe it as lightly buffed but no matter. I would not go so far as to say beat to hell though. Just me being too critical as most T$ with more than a few small or light chops are "beat to hell" yet that makes them interesting. The sad thing to me is that the DDO was not ID'ed. I'd have it resoldered.
PS I'm not a fan of coin doctors but I enjoy the interest they add to my day. If this coin were not so famous, it could have been easily "improved" and holdered again without any change to the label except for an attribution.
I agree with everything you said including buffed/polishes. The only thing I don’t agree is I truly believe almost no coin is too famous to have its history broken and reholdered with its appearance alt to make it semi fresh to market
11.5$ Southern Dollars, The little “Big Easy” set
@Crypto said: " agree with everything you said including buffed/polishes. The only thing I don’t agree is I truly believe almost no coin is too famous to have its history broken and reholdered with its appearance alt to make it semi fresh to market."
We agree. It is just something that is done to coins on occasion. Even to very famous coins as the unique 1870-S Half dime! I preferred it in its "as-found-state" when Hoskins and I authenticated it decades ago.
All I would do to this coin is to have the attribution added to the label.
Was that back when the coin was still AU-58?
We have discussed the most dramatic DDOs and DDRs across all series before, and this 1876-S DDO Trade Dollar seems like it at least belongs in the top 5.
As for whether it's #1, we may each favor things for slightly different reasons.
"It's real and it's spectacular." - Seinfeld
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/880144/major-pics-of-an-incredible-and-rarely-clearly-seen-ddo-on-a-h10c
I disagree with the top 5 rating. The extreme rarity of a DD should not outweigh the amount of spread between the doubling. Based on that, I'd put it in the top 25.
That's not a big enough spread for you? Two feet where one should be.
It is a big spread. Nothing close to the 1876-CC and many VAMs, Washington 25c, etc. Take away its rarity and that coin would POSSIBLY make the top 25. It's easier to naked-eye a coin like the 1961 PR Franklin than ANY DD with parts of its design doubled when the doubling gets "lost" in the design.