Let us Welcome one of the Key Date Rarities to the Gold Dollar Collection ***1863***
ambro51
Posts: 13,949 ✭✭✭✭✭
The War raged on, casualties mounted...but both sides were sure they would be Victorious in the end. Both felt "God was on their side"....England, though, had begun to play a great part in the War. Southern Cotton and Yankee Gold had purchased many arms and supplies. The British somehow felt akin to the struggles of the Southern Cause, though they knew little about the details of the struggle. That was soon to change. During the ninteenth century, the Kemble family was very active on the British Stage. Much like the Barrymores....each generation made its mark, and by the late 1820's and early 1830's, a new leading lady came onto the stage. She was Frances Anne Kemble, better known as Fanny. Young, attractive, extremely intelligent....she took the Nation by storm. While on Tour in the United States, she was wooed by a Philadelphia Gentleman, Mr. Pierce Butler. Now...in those days, some things were not discussed much, one of them being exactly how Mr. Butler derived his great wealth. After a short courtship, the couple was wed in 1834, at which time Fanny left the stage...at the peak of her acting career.
Shortly thereafter, she discovered how Mr. Butler became wealthy. His Uncle, and family, owned an immense rice plantation near St. Simons Island in Georgia. There were hundreds of slaves....all owned now by Mr. Butler, upon the passing of his Uncle. Fanny, ever trying to be the loyal wife, decided in 1839 to join Pierce as he made his annual trek south to live for the season on the Plantation. We use the term loosely here, and don't think for a moment this was something like Tara, from "Gone with the Wind" . A hardscrabble large house served as their home, and life on the island was a myopic mix of the races, in close contact, and for the first time Fanny was thrown into the company of Slaves......her slaves. Repulsed in many ways, she tried as best she could to help them with their struggle, rebuilding the hospital, and trying to intercede between the headman , the Slaves...and Mr. Butler. She seen things that no British Lady had ever seen...and wrote of them in brutal, truthful detail. She attempted to publish her Journal, as she was a prolific writer, but Pierce stepped in...and the Journal was not published until 1863, long after they were divorced...and the same year as Uncle Toms Cabin.
Queen Victoria knew Fanny Kemble personally......and unlike Uncle Toms Cabin, the Journal was a work of non-fiction, and read as such. In the end, Queen Victoria learned things about exactly how Slavery existed in the South, and decided not to extend "Nation in Belligerance" status to the Confederacy..which would have permitted the British Navy to smash the Federal blockade, supply the south with arms and possibly join into the conflict..on the Southern side. One little lady, one little book..........and the Queen made a decision that in effect doomed the South to fighting a lost cause.
But all during 1863 the Conflict raged...and both the North and the South purchased vast amounts of arms and supplies from Europe. Most purchases were made in gold, and the United States paid out vast numbers of Gold Coins...only to have them eventually melted in foreign furnaces and recoined into their own currency. While records aren't clear exactly what denominations were sent overseas...*something* happened to the vast number of 1863 Gold Dollars, that caused them to become great rarities of the series. Indeed, auction catalogs of the late ninteenth century touted them as extremely rare, excessively rare...and to this date the situation has not changed. Though the mintage of 6,200 would indicate hundreds and hundreds of survivors, based on the basic gold dollar survival rates of 2%, such is not the case. The 1863 gold dollar, in terms of the number of survivors, is nearly equal to the 1875, of which only 400 were minted. They have nearly all gone.....somewhere, and they were gone as long ago as the late 19th century.
When I done the analysis of the Heritage Auctions going back to 1993, the 1863 was offered for sale only 21 times during that period, the lowest non variety offering excluding the 49 C open wreath. Today, certifications by TPGs account for nearly 80 coins, and QDB estimates a total number of about 140 pieces. So while we may think of the Charlotte and Dahlonega gold dollars as being the key rarities of the series....perhaps the 1863 is nearly their equal. The 1863 gold dollar has the lowest number of certified examples at PCGS other than the 1849C open wreath, with just 39 coins in all grades.
The Dies for these coins were not prepared very well, and all specimens show die polishing lines, and many coins have planchet laminations and black inclusions. Indeed, this specimen has a mint made planchet lamination, at the base of the bust on the obverse. No doubt the reason it is in an IGC holder, even with this laminaton it is an excessively rare coin and one that deserves to be included in the Gold Dollar Collection. These are offered so infrequently.....I could not pass her by.
Heritage has consigned six of my coppers to the Long Beach Auction, and through their good graces Ive been able to purchase this 1863 Gold Dollar today and add her to the collection. Since she has came to me from the sale of coppers, I feel it is proper to name her Penny.
So, let us Welcome Penny to the Gold Dollar Collection 1863 Gold Dollar IGC AU55
Shortly thereafter, she discovered how Mr. Butler became wealthy. His Uncle, and family, owned an immense rice plantation near St. Simons Island in Georgia. There were hundreds of slaves....all owned now by Mr. Butler, upon the passing of his Uncle. Fanny, ever trying to be the loyal wife, decided in 1839 to join Pierce as he made his annual trek south to live for the season on the Plantation. We use the term loosely here, and don't think for a moment this was something like Tara, from "Gone with the Wind" . A hardscrabble large house served as their home, and life on the island was a myopic mix of the races, in close contact, and for the first time Fanny was thrown into the company of Slaves......her slaves. Repulsed in many ways, she tried as best she could to help them with their struggle, rebuilding the hospital, and trying to intercede between the headman , the Slaves...and Mr. Butler. She seen things that no British Lady had ever seen...and wrote of them in brutal, truthful detail. She attempted to publish her Journal, as she was a prolific writer, but Pierce stepped in...and the Journal was not published until 1863, long after they were divorced...and the same year as Uncle Toms Cabin.
Queen Victoria knew Fanny Kemble personally......and unlike Uncle Toms Cabin, the Journal was a work of non-fiction, and read as such. In the end, Queen Victoria learned things about exactly how Slavery existed in the South, and decided not to extend "Nation in Belligerance" status to the Confederacy..which would have permitted the British Navy to smash the Federal blockade, supply the south with arms and possibly join into the conflict..on the Southern side. One little lady, one little book..........and the Queen made a decision that in effect doomed the South to fighting a lost cause.
But all during 1863 the Conflict raged...and both the North and the South purchased vast amounts of arms and supplies from Europe. Most purchases were made in gold, and the United States paid out vast numbers of Gold Coins...only to have them eventually melted in foreign furnaces and recoined into their own currency. While records aren't clear exactly what denominations were sent overseas...*something* happened to the vast number of 1863 Gold Dollars, that caused them to become great rarities of the series. Indeed, auction catalogs of the late ninteenth century touted them as extremely rare, excessively rare...and to this date the situation has not changed. Though the mintage of 6,200 would indicate hundreds and hundreds of survivors, based on the basic gold dollar survival rates of 2%, such is not the case. The 1863 gold dollar, in terms of the number of survivors, is nearly equal to the 1875, of which only 400 were minted. They have nearly all gone.....somewhere, and they were gone as long ago as the late 19th century.
When I done the analysis of the Heritage Auctions going back to 1993, the 1863 was offered for sale only 21 times during that period, the lowest non variety offering excluding the 49 C open wreath. Today, certifications by TPGs account for nearly 80 coins, and QDB estimates a total number of about 140 pieces. So while we may think of the Charlotte and Dahlonega gold dollars as being the key rarities of the series....perhaps the 1863 is nearly their equal. The 1863 gold dollar has the lowest number of certified examples at PCGS other than the 1849C open wreath, with just 39 coins in all grades.
The Dies for these coins were not prepared very well, and all specimens show die polishing lines, and many coins have planchet laminations and black inclusions. Indeed, this specimen has a mint made planchet lamination, at the base of the bust on the obverse. No doubt the reason it is in an IGC holder, even with this laminaton it is an excessively rare coin and one that deserves to be included in the Gold Dollar Collection. These are offered so infrequently.....I could not pass her by.
Heritage has consigned six of my coppers to the Long Beach Auction, and through their good graces Ive been able to purchase this 1863 Gold Dollar today and add her to the collection. Since she has came to me from the sale of coppers, I feel it is proper to name her Penny.
So, let us Welcome Penny to the Gold Dollar Collection 1863 Gold Dollar IGC AU55
0
Comments
Also, that gold $1 looks to be very nicely struck for a series that is riddled with weak strikes.
Great post all around ambro.
What do you think, worth a shot?
<< <i>If sent in as a mint error under the right service it might get in a PCGS slab with the error noted and a grade.
What do you think, worth a shot?
What's that quote about the lipstick on a pig?
One quesiton. You said:
<< <i>Indeed, this specimen has a mint made planchet lamination, at the base of the bust on the obverse. No doubt the reason it is in an IGC holder, even with this laminaton it is an excessively rare coin and one that deserves to be included in the Gold Dollar Collection. These are offered so infrequently.....I could not pass her by. >>
What is your rationale for saying the above? Do you not think that PCGS/NGC would have slabbed this coin because of the lamination?
Just wondering...Mike
<< <i>No. Planchet flaws don't slab with pcgs or Ngc. And rightly so. It's original, and the price was the best of this century so it's ok with me. >>
I'm not sure that's the case. (it might be but???)
I sent a 1928-D with one to ANACs and they put it in a problem holder as "damaged" so I re-submitted it as an error and it came back labeled "lamination".
I thought PCGS might do the same since they have a gennie code but I have seen others sent in under the "error service" that came back with it noted as an error and a grade.
Yea I know it might not be worth it (it's fine as it is) but I figured if you want it in a PCGS holder it might be possible. A good question for customer service?
EDITED TO ADD; Might be something to consider, heres a $20 saint slabbed as a mint error with a planchet lamination 200350131892