The Harry W. Bass, Jr. Collection - Part IV

We present a very illustrious group of $3 pieces from the Harry W. Bass, Jr. Collection. The offering commences with a Mint State example of the first year of issue, 1854, and continues to include one of the finest 1854-O examples in existence, a truly impressive 1856-S, a Condition Census 1857, and other delicacies. The 1861, a veritable gem, is of commanding importance, as are other dates of the decade. Among later issues, the 1873 Closed 3 in Mint State would be a landmark in any generation—most pieces of this date are Proofs or impaired Proofs. Then follow a number of other important pieces, including a further 1873, the low-mintage 1881, and other desiderata.

First struck in 1854, the $3 piece never found its niche in commerce. The original intention was to facilitate the purchase of three-cent stamps in sheets of 100, and to make the purchase of silver trime coins easy in the same multiples. However, the long-established $2.50 had already captured the attention of merchants and bank cashiers, and it was generally felt that the $3 added little convenience.

After 1854, mintages declined sharply, to remain low except for the years 1874 and 1878, when it was anticipated that $3 pieces would become popular at a later time, and thus quantities were minted for this contingency. All gold coins had been absent from general circulation since early 1862, and, as events proved, would not be seen again on a widespread basis until December 1878. When the latter time arrived, $3 pieces were not wanted by bankers and others, and large quantities languished in Mint vaults, many to be melted several years later.

Today, all date and mintmark varieties of $3 pieces are scarce, and most are actually rare. The market does not generally reflect the elusive character of the denomination, with the result that—remarkably enough—nearly a complete collection of dates and mintmarks, save for a half dozen or so pieces, can be assembled in a grade such as VF for less than $1,000 per coin. The Bass Collection, true to form, offers pieces in higher grades, with Mint State being the norm. However, such coins are still listed at relatively modest catalogue values in nearly all instances. A specimen such as the aforementioned Mint State 1873 is sufficiently rare that once sold, years may elapse before a piece of equivalent finish, format, and quality is offered by us. And yet, the value is but several tens of thousands of dollars—a low figure for this incredible rarity, in view of what many better known varieties in other series have brought.

Again, the word opportunity comes to the fore. The nod for cataloguing these went to Mark Borckardt, but many of us here at Bowers and Merena Galleries enjoyed seeing and studying the pieces.

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263 1854 MS-62. For the type set collector, this offers a specimen of the first year of the denomination, a coin of truly wonderful quality with lustrous yellow gold surfaces and a small splash of deep rose toning around a dark surface contaminant. Sharply struck and with very minor hairlines and tiny abrasions. Also, for the collector of minor variations in design types, this is the only year with small letters in DOLLARS.

Light obverse and reverse clash marks.

Purchased from Superior, March 1978.

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264 1854 AU-58. Satiny light yellow gold lustre with slight weakness at the very highest design points. The surfaces have hairlines and unnatural cleaning lines in patches, especially before Liberty’s face. Heavier scratches are visible on obverse and reverse.

Perfect dies.

From Quality Sales Corporation’s offering of the John Beck Collection, January 1975, Lot 206.

Important 1854-O $3 Gold

Tied for Finest PCGS Certified

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265 1854-O AU-58 (PCGS). This is quite possibly the finest existing 1854-O three-dollar gold piece. Extremely sharply struck with reflective and brilliant yellow gold fields and frosty devices. An attractive example for the connoisseur and specialist. Very minor surface marks are visible, and are so light most would not bother to mention them. A splash of dark rose and blue toning is outside the left branch of the wreath. Bold mintmark. This is the only issue of the denomination to be struck in New Orleans with just 24,000 coined. A major rarity. Finer examples are unknown to Doug Winter and are extremely rare according to David Akers.

Catalogued by Superior: "About Uncirculated. Faintly reflective surfaces. Choice and just a few rubs and light abrasion marks away from full Mint State. Popular as the only New Orleans Mint coin of the three-dollar gold. Almost impossible to locate nicer."

PCGS Population: 7; none finer.

A thin horizontal die crack bisects the lower part of the mintmark. Otherwise, perfect dies.

From Superior’s 1975 ANA Sale, August 1975, Lot 1468. Earlier from our sale of the Austin Collection, June 1974, Lot 1006. This coin did not later appear for sale in Auction ‘81 as noted by a well known specialist.

Pleasing 1854-O $3 Gold

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266 1854-O AU-50. Light greenish yellow gold surfaces with nearly full lustre. Slightly reflective fields and toned devices provide attractive cameo contrast. Lightly abraded surfaces as usual for this issue. This is one of the finer examples of this issue known, and yet represents the fourth finest from the Harry Bass Collection!

Catalogued by Abner Kreisberg as: "Sharply struck. One of the nicest we have seen of this New Orleans Mint $3. We are tempted to give it a higher grade than Extremely Fine-50 . It has much original lustre."

Faint obverse and prominent reverse clash marks.

From Quality Sales Corporation’s offering of the John Beck Collection, February 1976, Lot 199.

Choice Mint State 1855 $3 Gold

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267 1855 MS-63 (PCGS). Frosty light yellow gold with exceptional aesthetic appeal. Very sharply struck and with only a few trivial surface marks. First year of the modified reverse with larger letters in DOLLARS. This is a scarce issue in strict Mint State quality, especially so when choice. Perfect obverse and reverse dies. The present example is probably among the top half dozen known.

Purchased from Julian Leidman, February 18, 1972.

Attractive Mint State 1856 $3 Gold

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268 1856 MS-63 (PCGS). This lovely example has brilliant frosty light yellow gold lustre with exceptional surfaces for the grade. Wisps of deeper yellow toning on the reverse add to the overall appeal. Very sharply struck with full definition on the headdress. A very elusive issue in Mint State, and a scarce variety according to Walter Breen. The digit 1 is centered under the O in DOLLAR.

Perfect dies.

From Abner Kreisberg’s sale of September 1973, Lot 1142.

Impressive 1856-S Three-Dollar Gold

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269 1856-S Breen-6355. Medium S. MS-63 (PCGS). Sharply struck with frosty bright yellow gold lustre and a few trivial surface marks including faint scratches within the wreath. A rarity, especially in Mint State with 34,500 struck, among which have been identified three different mintmark varieties. Although the mintage is among the highest of all three-dollar gold coins, very few survive in high grade. This example is probably the third or fourth finest 1856-S $3 pieces to have appeared on the market in recent times.

PCGS Population: 2; 2 finer (MS-64 finest).

Medium S, low and leaning left.

Purchased from Fred Sweeney, September 18, 1972.

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270 1856-S Breen-6356. Small S. EF-45. Tiny surface marks within the upper and lower loops of the mintmark give the appearance of recutting. Light greenish gold with minor hairlines, lightly cleaned in the past. Considerable detail remains, especially in the headdress. This Small S variety is very scarce, according to Walter Breen, and is usually weak and low grade.

From Abe Kosoff’s sale of the Shuford Collection, May 1968, Lot 1920.

Delightful Mint State 1857 $3 Gold

Among the Finest Known

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271 1857 MS-64 (PCGS). Brilliant satiny yellow gold lustre with deep yellow splashes. Very sharply struck with outstanding obverse and reverse definition. This issue is considered to be relatively common, however, it is elusive in Mint State and nearly impossible in choice condition. We suggest this example is among the three or four finest known of the date.

PCGS Population: 2; 1 finer (MS-65).

Obverse with prominent clash marks visible in left and right fields. Reverse has heavy clash marks nearly completely defining Liberty’s head and headdress.

Purchased from Mal Varner, February 16, 1973.

Important 1857-S $3 Rarity

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272 1857-S AU-55 (PCGS). Very light greenish gold with nearly complete satiny lustre. Few minor surface marks. The date is slightly weak as usual although the mintmark is bold. This specimen, one of 14,000 minted, is of exceptional quality. Typical examples grade VF or EF, or even lower. An AU-58 example was offered in Part II of the Bass Collection, and is the only nicer example we have handled.

PCGS Population: 8; 3 finer (MS-63 finest).

Perfect dies.

From RARCOA’s 1970 ANA Sale, August 1970, Lot 1474.

Choice Mint State 1859 $3 Gold

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273 1859 Breen-6362. Repunched 18. MS-63 (PCGS). This amazing jewel has frosty light yellow gold lustre with few very minor surface marks. From a mintage of 15,638 circulation strikes with few high quality survivors. Although this example is certainly not the finest known, it must be regarded as one of the top survivors. Regarding this variety, Walter Breen stated: "No Mint State example seen in many years."

Tops of 18 are repunched. Light obverse and reverse clash marks.

From Stack’s 1976 ANA Sale, August 1976, Lot 2887.

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274 1859 Breen-6361. Repunched 1 and 9. Net MS-60; sharpness of MS-65, field repaired at 9:00 on the reverse. Exceptional frosty light yellow gold lustre with full design definition. The obverse and reverse have small patches of hairlines that suggest cleaning with an abrasive. We suggest in-person examination.

From Stack’s sale of the Groves Collection, November 1974, Lot 537. Reoffered from Part II of the Bass Collection, October 1999, Lot 666.

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275 1859 Breen-6361. Repunched 1 and 9. Net AU-50; sharpness of MS-60, abrasively cleaned. Pale yellow gold with prominent hairlines. Very sharply detailed.

From Lester Merkin’s sale of March 1969, Lot 146.

Pleasing 1860 Three-Dollar Gold

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276 1860 MS-60. Only 7,036 circulation strikes were minted with very few Mint State survivors. Frosty light yellow gold with minor surface marks. Assigned the MS-60 grade due to a small area of scratches in the left obverse field and another in right obverse.

Perfect dies. In his notes, Harry Bass suggested that this was struck before the Proofs and from the same die pair, no doubt based on die state comparison.

Purchased from Abner Kreisberg, April 14, 1972.

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277 1860-S EF-40. Attractive light yellow gold with considerable lustre remaining in the hidden areas. Although 7,000 were minted, just 4,408 were released, the other 2,592 were melted several years later at the San Francisco Mint. Apparently, the latter coins were lightweight, and thus could not be legally issued. The present opportunity is very important for date collectors. David Akers commented that the 1860-S is an unsung rarity of the series.

Purchased from Abe Kosoff, August 1973.

Gem Mint State 1861 $3 Gold

None Finer Seen!

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278 1861 MS-65 (PCGS). Certainly a highlight of the present offering of three-dollar gold coinage, with brilliant light yellow gold lustre. Very sharply struck and the fields are slightly reflective from numerous fine die finishing lines, vertically covering obverse and reverse. This is certainly one of the very finest from a mintage of 5,959 circulation strikes. Walter Breen noted: "usually EF or worse, very rare above." We believe that this may be the very finest example known.

PCGS Population: 2; none finer.

Purchased from Fred Sweeney, September 18, 1972.

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279 1862 AU-58. Reflective deep yellow gold fields with lustrous devices. An attractive cameo with few minor hairlines and abrasions. Three-dollar gold issues of the Civil War and postwar years are recognized for their rarity, a result of very low mintages. In the case of 1862, just 5,750 circulation strikes were produced. Diagonal field striations are visible, as issued.

Light obverse and reverse clash marks.

Purchased from Superior, March 1978.

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280 1863 EF-45. Abraded deep yellow gold surfaces with traces of lustre in the protected areas. Just 5,000 were struck November 21, 1863. Described by Abner Kreisberg as "Choice very fine with lustre."

Perfect obverse and reverse without clash marks.

From Quality Sales Corporation’s sale of the John Beck Collection, January 1975, Lot 259.

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281 1864 Breen-6370. Repunched 18. AU-58. Attractive light yellow gold with moderate abrasions and light hairlines. Prominent diagonal striations may be seen as struck. A small splash of deep rose toning may be seen above the wreath. Very low mintage of 2,630 coins. Most survivors grade VF to EF. Higher grade examples are very rare.

According to Walter Breen, all Proofs have a Normal Date while all circulation strikes have repunched 18.

From our sale of the Austin Collection, June 1974, Lot 1015.

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282 1866 AU-55. Lustrous light yellow gold with reflective fields. A few minor blemishes are noted, including a round gouge between ES of STATES. This should be examined before bidding.

Moderate obverse and heavy reverse clash marks.

Purchased from Superior, May 1973.

Rare Mint State 1869 $3 Gold

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283 1869 MS-63 (PCGS). Brilliant satiny yellow gold lustre with cameo contrast between fields and devices. Deeper yellow toning is visible on the highest design points. A few very minor abrasions. Just 2,500 were struck with survivors higher than Extremely Fine quite rare. David Akers described this as one of the more underrated dates of the 1860s, especially so in choice condition. We believe the present example is third or fourth finest known.

PCGS Population: 3; 3 finer (MS-65 finest).

Traces of repunching are visible inside the digit 9, which prompted Walter Breen to describe this as an overdate.

Purchased from El Paso Coin Company, August 4, 1972.

The Eliasberg 1870 $3 Gold

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284 1870 MS-61 (PCGS). Deep yellow gold with reflective surfaces and numerous tiny cleaning lines. In our Eliasberg Collection catalogue, we described this as Choice AU-55, prooflike and stated: "Only 3,500 business strikes were made this year and most of these were lost, strayed, or melted. An exceedingly scarce issue."

Perfect dies.

From our sale of the Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection, October 1982, Lot 295.

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285 1872 AU-55 PL. Light yellow gold with fully mirrored fields and lustrous devices. A delightful prooflike example, despite minor hairlines. Somewhat weak on the first two plumes of the headdress, the Indian’s hair details, and the lower reverse wreath.

Perfect dies.

Purchased from Stanley Kesselman, July 7, 1971.

Mint State 1873 Close 3 $3 Gold

Finest Certified by PCGS

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286 1873 Close 3. MS-64 (PCGS). Fully prooflike fields with outstanding cameo contrast. The devices are fully lustrous in brilliant yellow gold. A few scattered surface marks are noted, as are minor splashes of deep orange toning. A wonderful example of this rarity, for which Breen stated "none seen Unc."

Early in 1873, complaints were recorded regarding the date logotype, which had the digit 3 nearly closed and resembling an 8. Such was especially true for smaller size coins. Proof coinage, issued early in the year,were Close 3 examples for all denominations except three-dollar coins which had Open 3’s. For some unexplained reason, the Close 3 three-dollar coins were issued for circulation. A strange situation. There is no record of mintage for 1873 Close 3 three-dollar coins, with 300 to 500 a seemingly reasonable estimate.

Describing this identical coin, Stack’s commented in 1976: "Brilliant Uncirculated and a borderline gem. Wholly prooflike, with just a hint of mint frost. An early restrike from ‘undished’ dies and one of the outstanding coins of this section. Worth far in excess of its current listing! One of the finest examples seen."

PCGS Population: 1; none finer.

Normal field, not dished as often seen.

Numismatist Harry X Boosel made famous the coinage of 1873, with his research and monograph. Mr. Boosel was a Chicago born numismatist (1912-1994) who studied the coinage of this year with a passion, even writing a series of articles and a book about his study. He was an Army counterintelligence officer during World War II and was employed by the Defense Supply Agency. Very active in general numismatics, Mr. Boosel held life member number 77 in the ANA, was elected to the board of governors at the age of 25, and was active in other organizations. He received the ANA Medal of Merit in 1986 and Farran Zerbe Award in 1989.

From Stack’s 1976 ANA Sale, August 1976, Lot 2897.

Important 1873 Close 3 $3 Gold

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287 1873 Close 3. AU-58 (PCGS). As incredible as it may seem, here is a duplicate 1873 Close 3 three-dollar gold coin. This duplicate would serve as the highlight in almost any other offering of this denomination. Moderately abraded light yellow gold surfaces with reflective mirrored fields and fully lustrous devices.

From Superior’s sale of December 1972, Lot 1914.

Gem Mint State 1874 Three-Dollar Gold

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288 1874 MS-65 (PCGS). This is a sensational gem with frosty bright yellow gold lustre and superb surfaces. For the connoisseur of high quality gold type coins, this is sure to please. Weak on the Indian’s plumes and ribbon bow. Otherwise, all design definition is very sharp. A common date with 41,800 minted, however, very few gems survive, as suggested by the population data.

PCGS Population: 6; 3 finer (MS-66).

Perfect dies.

From Stack’s sale of March 1977, Lot 853.

Rare 1881 Three-Dollar Gold

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289 1881 AU-58 (PCGS). Very light yellow gold with reflective mirrored fields and very light surface abrasions. This is one of the lowest mintage, scarcest issues among all three-dollar gold coins. The mintage was recorded at just 500 circulation strikes, and most survivors are in lower grades. Walter Breen does mention, however, that several prooflike examples turned up in Europe after 1965.

Perfect obverse with light reverse clash marks.

From Stack’s sale of the Shapero Collection, October 1971, Lot 945.

Lovely 1882 Three-Dollar Gold

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290 1882 over High 2. MS-64 (PCGS). Frosty light yellow gold obverse with reflective reverse. Splashes of rose toning add to the aesthetic appeal of this sharply struck example. From a mintage of just 1,500 coins, including both Normal Date and Doubled Dates as offered here. A few minor hairlines and other light scratches are present.

Perfect obverse and reverse.

From Stack’s sale of the Bartle Collection, October 1984, Lot 1012.

Prooflike 1884 $3 Gold

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291 1884 MS-61 PL. Wonderful reflective yellow gold with very few minor surface marks. A delightful survivor from a mintage of just 1,000 circulation strikes. Most known examples are of higher circulated or low Mint State quality, similar to this.

From Quality Sales Corporation’s sale of the John Beck Collection, February 1976, Lot 325.

Choice Mint State 1885 $3 Gold Piece

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292 1885 MS-63 (PCGS). A very important, low-mintage issue from a circulation strike production of just 800 coins. Sharply struck and fully prooflike with considerable cameo contrast and very minor surface marks. The survival rate for this issue is actually rather high, so that other coins with much higher mintages have lower current populations.

Traces of die polishing or lapping are found on the reverse, confirming circulation strike status.

From Abner Kreisberg’s sale of November 1972, Lot 1148.