Stack's Bowers Galleries prides itself on offering world-class rarities at auction, including 1884 and 1885 Proof trade dollars in their March 18-20, 2020 Baltimore Auction.
The 100 Greatest U.S. Coins list the 1884 and 1885 trade dollars at #78 and #15 (Garrett & Guth, 2019). The Mint stopped making circulation-strike trade dollars in 1878, but Proof sets were sent until 1883.
Beginning in 1884, more Proofs were struck but never given, and all but 10 were melted. A similar circumstance may have occurred in 1885, leaving collectors with only five copies.
The L.K. Rudolph Collection sale at Stack's Bowers Galleries in May 2003 was the last to include both dates. Before that, six years had elapsed since the Eliasberg specimens were sold in April 1997 and nearly a decade when L.R. French (1989), Norweb (1988), and Amon Carter (1984) instances were sold. The March 2020 Baltimore sale will feature two rarities not auctioned in over 30 years.
At Proof-64+ Cameo (PCGS), the 1884 is the fourth best certified of 10. The March 1915 Numismatist ad by dealer Edgar Adams introduced it to the market. It has been in Waldo C. Newcomer, Colonel E.H.R. Green, and Amon G. Carter, Jr. cabinets. It was lot 440 at Stack's January 1984 Carter Family Collection auction.
The 1885 Proof-64 (PCGS) is the second-best certified specimen after the Eliasberg specimen. B. Max Mehl's November 1944 Fred Olsen Collection sale auctioned it amid World War II upheaval. After two decades, Stack sold the George Ewalt Collection in November 1965. It was number 202 at Stack's January 1989 L.R. French Collection auction
In March 2020, Stack's Bowers Galleries will sell these two trade dollars together with other E. Horatio Morgan Collection objects.
A Choice Proof 1894-S dime, a Gem 1876-CC 20-cent piece, a Choice Proof 1838-O half dollar, and a virtually complete set of half dollars by die variety from 1794 to 1836 were highlights of the collection, which focused on dimes, half dollars, and select important rarities.
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