Owner Comments:
This is the hardest coin is the set to get as a circulation strike of any grade. I have twice bought coins (raw) as circulation strikes from some of the most reputable dealers on the bourse floor only to have them graded as proof strikes c.2002. I found this one at Charmy Harker's table and got a very fair (good) deal on the coin. She is the best of the best when it comes to dealers. As I noted this coin is much more common in proof, so watch for circulated proof examples in circulation (mint state) flips. These are worth significantly less than business strike 1872 coins. Why? It is likely that much (or most) of the 1872 two cent mintage was melted because the denomination was being eliminated. So mintage figures for this issue significantly overestimate of the number of coins released into circulation and thus overestimate the surviving population. Using the Professional Edition of the "Red Book" 3rd Edition, there were 630 1872 2c coins certified as circulation strikes by NGC and PCGS. There were 819 coins certified as proof by the two services. (I use the 3rd edition as it was the first to include both NGC and PCGS and not just NGC in their "certified" numbers. The 1st edition had no numbers for proofs and both the first and 2nd editions included only NGC certified coins in their count. The official US Mint mintage figures for 1872 are 65,000 circulation coins versus 950+ proof coins. If these figures actually reflected the coins released then the survival of circulation strike coins less is than 1% while a remarkable 86% for proofs. Another reason to use an early edition of the professional Red Book is to minimize the effect of re-submissions.
I bought this coin, as noted from Charmy Harker in a PCGS MS-63 RB holder but could not include it here without a crossover. I spoke with Mark Saltzburg who felt it no longer, in his opinion, qualify for the RB designation. He was however willing to add the + to make it MS-63+. I crossed under the ideas that 1) the color speaks for itself and 2) I wanted the versatility of the NGC holder for this registry.
About 10 years ago I started searching an 1872 circulation strike. As I said the first 2 coins I bought were circulated proof strike specimens. Then I found a nice AU coin that I put in my Dansco Album. I thought about getting the set graded but never got the energy to do so. Finally I saw the apple of my eye, a mint state circulation coin with beautiful red-brown fields that show the mint luster of a high grade circulation strike. So, this is yet another set where I have both a AU to BU Dansco set and a certified Mint State set.
Thank you to the Penny Lady who sold me this coin. She has a great eye for quality and I think that this coin shows it.