Owner Comments:
In setting historical context for auction of an uncirculated 1850-O S$1, which was the the second branch mint issue in the series, Heritage wrote in a recent catalog: “Just four different dates of Seated Liberty dollars were coined in New Orleans, and these were produced in 1846, 1850, 1859, and 1860. Of this brief series, the 1850-O issue had the lowest mintage with just 40,000 coins struck. In his Silver Dollar Encyclopedia, Dave Bowers summed it up nicely: ‘If you want a Mint State 1850-O dollar for your collection, I suggest that you compromise and acquire an EF or AU instead, at least as an interim strategy, for it may be years, if ever, until you can buy a nice Mint State coin. Examples are few and far between.’ Indeed, a review of our archives shows just 19 previous Mint State appearances through the major auction houses in the past 15 years [as of April 2006]. Moreover, NGC and PCGS have certified fewer than 30 Uncirculated examples to date, some of which are undoubtedly resubmissions.” This specimen is medium golden gray with rich sea green, gold, violet, and peach toning on the obverse; the reverse is gunmetal-blue and medium silver gray. Who knew that at least one of the few surviving mint state 1850-O S$1s was so beautifully colorfully toned. NGC Census [April 2006]: 6; 4 finer (MS64 is the finest known to NGC).