1862 Silver Dollar (Seated $1), NGC PF65. Civil War Date. Lovely lavender toning. Old holder. A wonderful Proof example in gem condition of this scarce Civil War dated silver dollar. Struck in the second year of the American Civil War, this is a genuine scarce coin with a mintage of just 550 Proofs, along with 11,540 coins for circulation (the lowest mintage of the Civil War years). Of these, only a limited number of coins have had the fortune to survive in gem condition, and finding truly original examples, such as the present specimen is extremely difficult.

The seated dollar series is overall very scarce, as mintages were relatively low, especially when compared to the later Morgan and Peace dollars. Proofs were struck for collectors, and most were sold in complete Proof sets. By the turn of the century, however, many had already been broken up, and by the 1950s nearly none were virtually in existence. As such, anyone seeking a complete set of Proofs of a given year should buy the individual coins, and make a complete “set”.

Other popular sets are the obvious type sets, either Mint State or Proof or full date set of a given denomination. Of these, the Seated Dollars in Proofs is a very difficult set to complete in gem quality. Many of these large silver coins were mishandled after they were sold by the Mint, making truly original coins extremely scarce. Additionally, the mintages were low, making the overall supply lower than the demand for these special coins.

The present coin is a darkly toned, meaning original coin, with lovely lavender toning on both sides. Extremely sharp, all individual details are showing, a feature which is usually lacking on the business strikes of this type. No major blemishes are noted, and even under magnification the number of hairlines is low. A great and original coin destined to be included in a true gem set.