1916 McKinley Gold Dollar, PCGS PR63. Gorgeous. Green old holder. Only 6 known! 1916 McKinley Memorial G$1, PCGS PR63. Jeff Garrett and Ron Guth, in their Encyclopedia of U.S. Gold Coins, published in 2008, do not have much to say about this commemorative gold coin in Proof format. However, their words are very meaningful to highlight the rarity of this issue:

“None have been offered at auction in recent years, and the appearance of an example would cause quite a sensation if offered for sale”

Well, what we offer here is a true Proof coin, certified by PCGS in an old green holder. PCGS has only certified three examples in Proof, and perhaps no more than five or six are even rumored to exist. Its status as a Proof coin is totally undisputed by us. The fields are fully reflective, and while this was not the case with regular produced Proof coins of this era, it is a characteristic of older Proof coins. While this might be a point for discussion, the extremely sharp strike further confirms the status as a Proof coin. Furthermore, the surfaces are wildly toned for a gold coin, which points to careful handling by a conscious collector who recognized the rarity of this coin at an early stage.

Breen, in his Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Proof coinage, published in 1977 listed three distinctive pieces, pedigreed, and listed a fourth piece he had seen. We are not sure if any of the pieces mentioned by him represent the piece we presently offer. Breen also mentions that more pieces of this issue might be around in Proof format, but in recent years none have turned up unattributed. Breen also mentions another characteristic to identify these special Proof strikings, found in the detail of the hair of McKinley. With the present piece showing more detail in the hair than the usually found on business strikes (featuring only little detail in the hair on many pieces) this is another confirmation of the true Proof status of this commemorative gold dollar.

Some minor specks on the reverse limit the grade of the coin to PR-63, but with a coin of this rarity this is not a major problem to us, and we doubt that it is for advanced collectors. The further eye-appeal is excellent, with nice toning as previously mentioned. In all, this is an extremely important offering, which might not be repeated for many decades to come, the specialized gold commemorative or gold proof specialist will be delighted to include this coin in an advanced collection.