J-60 Gobrecht Dollar (J60 1836 Gobrecht $1) PCGS PF62. This proof Gobrecht flying eagle dollars obverse has lovely pastel blue and light gray toning with hints of yellow and purple. On the starry reverse, the eagle flies from a slightly darker blue sky on the right field to a lighter one on the left. The eagle and other reverse devices shimmer with luster as do the obverse shield and other high points of the coin. There are a very small spot of dark toning in the left obverse field, a small scratch next to Libertys elbow, and one at the top of the shield.

The reverse shows a few trivial scattered marks on the field. The coin is fully struck with every obverse detail and every feather on the eagle clear and sharp, as expected for a proof coin. Gobrechts obverse design uses the seated goddess seen on many classic British coins. The flying eagle on the reverse is reminiscent of a Titian Peale drawing of the Mints pet eagle Old Pete. Peal was one of Americas earliest and foremost painters and naturalist illustrators. The flying eagle reverse later appeared on many other patterns as well as the regular cent issues of 1857-58. The obverse die is signed at the edge of the base, C. GOBRECHT F. The F is for Fecit he made it, in the classical tradition.

Because Christian Gobrecht had an excellent job as a bank note engraver, he was reluctant to join the Mint staff. In order to persuade him to leave the engraving firm, Mint Director Patterson convinced Chief Engraver William Kneass, incapacitated by a stroke, to give up a significant part of his salary so more money would be available to hire the new employee.

Gobrechts original design was criticized because it had his name in the field between the rocky base and the date. One writer denounced him as the conceited German for placing his name on a coin. Patterson ordered that the coin be redone with Gobrechts name on the edge of the base, where it was difficult to read, as in the present coin. (In a later design with stars on the obverse, the name was dropped.) The twenty-six stars in reverse the field, that matched the twenty-six states in the Union, were also criticized. Thirteen were larger stars for the original states and thirteen were smaller for the ones admitted later. (Although Michigan was not yet a state, its admission was anticipated.) In this issue, the eagle flies up and to the left. Subsequent designs eliminated the signature, placed thirteen stars on the obverse, eliminated the reverse stars, had the eagle flying horizontally, had thirteen stars on the obverse with twenty six stars on the reverse, and had various combinations of plain and reeded edges.

In total, Gobrecht made four different obverse and four different reverse designs, most of which were used in combination at one time or another. In addition to coins from the original time period, 1836-39, restrikes were made in 1858-59 using the same dies. From the time they were first issued, there was collector demand for Gobrechts dollars. People offered to trade various earlier coins that they had collected to Mint employees who were agreeable because they wanted to expand the Mint Cabinet Collection. Of course friends, family members, and VIPs were accommodated first. Subsequently in 1858-60, all of Gobrechts obverse and reverse dies were used to make restrikes in several combinations. In the 1850s the Gobrecht dollars became known to coin collectors on a larger scale. Although some issues were patterns, some were regular coins, and some were restrikes, the distinctions were not initially recognized.

In some cases the restrikes are extremely rare. In others the original is the more rare coin. The present coin is very rare. It is an original strike as indicated on the NGC holder with Gobrechts name on the base, which is the second obverse design. It is also the second reverse design with the eagle flying onward and upward and a coin orientation of obverse and reverse.