1853 G$1 MS(PCGS#7521)

December 2025 Showcase Auction - The James A. Stack, Sr. Collection Part I

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

22166

Grade

MS65

Price

3,000

Lot Description

A delightful, thoroughly PQ Gem Mint State coin to represent this perennially popular type issue from the early gold dollar series. Sharply struck and crisp, both sides also sport a full endowment of softly frosted luster. Color is original, attractive, and blends dominant orange-gold with subtle olive peripheral highlights. Because the price of gold had fallen so much in relation to silver in the early 1850s, many of the subsidiary silver coins in circulation ended up in the hands of precious metals dealers. With the silver dollar continuing to be used exclusively in the export trade, as well, the desire for a gold dollar to use in domestic commerce reached its zenith in 1853, helping to drive a record-setting mintage of 4,076,051 pieces at Philadelphia. While Mint State survivors of the 1853 gold dollar are plentiful in an absolute sense, most are at the lower end of the numismatic grading scale. An upper end Gem with CAC approval, as here, is scarce, especially relative to demand for such pieces from discerning gold enthusiasts.