Among the most impressive Morgan dollars in Stack’s Bowers Galleries’ Nov. 13 Rarities Night offering was an 1885 Morgan dollar graded Mint State 67 Deep Mirror Prooflike by Professional Coin Grading Service that is among the finest-known.

For Morgan dollars, PCGS requires clear reflection in the fields on both sides from at least six inches away for the DMPL designation. These coins are often the first to have been struck from the dies.

In total, 17,787,000 of the 1885 Morgan dollars were struck at the Philadelphia Mint, and many were not released by the Treasury until the 1960s, so even nice Mint State examples are plentiful. The population thins substantially in top grades, however.

The cataloger observed, “Frosty devices are sharply defined and set against a backdrop of mirrored reflectivity in the fields. Brilliant and virtually untoned with the faintest dusting of original patina, this is a beautiful coin worthy of the strongest bid.”

It sold for a very strong $26,400, especially in the context of four offerings of examples graded MS-66+ DMPL by PCGS that sold for $4,320 to $4,465 in 2019. 

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