THE DOUBLE DEUCE PROOF PEACE DOLLAR

The recent E-Sylum discussion regarding provenance hit home. I recently gave a presentation to the PCNS on this subject that I think should be more widely acknowledged. My story pertains to the 1922 Matte Proof Peace dollars that I refer to as The Double Deuce Proofs. In January of 2004 I viewed what is known as the Wayte Raymond Specimen prior to the Goldberg auction. Its ties to the late master numismatist from Connecticut are dubious. In fact, how any of these Peace dollar rarities were liberated from the US Mint is still a mystery. Six weeks later a dealer offered me the same coin – it was unrecognizable:

 

The image on the left was taken from the 2004 Goldberg Auction, lot 2841. The circles enclose some of the oldest toning spots as also seen in the 1991 Bowers & Merena Auction. The circle above Liberty's mouth shows the largest of several small pits in the coin surface.

The image on the right is from the 2015 Goldberg Auction, lot 1690. The circles in the field enclose the same areas where ghost images are apparent after cleaning. The circle above Liberty's mouth clearly shows the pit only vaguely seen in the image taken before cleaning. The circle over Liberty's jaw shows a light scratch or abrasion not seen in the image taken before cleaning

 

The image on the left was taken from the 2004 Goldberg Auction, lot 2841. The circles enclose some of the oldest toning spots as also seen in the 1991 Bowers & Merena auction.

The image on the right is from the 2015 Goldberg auction, lot1690. The circles enclose the same areas where ghost images are apparent after cleaning. While both the shape and intensity have changes, a similar pattern remains. This is particularly true for the array of spots below the second A in AMERICA.

The monetary incentive to remove years of history is enormous – the value of this extreme rarity doubled overnight. This would never happen to an 1804 Dollar, which isn't even as rare – 18 are known compared with only 11 Double Deuce Proofs. The difference is provenance.

To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
REDISCOVERING ELIASBERG'S CONTINENTAL DOLLAR (https://www.coinbooks.org/v25/esylum_v25n06a12.html)
NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: FEBRUARY 13, 2022 : On Provenance and Scholarship (https://www.coinbooks.org/v25/esylum_v25n07a12.html)

 

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