Jim Bisognani: A Year of Openings and Closings

In my last installment, as I was reminiscing about my first attendance at the 1973 ANA in Boston, I got to thinking about the important events that have shaped the past century's popular and rare coins. What jogged my memory? Well, one of the first coins I acquired at the ANA show was an 1873 Indian Head Cent. I thought it was neat, having a coin in my hands that had been minted 100 years before I bought it.

It wasn't a rare coin, yet. I recall, at first glance, it looked like an 1878. The dealer must have observed the wonder on my face, because he chimed in, "It's the Closed 3 variety, kid."

The dealer then pulled out an Open 3 variety from his showcase to show me the differences between the two. I wasn't aware of the many changes which befell our circulating issues in that year. It was something that stayed with me for all the decades in between. What was so special? Well, my fellow coindexters, pull up an old chair and lend an ear.

A Trip to the Past

The early 1870s found our country on rather shaky ground. We were desperately trying to backpedal the economy and were stuck in the depths of a great recession. As the decade unfolded, severe economic problems were also running rampant across the Atlantic as many European countries struggled with their own fiscal stability. Financial troubles escalated further across the great pond, and the gloomy news was promptly transmitted to our shores courtesy of the new transatlantic telegraph cable.

The failure and bankruptcy of Jay Cooke & Company — the largest bank in the United States at the time — was the final nail in the coffin. It can be contributed as the defining event that led to a loss of overall confidence in the country. Cooke & Company had been the agent for sales of bonds and stock of the Northern Pacific Railway. A large portion of these sales were to European investors, and the majority was from England. When news spread of the fragile state of the American economy, scores of investors dropped their market shares like hot potatoes. Cooke, which had been involved in some shady dealings, was unable to cover its obligations and went into bankruptcy.

This collapse effectively squelched a post-Civil War speculative bubble, which had helped the country recuperate from the devastation and calamity of war.

Certainly, the most important event of then-President Grant's second term of office was the severe financial depression by which it was marked. A stock market crash, the collapse of our country's largest bank and a credit crisis led to what has been rightfully called the "Panic of 1873." Finally, the country's panic and confusion were further exacerbated by the fourth coinage act authored the same year.

It was gold versus silver

In the early 1870s, silver was once more in oversupply. England, Germany and France had adopted the gold standard, dumping millions of dollars’ worth of the white metal onto the market. At the same time, new discoveries of silver in the western US aggravated the problem.

Besides mine owners, silver had few allies. Foreigners didn't want their US holdings redeemed in the deflated white medal, and many held that the massive surplus of silver would fuel inflation. So, the Coinage Act of 1873 was proposed by then-Treasury Secretary George S. Boutwell. He proposed that the country embrace gold as the new standard and demonetize silver. This treatise was officially enacted by the United States Congress on February 12, 1873, and was immediately signed into law by President Grant.

Superfluous issues such as 2 cents, 3 cent silvers and half dimes were also abolished in order to streamline the Mint's budget. By doing so, the US effectively followed the lead of England and most other European nations who had already abolished silver and embraced the gold standard.

Now, with the US abandoning the silver standard, the supply of unused silver gave way to a groundswell of significant proportions. This, coupled with the fact that larger deposits of silver were being discovered in the western US, led the silver-to-gold ratio to increase quite dramatically (by as much as 40:1 in 1908!).

The new law of 1873 not only put the US on a gold standard but also made the country witness the demise of the silver cartwheel for a significant amount of time. The Coinage Act of 1873 effectively discontinued the silver dollar, omitting it from the roster of coins authorized to be minted by the government. Actually, at the time of the demonetization, the metal in already-circulating Liberty Seated dollars was actually worth an extra two cents more than the metal in the gold dollar. In other words, a regular issue silver dollar was actually worth $1.02 in gold money. The extra cash realized by this slight disparity made many US citizens attempt to hoard silver, but this practice was short lived as the ratio between silver and gold accelerated.

Interestingly, many began to refer to the Coinage Act of 1873 as the "Crime of 1873" within a few years of its enactment. This nickname seems unwarranted — it was likely a cry from the hindsight of silver miners of the western US, especially Nevada. Realistically, abolishing the silver dollar (until the Morgan Dollar made her grand appearance in 1878) and elevating the half dollar to the throne as the largest legal silver denomination made total sense.

It was apparent that, prior to 1873, most silver dollars were used as convenient mediums of exchange for large depositors from bank to bank and other financial institutions. Few actually saw work in daily business. Appropriately, the circulating workhorse of daily commerce in the years before 1873 was the half dollar. Perhaps equally important was the average wage for an industrial worker around this time period — workers made about 10 cents an hour, so in many instances, the half dollar was equal to about a day's wages for the average American laborer.

The major visible difference in our silver coins came about as a humble attempt to introduce America to the metric system. As part of the coinage renovation, the weights of the half dollar, quarter and dime were increased slightly to simplify their legal weight as measured in grams, and to get the US on par with the Europeans, who were already on the metric system. The official adjustments took the coins from 2.49g to 2.50g for the dime, 6.22g to 6.25g for the quarter and 12.44g to 12.50g for the half dollar. Adding all of that up, ten dimes, four quarters or two half dollars weigh exactly 25 grams, which was the uniform metric weight of the French 5 Franc coin.

The only large countries not capitulating to the gold standard and maintaining a silver standard were India and China. With this in mind, the US government had a plan to take advantage of that attractive market as well as to conciliate — at least, to some extent — the clamoring of the western silver miners.

Congress had effectively sealed the loophole for the venerable Liberty Seated Dollar and opened the way for a new silver dollar in a plan to compete with Asia. The new Trade Dollar weighted slightly more than the standard silver dollar: 420 grains of .900 fine silver versus the 412.5 grains in the standard silver dollar was proposed and seemed conductive for the new Asian venture. This ultimately proved to be a colossal blunder, but it appeased the silver miners for a time.

With all the financial turmoil and reshuffling, 1873 was a banner year for numismatics. 1873 saw three minting facilities (Philadelphia, Carson City and San Francisco) issue 53 basic collectible varieties of coins in 17 different denominations. Altogether, it was the most eclectic output of any single campaign in our nation's history!

All of the new silver coins produced after the new bill would be adorned with arrowheads — last seen in 1855 — at either side of the date to indicate the new weight. They would also bear an "open date 3." When the new law took effect, all older coins, sans arrowheads, were to be considered obsolete and melted. Half dollars, including those early silver strikes of 1873 that included less metal, were especially subjected to the melting pot.

However, before the arrows made their indelible mark, some collector favorites were produced. Now, there has always been some tinkering, adjusting and retooling to coin dies as the engravers experiment with designs. Yet never before or since has there been such liberty taken with any given year on a coin. Initially, most all dies for standard issue coins had already been produced in late 1872 with the next year's date. However, on January 18, 1873, chief coiner Archibald Loudon Snowden issued a formal complaint about the obvious "closed 3's" on date logotypes.

Not just an open and closed date

Archie alleged — correctly — that on especially small denominations of silver, the digit "3" could easily be mistaken for an "8." The director of the Philadelphia Mint, James Pollock, agreed with Snowden's findings and immediately ordered Charles Barber's engraving department to prepare the new logotypes for all denominations.

Though the watershed year in numismatic circles abolished two cent pieces, three cent silvers and half dimes. those that were struck before the official act deliver some interesting variations.

If we take a look at the Indian Head Cent (such as the one I acquired at the 1973 ANA), we can note that those bearing the closed 3 are slightly more scarce than the open variety that made it to circulation. However, even those in Mint State are quite scarce.

1873 Cents in the NGC Census

	BN	RB	RD	total
Closed 3	473	130	14	617
Open 3	671	199	11	881

Then there's the rare 1873 Doubled Die "Liberty" variety (within the closed 3). The NGC Census lists the following totals:

1873 Closed 3 Cents - Doubled Die Varieties in the NGC Census

	BN	RB	RD	total
FS-101	118	4	13	135
FS-102	23	7	1	31

A fabulous MS 64 BN (with more than ample faded red) realized $26,400 at auction four years ago, and it still holds the record price.

Next on the roster, two cent pieces. 1873 would be their last call to service and they are available in both open and closed varieties. The two cent pieces were only struck as Proofs, with the open version considered to be a restrike, since the originals (closed) were struck before Mr. Snowden's query. The only other instance where Proofs of 1873 were struck in both varieties were for the three dollar gold coins, which we will discuss later.

Mintage figures report approximately 100 fewer examples struck for the open 3 variant, which is considered the restrike at 500. There were an estimated 600 Closed 3 examples minted.

The total NGC Census reflects the apparent scarcity of the Open 3:

Proofs of 1873 Two Cents in NGC Census:

• Closed 3: 307
• Open 3: 130

Although there is but a 20% difference in reported mintages, there are nearly 140% more closed variants than open examples in the NGC Census. Recent auction reports show little distinction between the two, and the finest NGC Closed 3 — this PF 66 RD Cameo — realized $25,850 a few years ago.

Three cent nickels were spared from coining oblivion for the next 16 years, whereas the silver twins weren't so lucky. The regular circulating 1873 nickel shows little distinction in price, although official Mint figures report that the Closed 3 had half of the output (390,000) compared to the Open 3 (783,000). The NGC Census is fairly balanced for these, with 160 on the roster for the Closed 3 and 131 for the Open 3. Proof variants are only known to exist for the Closed 3 variant.

Next on the list, there are the sister three cent silvers, which were also only available as a Proof collector issue. All of the reported 600 mintage were minted early in 1873 and exhibit the closed 3 digit.

Although there are only closed versions of this coin, the real story here is that the Philadelphia Mint was a great contributor to the series' scarcity. In compliance with the new law, Philadelphia held their first major meltdown in July 1873. This not only affected business strikes, but Proof coins that had yet to be purchased and placed into cabinets, since they also went into the oven.

This was to be the "swan song" for the three cent silver "fish scales" in more ways than one. The Philadelphia Mint had more than 74,000 of the diminutive silver pieces in their inventory in the summer of 1873, and the mass liquidation of these coins was equal to 90% of all coins minted (82,400) from 1863 to 1873. This massive melting readily explains why those three cent coins from 1863 onward are so utterly elusive in any grade.

Shield nickels report in with a rather modest 30% plurality for the Open 3 version versus the Closed 3 variant within the NGC Census. Pricing is also on relatively equal footing in circulated grades. That said, hold onto your seat because there's another version of the Open 3 for Shield nickels — the LG/SM Open 3 date! This NGC MS 65 realized $18,800. The last appearance of any coin in this caliber was over 6 years ago.

As mentioned earlier, half dimes were to be shelved and all coin dies that both Philadelphia and San Francisco produced in 1872 bear the closed digit variant.

Liberty Seated Dimes of 1873 produced at the Philadelphia Mint have more than 1.5 million deliveries bearing the closed 3. A mere 60,000 bearing the open 3 are accounted for. Nice collector circulated grades of the Open 3 in VG condition will cost about double. A fine representative will be triple, and an MS 60 caliber coin will run a little over four times the value. Interestingly, according to the NGC Census, there isn't a major disconnect, as the total population for the Closed 3 equals 62, while the rarer Open 3 variant reports in with a population of 46!

The quarter dollar tells a much different tale, as the Closed 3 version is much rarer than the open version. Official Mints cite 40,000 Closed 3 coins, compared to 172,000 Open 3 representatives. According to the NGC Census, Closed 3 representatives number a mere 20 with only 2 — both MS 61 — in Mint State. Open versions are not common either, with a total community in all grades of 46. However, nearly 45% of them (around 20 examples) are in Mint State.

Due to massive melting of half dollars without the arrows, the 1873 Open 3 variant is an extremely rare coin. In fact, only a few coins are known to exist in Mint State. Those on the NGC Census number a meager 17, and the finest coins are a quartet of AU 58 examples. This lovely piece captured $21,600 a few years ago.

For comparison, the amount of Closed 3 Half Dollars number 122 on the NGC Census, with 18 designated as Mint State. Here is a like-appearing NGC AU 58 example of the closed date, which sold a few years back for $1,080.

Gold dollars are next on the docket. Here we find the Closed 3 variety produced at the Philadelphia Mint only had a chance to reach a mere 1,800 before the presses revved up with 123,300 of the Open 3 version. The largest production since the Civil War year of 1862 effectively regulated the Open 3 variant to that of Type status within the series. Of the 2,495 Open 3 dollars, 90% (2,240) are in Mint State! Meanwhile, the Closed 3 variety report in with only 122, with 85 of those examples (or 70%) being Mint State. This fabulous diminutive beauty, an MS 66 Closed 3 variant and the finest in the NGC Census, raked in $21,600 a few years back.

For comparison, this NGC MS 66 Open 3 variant realized $2,520, or a little more than a tenth of the Closed 3 variety.

Liberty Head Quarter Eagles already had a history rich in date modifications, as those issued from 1840 to 1843 will attest. Many from this period in time bore dates that were quite small, with the problem being rectified during the same production run to accommodate larger, more standardized dates in relation to the coin's diameter. For our discussion, the 1873 closed 3 digit reports in with a mintage of 55,200 examples. The Open 3 variant reports in at 122,800 examples. Both share a healthy Mint State population, in which the two are fairly equal. For the gold bug — more merely a collector of 1873 coinage — it is still a remarkably "inexpensive" acquisition for the pair in Very Choice Mint state. A lovely frosty NGC MS 64 example of the Closed 3 realized a modest $1,239 late in 2023. Meanwhile, like-graded open 3 Quarter Eagles have been realizing about the same amount in MS 64.

The Three Dollar Princess has an interesting twist. This is a case where the "original" coins are the Open 3 variety, all of which are Proofs; the Closed 3 Mint State and Proof versions are considered the "restrike." Yet, this is still up for debate, as numismatists have theories as to which came first, and when. Regardless, both versions of the 1873 coin are very rare, with only 25 Proofs struck in total. Of those 25 examples, the open 3 variety accounts for nearly a dozen. JD-1's are the "original," while JD-2, JD-3 and JD-4 varieties (closed 3 varieties) account for about 8 of the total 25 Proofs. Only 7 Proof coins appear in the NGC Census. All are Open 3 variants, with five awarded the NGC Cameo designation and two achieving Ultra Cameo.

The finest-known NGC-certified example, a sumptuous NGC PF 66 Ultra Cameo JD-1, realized $144,000 a few years ago.

Conversely, the common 1873 Closed 3 variant minted for circulation had an original reported mintage of 100 examples, all of which are very rare. As for Mint State examples, the most recent sale was nearly a decade ago. It featured this NGC MS 61, which sold for a "bargain price" of $24,675.

The Half Eagle soars in at a near-even mintage: 112,480 Closed 3 examples, and 112,505 Open examples. Meanwhile, the graded population could hardly be tighter — there are 323 Closed 3 examples and 371 Open 3 examples. Pricing for both is moderate. For a MS 63 in either variation, it'll run upwards of $4,000 to $5,000 respectively. However, you could buy the pair in AU 58 for under $1,000 each.

Although the Carson City, Philadelphia and San Francisco Eagles each share the distinction of being scarce to rare, other than the three cent silver and half dime, these birds are only known to travel in just the Closed 3 version.

The final coin in this diverse caravan is the noble $20 Liberty. This reflects the first instance that a Mint other than Philadelphia got in on the act, as San Francisco deliveries are available in both versions. Although both Mints struck well over a million examples, the Closed 3 Philadelphia issue is far and away the rarer of the two. There are a total of 434 coins in the NGC Census, but only 53 examples are in Mint State, with a single MS 63 being the finest. However, the Open 3 reports in with a gargantuan 9,192 examples and over 55% (5,149) of that population is in Mint State. For reference, the last Mint State Closed 3 coin to make an appearance at auction was the NGC MS 61, which sold for $5,160.

On the other hand, in like grade, the Open 3 variant is a bargain. Several NGC MS 61 examples are being offered up on trading networks at $2,950, which, at the time of writing this, places them at just 20% above melt value. And, of course, all Type II $20 Liberties are very scarce in MS 63 and better.

The San Francisco entries appear in solid numbers, with 1,937 Closed 3 variants and 1,056 Open 3 variants. The lion’s share of Mint State Examples are in MS 61. Presently, the closed version is commanding around $5,000 and the Open 3 "big bird" is fetching prices in the $10,000 neighborhood. It is fascinating to see what a difference in census reports make, as it was only a decade ago when like-graded MS 61 Open 3 San Francisco coins were regularly bringing in $16,000 or more.

One defining reason for the price change is the rise in census numbers. A decade ago, the total census for the two major third-party companies totaled just 43 examples in MS 61. Today, that total Census in MS 61 reports in at 157, which, notwithstanding some resubmissions, is still an increase in population of 265%.

Well, my friends, after over 50 years, I have finally gotten this out in the open. Historically, 1873 was definitely a whirlwind; one of recession, reform, demonetization and a pivotal year for numismatics, not just an open-and-closed case.

Until next time, be safe and happy collecting!

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