1836 $1 Gobrecht Dollar Original Judd-60 Die State B Die Alignment I

I think we all wish grading was more black and white with firm, easy to understand and apply definitions, but like everything else in life, it has a lot of gray areas. On top of whether it's PR or SP (an important question) there is also the question of whether it matters if it is PR or SP.

Often the so-called branch mint proofs or presentation pieces end up in SP holders. Often I see SP as a subset of PR when there is an special circumstance associated with a striking. Sometimes new designations are created to provide a catch-all for everything that doesn't exactly fit a set bucket. I think that there is enough research and scholarship around this to describe a unique set of circumstances that touch on facets of a coin intended for circulation, that was a pattern for a long-lived design series, a special striking with special dies at the precise moment when steam coin presses were being installed for the first time.

I think that the closes analog to this issue is the 1792 half disme which is also at the confluence of pattern, presentation and circulating coinage. Those coins are usually graded as business strikes. The 1856 FEC and 1916 SLQ are also pattern-like issues that went into circulation, but those designs hardly changed as the coins went into mass production.

Unfortunately, they are getting better at their craft.

You can probably get the Etsy seller to give you a "proof of authenticity" certificate. For a few extra bucks he may even be able to put this into a fake PCGS holder for you. Wonder how many 1804 dollars he has available.

This came in in all its misspelled label glory. Coin looks really golden and very reflective - more than I anticipated - as I was immediately able to see the reflection of my phone on the coin clearly. Some hairlines visible in the fields. Hard to believe that this was in a museum display for the past 21 years and is now in my private hands. Let me know if you have further thoughts. Thanks!

An incredible and beautiful acquisition with a fantastic pedigree, congrats!

I find the label spelling error quite hilarious - while I've seen many goofs on TPG labels over the years, you would think on a coin like this they would have double and triple checked the label and then checked it again!

Just saw this thread and PR 64 was my initial thought when I saw the 1st pictures. It looks to be a touch conservatively graded which is as it should be.