You are right, the 1885 proof is tough but not as nearly as rare as an 1885 business strike. It is also almost impossible to determine proof vs. business strike from photos alone. I seem to remember that Conder had issues with one of these a few years ago and it was finally determined to be a proof after being looked at by multiple people.
Posted 06/22/2011 6:24 pm
If I only had the photo skills of SuperDave.....I've also got an 1884 that was marked as UNC in the same album. Despite that I believe it's a proof. I guess I need to send these off to be slabbed. I haven't done it yet because the TPG's all want an estimated value, & if I'm not sure whether it's unc or proof how can I assign a value?
