| Description: |
"Zerbe Proof." Lustrous pale silver with somewhat frosty motifs and satiny
fields devoid of toning highlights. This curious issue has long divided Morgan dollar
enthusiasts into two separate camps, those who believe they are Proofs made expressly for
Farran Zerbe in 1921, and those who believe they are simply prooflike circulation strikes.
The Bowers silver dollar reference relates: "In my opinion, true Proofs with deep
mirror surfaces are exceedingly rare. The situation is obfuscated, however, by a profusion
of prooflike coins from hairlined dies sold as 'Zerbe Proofs,' or with other
nomenclature." Bowers does mention, however, that his is "a minority view"
where this issue is concerned. The verdict is still out on this enigmatic issue, but its
popularity never seems to wane with Morgan dollar enthusiasts and strong bidding will
almost certainly be the order of the day when this specimen takes its turn on the auction
block.The Bowers reference relates the following information taken from an article titled
"Notes on 1895 Morgan Dollars" by Stuart Mosher which appeared in the July 1955
edition of The Numismatist. The article dealt primarily with its intended subject matter,
though a mention was made of a conversation Mosher had with Farran Zerbe, about which
Mosher wrote: |
