| Description: |
In 1908 the gold Proof set of this year was remarkable for its content, introducing the
Indian Head $2.50 and $5 by Bela Lyon Pratt, the first With Motto Indian Head $10 by
Saint-Gaudens and the first With Motto $20 by the same sculptor. Is seems that most of the
gold Proofs this year were distributed individually, rather than in sets. However,
reviewing the mintage figures, the number of sets that could be put together in 1908 or
today is limited by the lowest mintage of the series, just 101 of the double eagle. The
finish is innovative for American coinage, Sandblast Proof (as it was called at the time,
incorrectly changed in modern usage to Matte Proof by some). This process involved
striking coins carefully on a medal press, creating pieces of unusually sharp definition.
These were then subjected to a fine stream of sand particles, giving them an overall Matte
finish. This process was popular at the Paris Mint in the 1890s, and was soon adopted by
the Philadelphia Mint, first used to make medals (such as for the Assay Commission), then
in 1907 for the first time on certain very limited issues of gold, then in 1908 for the
presently offered Proof issues available to numismatists. The Sandblast Proof finish was
not popular with collectors at the time, complaints were registered about it, and in 1909
and 1910 the Mint changed to what we now know as Satin Proof finish, completely different
(but also called "Matte Proof" in certain references). That did not work out
either, with complaints being registered to the Mint, including at the suggestion of
William H. Woodin (who later became secretary of the Treasury under Roosevelt in 1933). In
1911 the Mint reverted to the Sandblast Proof format, continuing it through 1915, after
which Proofs were discontinued. |
