Another Guyana Rarity: 1976FM (U) Uncirculated One Dollar

Happy Saturday to all! I got this back from grading, and it did well as it should have - I pulled it, along with all of the other 7 coins from a 1976 Specimen set card. That was because the coins were starting to oxidize, and as all were copper nickel and lesser, it meant they needed to be conserved. If any interest I can post the companion coins although the 1c to 50c are out for grading just now.

Anyway, proof coinage from the Franklin Mint for the period 1976-1980 are not especially rare but the uncirculated are decidedly so with only one exception. In 1976, uncirculated matte (M) uncirculated coins of limited mintage were sent to the Central Bank of Guyana in Georgetown. They then, or at some point, had them packaged as follows (with no recorded numbers actually included). They may have done a few hundred or thousand but nobody knows, although Krause has mintage number for each denomination and date. The individual smaller denomination coins are quite rare outside these sets and their curious strike makes it hard to tell if they are matte or prooflike although I lean to the latter (see earlier related posts):

- Single uncirculated dollars, matte for 1976 but of a curious inferior quality - see previous posts.
- Five coin sets, probably matte for 1976 which included 1c, 5c, 10c, 25c, and 50c coins
- Six coin sets that then also included the dollar.

Similar coins, but in (U) PL form were sent out in the three sizes of holders for 1977-1980.

I am not sure if matte coins were struck for 1977 as was the case for other Caribbean area countries with contracts with the Franklin Mint.

In any case, it was recorded that 8 coin specimen uncirculated (U) sets were struck for 1977 and 1978 to the authorised number of 100 sets & these I have never seen.

But before that the first year 8 coin prooflike (U) uncirculated sets were evidently struck to the tune of an authorised limit of 50. Until this year I had never seen these either. I was sad to have to break up this set but was necessary. Interestingly, 5 and 10 dollars (U) coins were supposedly struck separately but have never seen these. The lower denominations came in these sets with evidently 50 struck; so this dollar is one of the 50 but not seen or reported and have not been able to turn up any sign of them other than the mintage (authorised) number in Krause.

An interesting dilemma with such coins (and the real 1966 Bahamas, not specimen unc Royal Mint PROOF 1966 coins)is that they are so rare and from countries not widely collected is determining a value. I think there are probably and perhaps two valuations:
those for the general collecting population which is negligible and then the value for those interesting in collecting them which may be 10X or 20X that number. I don't know this for a fact but would be interested in the view of others.
It's either "Who Cares?" or "WOW! How in the World did you find this".

Meanwhile here is the coin: