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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;GDJMSP, post: 184287, member: 112&quot;]To understand why Proof examples are easier to find than business strikes you have to think back to the times at hand. In 1869 for example, business strikes were made for use in commerce - circulation. But why were Proofs made, and why so few of them ? Well, most of the time they were made by specific request. And the number of them being made was dependant on how many were being requested. The mint at that time just didn&#039;t make Proof coins and then wait and see if anybody would come to buy them - they made them because the few well known collectors of the day or notable personalities of the day contacted the mint and requested that they make them. There were also a few made for presentation sets to political figures or world leaders. </p><p><br /></p><p>Now, if someone took the trouble to request these coins, what do think they did with them ? They saved them, put them away and then they were passed on to family members or museums over the years. That&#039;s why the Proofs, even with relatively low minatges, are not that hard to come by. </p><p><br /></p><p>But the business strike coins on the other hand were used in commerce. Most examples became worn over time and just disappeared, and if there was any silver in them many of them were melted in later years. Sure there were a few who collected them, but even coins in a collection are often mishandled after 100 years of being passed on to other collectors. And some of them are eventually spent and placed into circulation. So the number of remaining Unc examples dwindles with time. And as time passes, since more people in todays age collect business strikes than they do Proofs, there is greater demand for the business strikes.</p><p><br /></p><p>So, you now have business strikes that are hard to find in nice Unc condition with higher demand, and you have Proofs that are not hard to find in higher grades with lower demand - thus the higher prices for the business strikes.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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