For the fourth year of the trade dollar series the Philadelphia Mint produced 1,150 Proofs for sale to contemporary collectors. This is an unusually generous total for the era which probably reflects the Mint's anticipation of heightened sales that year in conjunction with the United States' centennial celebrations. Although the Mint was invited to set up its own display at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia's Fairmont Park, it instead invited Exhibition attendees to visit the nearby Mint. Indeed, many Americans seem to have acquired a Proof 1876 trade dollar in one way or another as this issue is one of the more frequently encountered after the popular Proof-only dates of 1878 to 1883. On the other hand, high quality specimens are elusive, perhaps suggesting that many examples were initially purchased by non-collectors who were more likely to mishandle the coins. As with most of the early mid-1870s Trade Dollars, coins above PR-64 are scarce, and Cameos are not particularly rare making up roughly 25% of the certified totals, but Gem cameos (PR-65 and up) are elusive.

The example to the left was sold by Stack's Bowers Galleries in the November 2013 Baltimore Auction, where it realized $7,050.