Goldberg Coins and Collectibles

Sale 2

Coins, Manuscript and Collectibles Auction

$2.50 Gold

Lot	Photo	Description	Realized
Lot 1665		Choice 1804 14 Star Quarter Eagle in AU-55. PCGS graded AU-55. This coin received very little wear during its brief time in circulation, which is obvious when a glass is used to examine Liberty. Her cheek is full and round, and her curls show original separation on all but the highest points. As is normal, this coin shows adjustment marks, which are found on the left side of the obverse. Said adjustment marks were to "adjust" the weight of the planchet down to the Mint's standard. Issuing a coin too heavy, or too light, brought with it severe penalties. Hence great effort was taken to assure accurate weight planchets were produced. It was far easier to produce slightly heavy planchets and file the excess precious metal off than to produce slightly light planchets which had to be remelted into bricks, drawn though roller machines to bring them to the proper thickness, and recut planchets from them. Thus, many early gold and silver coins show adjustment marks. The fourteen-star reverse appears to be an old leftover die from 1798 as the star-cross pattern was used rather than the arc star pattern which was adopted on Heraldic eagle coinage in mid-1798. On the star-cross pattern, the stars are arranged in straight lines. It is curious to note that the first star on the left is buried in the eagle's wing, with three of the six points hidden. A very scarce issue, with few survivors known. View details	Realized $10,925
Lot 1666		Withdrawn	Unsold
Lot 1667		Rarely seen 1824/1 Quarter Eagle. NGC graded AU-58. One of the most difficult type coins to find in high grade; this 1824/1 Quarter Eagle should find a happy home. Luster dances in the fields on both sides. A glass notes some scattered marks, with one crossing two inner points of the twelfth star which will serve to identify this specimen. NGC has graded 4 this high, with 3 coins graded higher. Central weakness on Liberty, similar on the reverse eagle, characteristic of this date and type. View details	Unsold
Lot 1668		Glittering 1831 Quarter Eagle. NGC graded MS-64. Nice, nice example of a reduced-size Capped Head quarter eagle. Great old-gold color, sharp strike in almost every detail (just the base of the eagle's left wing, where it joins the shield, is a tad light), and exceptionally clean, sparkling surfaces. The very definition of a choice MS64 coin! And, just think about it a second: the federal mint at Philadelphia knocked out just 4,520 of these during the entire year. That amounted to a paltry $11,300 face value, which evidently was sufficient for the commercial needs of the day. My, how things have changed in the good ole USA! And here's a specimen of this rarity, 168 long years later, that retains most of the look it had on the day it was coined. Historical mementoes: The redoubtable Henry Clay gained election as a senator in this year, whereupon he became President Andrew Jackson's most vocal and hated opponent, seeking (unsuccessfully) the following year to unseat him from office. In Boston, publisher William Lloyd Garrison founded an abolitionist newspaper which he declared would remain in print until the South's slaves were all freed. Mormon leader Joseph Smith got as far west as Kirkland, Ohio, seeking a site for his religion to prosper. Our fledgling railroads got a new invention in late 1831--the cowcatcher--which promptly became standard equipment in warding off track invaders. Meantime, cotton was king all over the South, native Americans were starting to be pushed westward by white settlers and Washington politicians, and in now-conservative Massachusetts (where rebellion began) Dr Samuel Francis Smith wrote new lyrics to the British tune for God Save the King, calling his song America. The various states were embroiled in change, heading towards temporary separation yet an inevitable strength the likes of which the world hadn't seen since the Roman Empire. View details	Unsold
Lot 1669		The Finest Known 1833 Quarter Eagle. NGC graded MS-67. This coin is graced by full mint bloom glowing from the fields. The strike is above average, with only slight weakness on the stars' central points and a touch at the center of the shield and right wing tip. What makes this coin so powerful is the resplendent fields, devices and rims. They show no signs of contact, no bagmarks, handling marks, fritzies or follies to distract the examining eye. We can not imagine a finer coin of the type, where the total number of gems can be held in your hand, and to find a superb gem like this is a remarkable twist of fate. A foremost rarity in this grade and a phenomenal opportunity. According to the NGC and PCGS Population Reports, this is the only coin so graded, with none graded better. In point of fact, it is nearly impossible to find in choice Mint State. Yet this amazing coin is just splendid, so it was obviously set aside virtually the day it was issued and carefully preserved during all the intervening years (166 of them)--and those included periods of panic and depression, several disastrous wars including two that involved the whole western world, and even the gold recall of the FDR years. And remember, these were the days of Andy Jackson, our seventh president and a war hero when wars were fought by hand, not by mandate. The West was the Ohio River Valley--all the lands beyond being almost unknown, just a place of wild Indians and swarms of millions upon millions of buffalo, and unknown promise. Down in the republic of Texas, the Alamo battle was still three years away. The South was mostly a sleepy backwater of cotton plantations and bound Negroes who harvested its crops by hand and sore back. And in the East, which was still decades away from being a mighty land of industry, but where commerce was growing all the time, the horse-drawn streetcar was in its second year of operation. In a word, this 1833 gold piece, with its charming design, is a nearly perfect symbol of these times, full of the promises of democracy yet still in their infancy. It's also, to be practical, one of the very few ways anybody can "touch" the America of those days. View details	Unsold
Lot 1670		1834. AU-50. Classic Head. Well struck for this scarce type coin. Minor hairlines and handling marks. View details	Unsold
Lot 1671		1834. EF-45. Classic Head. This coin has a certain charm: dirty old look, fairly sharp strike, no rim marks worth mentioning, and cleaner surfaces than usual. In fact, it's fairly mark-free. There just isn't much luster left. View details	Realized $253
Lot 1672		1839-D. NGC graded MS-61. Oldtime dirty gold look, just the way they like 'em. Mushy strike in the centers, though Liberty's curls and the eagle's wings are nice. Clean fields, but much diminished luster. View details	Unsold
Lot 1673		PCGS graded Mint State 60 1839-D. PCGS graded MS-60. Satiny luster in the fields remains under the smattering of tick marks. Softly impressed at the centers as the Dahlonega Mint began to slowly produce much needed gold coinage. The big, bold obverse mintmark is characteristic of this short-lived type coin. Repunched 9, as are most. One of 4 so graded by PCGS, with 5 graded higher. View details	Unsold
Lot 1674		1839-O. NGC graded AU-58. One of the smaller mintages of its type. And the only New Orleans Mint piece among the short-lived Classic Heads. A sharply struck example which is as nice as many pieces given MS61-62 grades. It has excellent luster and a number of interesting, fine diebreaks on the reverse. Pretty coin. View details	Realized $2,300
Lot 1675		1839-O. EF-40. The obverse has the bold mintmark over the date, and Liberty is well struck. On the reverse, the denomination is very weakly struck, and there is a shallow scratch over the eagle. Original surfaces and color. View details	Realized $604
Lot 1676		Seldom seen 1842-D Quarter Eagle. NGC graded EF-40. A scarce coin that boasts a small mintage of 4,643. The surfaces show typical bagmarks from circulation and the color is bright and undiminished. There is a dull scrape through Liberty's headband and curls, otherwise nothing worthy of note. View details	Realized $2,875
Lot 1677		1843. EF-45. Lustrous in the fields; and well struck for the issue. A few handling marks around the edges. View details	Unsold
Lot 1678		1846-C. PCGS graded EF-45. A rarity, with just 4,808 coined at this mint, but this piece has been cleaned and its design is a bit mushy from the strike. So, the "45" grade implies a certain sharpness, not choice state as it might. View details	Realized $3,680
Lot 1679		Rare 1846-D Quarter Eagle, NGC graded AU-58. NGC graded AU-58. A splendid coin of this scarce date, only 19,303 were struck, of which NGC has graded only 15 this high with a mere two coins graded higher. Frosty luster in the fields, and well struck on the obverse and reverse. There is a short dull mark on Liberty's neck, and the reverse was struck from cracked dies. Seldom found this nice, and certain to find a happy home. View details	Unsold
Lot 1680		Choice 1847-D Quarter Eagle. NGC graded AU-58. Bright and lustrous throughout, with boldly struck devices. There is a hidden scrape on the obverse at 12 o'clock right on the dentils. Low mintage gold like this is currently available as several large old time collections have been sold recently, but once these disappear it may be years before an opportunity to purchase these dates appears again. View details	Unsold
Lot 1681		1847-O. AU-50. Struck with the reverse die rotated 180 degrees. Satiny luster and desirable in every way. View details	Realized $368
Lot 1682		Nearly choice Mint State 1848-D. PCGS graded MS-62. Many collectors have endeavored to put together date sets of these rare Dahlonega and Charlotte gold issues only to find that most just aren't available. It can take years and years to find the right coins, if they are available. Here is another scarce issue, with a token mintage of 13,771 and with today's population substantially less. PCGS has only graded 3 this high, with a blistering 4 graded higher. Greenish luster on the obverse, peculiar to this Mint, and well struck. The obverse is full on Liberty's curls, while the reverse has slight weakness on the tops of the eagle's wing and neck feathers only. Few signs of contact with other coins, the fields and devices seem better than the grade would imply. A major rarity in Mint State, this quarter eagle is certain to command much attention when it crosses the block. View details	Unsold
Lot 1683		About Uncirculated 1848-D. AU-50. A scarce coin in high grade; however, there is a faint staple scratch travelling down Liberty's face to the truncation. Well struck and with clean surfaces otherwise. View details	Unsold
Lot 1684		1849-C. NGC graded AU-58. Rare Charlotte Mint issue, with a mintage of only 10,220 pieces. Most of the survivors are pretty awful, but not this one! In fact, it's tied for best one graded (2 at PCGS, 3 at NGC). Both sides, of course, show lots of fine abrasions; it seems that these Southern issues rarely escaped this. But there's plenty of remaining luster, and evidently this is as good as it gets. View details	Realized $7,763
Lot 1685		1852. AU-58. Choice for the grade, nearly new, but with a touch of friction. Lustrous and bright on both sides. View details	Realized $173
Lot 1686		1853. AU-55. A lovely coin for the grade, most of the luster remains in the fields, and all devices are sharp. Free of distracting marks, and one any collector would be proud to own. View details	Realized $190
Lot 1687		Nearly Mint State 1854-D. NGC graded AU-58. One of the Finest Known of the date, this is tied with one other as the best graded by NGC. PCGS has only graded 3 in low Mint State grades. A token 1,760 were struck in Dahlonega in 1854, and most went right into circulation. Few were saved. This particular coin boasts a sharp strike and clean fields and devices. Original luster in the fields teases the eye and the coin appears to be Mint State. With so many collectors assembling Dahlonega and Charlotte sets, this piece will certainly see feverish bidding. View details	Unsold
Lot 1688		1854-O. NGC graded AU-58. Here's a really handsome coin! Just a touch of wear, but the surfaces are really clean and the luster is a delight. The color is nicely set into a mellow deep gold. The obverse is sharply struck, while the reverse shows just a tad of softness here and there. Faintly clashed dies make a circle around the eagle. This is a really desirable piece! View details	Realized $633
Lot 1689		One of the Top Dozen 1855-D Quarter Eagles. PCGS graded AU-55. A glance at the PCGS Population Report reveals that this date is unknown in Mint State, which is confirmed too by NGC. The combined population of both services is 10 coins in this grade, but only PCGS has graded 2 better as AU-58. Therefore, this coin is likely tied with several others as the best that can be obtained. Frosty luster in the fields, the devices are well struck and pleasing to the eye. If one must fuss, there is some weakness along the reverse rim, but the eagle is sharp. As nice a coin as anyone is likely to find of this date, and worthy of the finest collection. An important and rare opportunity! View details	Unsold
Lot 1690		Splendid 1857-D Quarter Eagle! NGC graded MS-62. Wow! Here's true beauty! Quite a few of America's early branch-mint gold pieces seem to have survived (albeit in tiny numbers for most issues) in or close to Mint State, but the vast majority of them, let's be truthful, leave a lot to be desired. Once in a while, though, a coin of great beauty shows up. And that's what we have here. Indeed, we have it in spades. This example is boldly struck everywhere, is bright with mint luster, and has just a fantastic eye-appeal which it owes in no small measure to the high rims which make for a deepset broach-like appearance. And then there is the lovely, lovely color--a deep orange gold that has not been disturbed for decades and decades. PCGS has graded none this high. NGC has seen 2, and none better. One wonders if NGC's two coins may be the same one, for this specimen is so lovely it just doesn't seem fair to confine it to the MS62 level. It is indeed, in every way, a Choice BU quarter eagle! The fact that it was made at Dahlonega shortly before the Civil War makes its survival all the more remarkable. View details	Unsold
Lot 1691		1857-S. VF-35. Nice color and surfaces. View details	Unsold
Lot 1692		1857-S. VF-30. Moderate circulation marks, but nice overall for the grade. View details	Unsold
Lot 1693		Choice AU-58 1859-D Quarter Eagle. NGC graded AU-58. A choice coin for the assigned grade; fields and devices without the usual peck marks as too often seen on these early mint-marked rarities. Glowing luster near the devices. Sharply coined on the obverse; similar on the reverse, although a touch of weakness is noted on the eagle's meaty thigh. One of 11 so graded by NGC, with but 2 graded higher, making this truly one of the best available of the date. View details	Unsold
Lot 1694		1859-S. NGC graded MS-61. Big blobby mintmark, sharp strike on both sides, nothing to complain about, and very light marks. Nice gold color. If you want a pleasing example of this issue, here's one worth a strong bid! View details	Unsold
Lot 1695		1860 Trompeter. PCGS graded Proof 64. A splendid early Proof quarter eagle which has remained the proud possession of the individual who bought it from Ed Trompeter's astounding collection back in February 1992, where it appeared as Lot 40. The mintage was a mere 112 coins, yet even fewer (by a far measure) have survived and turned up for third-party grading. NGC reports 10 graded, 63 to 66. PCGS reports only 4, one 65 and three 64s. That will change, because this coin was in the same NGC PR64 holder from 1992 until recently, when the owner wished it to cross over to PCGS, which it has, with the same designation. It was never resubmitted, just crossed over. Readily identifiable by the strike-through or "pit mark" on the denomination (see the Trompeter cataloguer's remarks). This coin is a real beauty, gleaming with reflectivity and wonderful bright yellow color. The strike is splendid, and the devices exhibit the two-tone cameo effect that helps make these pieces so special and so desirable. Formerly from the Garrett Collection before Trompeter. Just to keep this coin in historical perspective, you might recall that in 1860 the Pony Express had its brief run, carrying the mail between St Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California--and died out as quickly as it was born, when the transcontinental telegraph was completed. And … between May and November of this year, 1860, Abraham Lincoln achieved nomination and was elected sixteenth President of the United States--which, within months of the coining of this little Proof, would no longer be united. These were desperate times. No wonder so few delicate, golden Proofs survived. View details	Realized $22,425
Lot 1696		1862-S. PCGS graded EF-45. Only 8,000 struck, and rare today. Nice sharp strike overall and good original color, with a real minimum of marks. Very desirable! A few graded slightly higher, but none in Mint State. And how many of those others have this coin's good qualities? (For a companion piece, see the 62-S half eagle elsewhere in this sale.). View details	Unsold
Lot 1697		1863-S. MS-60. Here's a neat little rarity. Just 10,800 were coined all those years ago at San Francisco, which whacked this piece with a really bold strike, making the big, bold mintmark jump out at the viewer. This piece sparkles with luster and has pretty darn clean surfaces. Some may complain that there's some rub here, but believe us when we say we've seen plenty of lesser coins in MS61 and MS62 holders. Plenty! Only one MS64 has been so-called by PCGS, with nothing else in MS. So buckle up and prepare for a little battle over this coin. View details	Realized $7,475
Lot 1698		Impressive 1863-S Quarter Eagle. NGC graded AU-58. Perfect for the grade; well struck throughout and without the usual distracting marks. This one barely circulated, if at all. Obviously, it has been carefully saved since the time of issue. Luster in the fields near the devices. The big, bold "S" Mintmark seems to rest on the D of the denomination, pushing down the upper serif of that letter. One of only 3 so graded by NGC, with 2 graded higher. One for the collector who demands the finest available. View details	Unsold
Lot 1699		Gorgeous 1865 Proof Quarter Eagle. PCGS graded Proof 64. An important date with a business-strike mintage so small that essentially there have been no survivors. It was the end of the horrible Civil War when this coin was made, and just about nobody was thinking about numismatics, were they? Not even the Philadelphia Mint, although they dutifully produced 25 Proofs for the record. The 13 Proofs graded by both NGC and PCGS have all been in the choice to gem range, but those numbers undoubtedly represent multiple attempts, because of the value of this date. This coin falls into the middle range of those graded. Yet its importance should not be downplayed just because it isn't the best one seen. Nor should the PR64 grade be considered in any way negative, for this specimen is a beautiful coin, bright and cameoed and with splendid mirrors. The faint hairlines detract very little from one's pleasure of viewing this great little rarity. View details	Unsold
Lot 1700		1868-S. Sharpness of VF-20. Some luster remains, but there is an obverse scratch on Liberty's nose and before her face. Scarce. View details	Realized $184
Lot 1701		Scarce 1870-S Quarter Eagle. NGC graded AU-58. Frosty and lustrous for the issue, with boldly stuck devices on both sides. About as nice as one can hope to find of this date, only a few have been graded in Mint State. Minor bagmarks on both sides, not disturbing the luster or potential buyer. View details	Unsold
Lot 1702		1879-S. NGC graded MS-60. Here is one of the top ten 1879-S Quarter Eagles in existence, as reported in the NGC and PCGS Population Reports. With a mintage of 43,500 this San Francisco issue is obviously scarce, but in Mint State it is truly rare. The fields show minor signs of contact from handling and shipping, but the luster is full and complete, and the strike is also bold. A coin for the specialist who knows how difficult this date is to find in Mint State. View details	Unsold
Lot 1703		1881. NGC graded MS-63. Nice coin, this one. Something of a prooflike obverse, possibly indicating a new die. Orangey gold color on front, but the back is yellow. The obverse is also the cleaner side. Rare date: just 640 coined for commerce. Only one piece resides in a higher slab, an MS64, at NGC, while PCGS has graded nothing above a 62 except for a solitary gem MS65. A "Red Book rarity" that deserves attention. View details	Unsold
Lot 1704		1889. PCGS graded MS-65. Radiant luster throughout and well manufactured. Each star is complete to its center lines, and the only sign of weakness is noted above Liberty's eye in her curls and on the eagle's thigh. One very faint scratch is visible down the eagle's thigh towards the denomination, keeping this coin from being nearly perfect. A gem in every way. View details	Unsold
Lot 1705		1889. AU-50. One of the many scarce dates of the later Quarter Eagle series. This one has a pair of staple scratches on the obverse, otherwise bright, lustrous and typical for the grade. View details	Realized $150
Lot 1706		1901, 1906 and 1907. MS-60 to MS63. A triplet of Quarter Eagles. Lot of 3 coins. View details	Realized $920
Lot 1707		1903. AU-58. Frosty and nearly new. It didn't sell in our last sale, so here's another opportunity. Make it go away this time. View details	Realized $184
Lot 1708		1905. MS-60 Plus. Some light hairlines in the fields, and with a scattering of tick marks. Popular denomination. View details	Realized $173
Lot 1709		1907. AU-58. Bright and lustrous, but a few too many bagmarks to qualify for Mint State. View details	Realized $161
Lot 1710		ICG graded MS 66 1909 Quarter Eagle. ICG graded MS-66. Fresh mint luster on both sides, with a faint scattering of tick marks in the fields. Well struck and worth close examination by collectors who need true gems. View details	Unsold
Lot 1711		Gem 1911-D Indian Quarter Eagle. NGC graded MS-65. A handsome example of this key date, with lovely oldtime color and a sharp strike on both the Indian's headdress (right down to the feather ends) and the eagle. Only a few scattered, light ticks in the vulnerable fields. Worth a good, strong bid. View details	Unsold
Lot 1712		1914-D. MS-60 Plus. Frosty and free of distracting marks. A scarce date in this grade. View details	Realized $196
Lot 1713		1915. PCGS graded MS-64. Better than the grade would imply, this 1915 has great surfaces and abundant eye-appeal. Far fewer marks than one usually encounters on a coin of this grade. View details	Realized $1,093
Lot 1714		1915. PCGS graded MS-64. Minor hairlines and tiny surface marks from full gem, this well struck Quarter Eagle retains full mint luster. View details	Realized $1,093

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