Goldberg Coins and Collectibles

Sale 36

Pre-Long Beach Coin and Currency Auction

$20 St. Gaudens

Lot	Photo	Description	Realized
Lot 4086		1914 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-65. Well struck and frosty. A gold, mint-fresh example, as crisp and glossy as when it was first released from to the Treasury for distribution to the banks. And it is in a bank where this one must have lived all those many years, since it remains in its magnificent original condition for all to admire. Nicely struck, as well, and unlike those which have the faintest touch of weakness at the centers, this exemplary 1914 twenty is bold. Only 95,250 minted. Pop 28; 3 finer in 66. (PCGS # 9164) . Estimated Value $16,000 - 18,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $21,275
Lot 4087		1914 $20 St. Gaudens. AU-58. Better date. Estimated Value $750 - 800. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $805
Lot 4088		1914-D $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-63. Clearly superior to the vast majority of heavily abraded low-quality Uncirculated pieces, this splendid reddish-golden MS63 has only a few well scattered blemishes. Furthermore, it benefits from the high production standards employed by the Denver Mint during this period. A choice coin (PCGS # 9165) . Estimated Value $600 - 650. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $776
Lot 4089		1915 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-64. Lovely rich gold toning. This fully struck 1915 has glowing reddish-orange surfaces and no problems on either side. Very elusive in MS64 condition and with intact mint color. Don't expect the usual halfhearted impression left by the striking of the (sometimes worn) dies that made this piece, for we are glad to report the opposite is true. This is a very bold coin with sharp centers and broad square rims. Only 152,050 minted. Pop 213; 22 in 65. (PCGS # 9167) . Estimated Value $4,500 - 5,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $8,625
Lot 4090		1915-S $20 St. Gaudens. NGC graded MS-64. A nice golden luster shoots from this well preserved coin. Estimated Value $850 - 900. Frank McCarthy Collection. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $834
Lot 4091		1915-S $20 St. Gaudens. NGC graded MS-64. Always frosty for the issue, as seen here, the bright-gold surface is nearly gem quality with few distracting bagmarks. Estimated Value $850 - 900. Frank McCarthy Collection. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $1,150
Lot 4092		1915-S $20 St. Gaudens. NGC graded MS-64. This beautiful '15-S twenty sums up nicely the experience of the gold satin luster on a well presented and fully struck example. It is the kind of coin that collectors expect to find in the grade. Elusive as a Mint State 64 and better. Estimated Value $850 - 900. Frank McCarthy Collection. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $1,150
Lot 4093		1915-S $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-64. Both sides are beaming with copper-gold iridescence that accents the ample luster. Clear-cut devices point to it having been giving a full strike by the dies as well (PCGS # 9168) . Estimated Value $650 - 700. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $805
Lot 4094		1916-S $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-65. Fully struck, as befits a coin in which the surfaces are awash in rich reddish-gold color. Indeed, a strongly struck example, with nice detail to all the important high points. The tragedy is why cannot all 1916-S double eagles be as beautiful! Pop 872; 105 in 66; none finer. (PCGS # 9169) . Estimated Value $2,400 - 2,500. Frank McCarthy Collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $2,645
Lot 4095		1922 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-65. Light golden toning on both sides. The otherwise golden color makes the transition to polychrome-gold shadings in select areas of this Gem quality specimen (PCGS # 9173) . Estimated Value $2,500 - 2,700. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $2,415
Lot 4096		1922 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-65. Nice strike with even light gold toning. A few light marks on Liberty's knee and body. Choice and desirable with flaxen to orange-gold metallic patina over each side. An eye-appealing, radiant Gem. Pop 705; 7 in 66. (PCGS # 9173) . Estimated Value $2,500 - 2,700. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $2,530
Lot 4097		1922 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-65. Bright orange-gold color bursts from original surfaces unmarred by tarnish or spotting. A strong strike as well, making this a desirable Gem quality specimen. For the demanding student of $20 gold, displays precision detail at the legends and main device, which is unusual for the date, and not even a trace of soft detail at the date, where sometimes weakness occurs. Pop 720; 7 in 66. (PCGS # 9173) . Estimated Value $2,500 - 2,600. Frank McCarthy Collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $2,473
Lot 4098		1922 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-64. Choice frosty appearance from top to bottom, and a very attractive specimen of this year. Radio was the new big thing in America in the early 1920s. Led by Westinghouse company's 1920 and 1921 establishment of four well-financed stations -- located in or near Pittsburgh, Boston, Chicago and New York City -- there was a growing sense of excitement as broadcasting activities became more organized. In December, 1921, the Department of Commerce created regulations formally establishing a broadcast service. Then, in early 1922, the year of this double eagle, a "broadcasting boom" hit, as a sometimes chaotic mix of stations, sponsored by a wide range of businesses, organizations and individuals, sprang up, numbering over 500 by the year's end (PCGS # 9173) . Estimated Value $700 - 750. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $891
Lot 4099		1922 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-64. A few bagmarks. Creamy rich luster characteristic of the P-mint dates of the early 1920s, along with rich orange-gold color displaying none of the usual tiny alloy spots on the obverse or reverse (PCGS # 9173) . Estimated Value $700 - 750. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $863
Lot 4100		1922 $20 St. Gaudens. NGC graded MS-62. A lustrous representative of the year. Estimated Value $625 - 650. Frank McCarthy Collection. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $780
Lot 4101		1922 $20 St. Gaudens. NGC graded MS-62. Another well struck, frosty coin for the collector of bullion buyer. Estimated Value $625 - 650. Frank McCarthy Collection. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $780
Lot 4102		1922 $20 St. Gaudens. NGC graded MS-62. Toned but very lustrous. Estimated Value $625 - 650. Frank McCarthy Collection. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $690
Lot 4103		1922 $20 St. Gaudens. NGC graded MS-62. A few light scuffs in the obverse sun rays. Bold broad rims on either side distinguish the Philadelphia strikes from those made at San Francisco in 1922. Estimated Value $625 - 650. Frank McCarthy Collection. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $690
Lot 4104		1922 $20 St. Gaudens. NGC graded MS-62. A couple of small toned spots on the skirt, otherwise crisp golden color and bright. Estimated Value $625 - 650. Frank McCarthy Collection. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $679
Lot 4105		1922 $20 St. Gaudens. NGC graded MS-62. Choice quality for the 1922 issue. Estimated Value $625 - 6,550. Frank McCarthy Collection. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $690
Lot 4106		1922 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-63. Nice untoned coin. Both sides are covered in light-gold color that amplifies the ample remaining luster. Soft-edged devices and lettering here and there, primarily at the last two digits of the date and the stars underneath, as commonly seen on 1922 P-mint twenties; only a small percentage of this year's production is found with enough convincing detail to be called "bold." (PCGS # 9173) . Estimated Value $575 - 600. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $719
Lot 4107		1923 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-65. Bright orange gold color erupts from original surfaces untouched by cleaning. A strong appearance as well, making this an advantageous coin for the focused collector. Adding to those results, a word about strike: this piece has all but needle-sharp devices, with gorgeous detail on Liberty and the eagle, as elsewhere in the supporting elements of the design. Pop 222; 2 in 66. (PCGS # 9175) . Estimated Value $4,200 - 4,500. Frank McCarthy Collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $4,370
Lot 4108		1923 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-64. Frosty with splendid color. This warmly toned example displays beams of pinkish golden metallic detail in virtually all areas (PCGS # 9175) . Estimated Value $650 - 700. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $978
Lot 4109		1923 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-63. A well struck, frosty example, with 1923, likes its counterparts in 1921 and 1922, featuring broad, squarish rims on both sides. This would chance in 1924 when the rims were reduced in thickness (PCGS # 9175) . Estimated Value $575 - 600. View details Check results on similar lots	Realized $719
Lot 4110		1923-D $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-66. A tiny mark in the left obverse field. Otherwise superb! Struck with scientific exactness throughout the devices. Heart-stopping quality. Each side has a beaming peach-gold center that is surrounded by a nice margin of deeper orange-gold color, the full swirling aspects of the luster hard to imagine unless you have a front-row seat like we do when cataloging such a marvelous coin (PCGS # 9176) . Estimated Value $1,800 - 1,900. The Victor Kramer Collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $2,990
Lot 4111		1923-D $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-66. Another golden-orange gem. The surfaces are bright with reddish-golden rolling luster and show none of the muting often seen on the P-mint issue this year. Denver coinage in 1923 is the most impressive of any date in the Saint-Gaudens series, bar none (PCGS # 9176) . Estimated Value $1,800 - 1,900. The Victor Kramer Collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $3,565
Lot 4112		1923-D $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-65. Old green holder. Wonderful rainbow toning on the reverse that includes beautiful rose pink, while the obverse is orange-gold toning. Could run-a-way. An exceptional gem of the finest order for its desirable '65' grade and color. Broadly sweeping cartwheel luster glows brightly on medium orange surfaces; at first glance, Roman Finish Proofs come to mind when one gazes upon a fresh '23-D double eagle. Additionally, this date is easier than many to find fully struck. The centers pack full wallop into the design from a decidedly precision strike. Pop 1751; 1224 in 66; 56 in 67. (PCGS # 9176) . Estimated Value $1,250 - 1,450. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $3,795
Lot 4113		1924 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-65. Old green holder. This is a dazzling gold specimen burning-gold mint bloom, powerfully struck and preserved without a defect. Of course, collectors seeing the photos understand this coin is nicely struck for the 1924 issue, best of all entirely so. Certainly a coin that gets proper mention where completeness of design is desirable to obtain (PCGS # 9177) . Estimated Value $1,000 - 1,100. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $2,128
Lot 4114		1924 $20 St. Gaudens. NGC graded MS-64 PQ. Creamy luster and rich orange-gold color with none of the usual tiny alloy spots on the obverse or reverse. Estimated Value $800 - 850. Frank McCarthy Collection. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $1,323
Lot 4115		1924 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-64 PQ. Nice frosty luster, a beautiful coin (PCGS # 9177) . Estimated Value $800 - 850. Frank McCarthy Collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,323
Lot 4116		1924 $20 St. Gaudens. NGC graded MS-64. Sun-fresh gold, indeed glowing with gold satin luster, and fully radiant with a near-perfect strike. Estimated Value $750 - 800. Frank McCarthy Collection. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $920
Lot 4117		1924 $20 St. Gaudens. NGC graded MS-64. Frosty, very choice surfaces. Gold played a key role in the economy in the 1920s. With Great Britain attempting to "deflate" its overheated money supply after World War I ended, America, in order to stem the flow of gold from the Bank of England to America, artificially lowered interest rates here in 1924 (and again in 1927). This gave a big boost to our stock market, and, for a time, delayed the drain on England's gold. Eventually, the trend worsened. England faced a dire situation by the 1930s. Estimated Value $750 - 800. Frank McCarthy Collection. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $834
Lot 4118		1924 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-64. A very cheery looking specimen with quite good luster, excellent color, and appearance (PCGS # 9177) . Estimated Value $650 - 700. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $805
Lot 4119		1924 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-64. The frosty textured surfaces are awash in rich orange-gold colors, and both sides are uncommonly well struck for this often abraded type (PCGS # 9177) . Estimated Value $650 - 700. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $805
Lot 4120		1924 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-64. Nice golden toning and well struck. Strikingly brilliant throughout with no bad abrasions present to sidetrack your enjoyment of the smooth surface and bold relief (PCGS # 9177) . Estimated Value $650 - 700. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,093
Lot 4121		1924 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-64. Nice golden toning. Another very choice example of this widely collected date (PCGS # 9177) . Estimated Value $650 - 700. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $920
Lot 4122		1924 $20 St. Gaudens. NGC graded MS-62. Frosty with a few areas of coppery toning. Estimated Value $625 - 650. Frank McCarthy Collection. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $690
Lot 4123		1924 $20 St. Gaudens. NGC graded MS-63 PQ. Heart-stopping beauty in a $20 gold piece. Each side has a beaming yellow-gold center that is surrounded by a nice margin of orange-gold color, and only a few light bagmarks. Estimated Value $600 - 625. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $748
Lot 4124		1924 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-63 PQ. Old green holder. Lovely golden toning with rolling fields of original luster (PCGS # 9177) . Estimated Value $600 - 625. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $863
Lot 4125		1925 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-64. After 1914, only America returned to a genuine Gold Standard. The rest of the world went on either a Gold Bullion Standard (with no circulating gold coins), as in Great Britain, or an even weaker Gold Exchange Standard (the rest of Europe and Asia) with ties to the U.S. dollar and only then to the gold in America's Federal Reserve. That is why we see the increase in coinage of twenty-dollar gold pieces in the 1920s, which were used as backing for our "good as gold" bank deposits and currency. Unfortunately, the whole drunken scheme "blew up with a loud report" in 1931-33, during the panic and banking crises of those years (PCGS # 9180) . Estimated Value $750 - 800. Frank McCarthy Collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $834
Lot 4126		1925 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-64. Nice untoned coin with frosty luster and good eye appeal (PCGS # 9180) . Estimated Value $650 - 700. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,035
Lot 4127		1925 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-64. Nice and frosty. A high degree of luster spins broadly on bright golden yellow surfaces. A blend of heavy frost eases its way into the mix, adding greatly to the overall visual enjoyment (PCGS # 9180) . Estimated Value $650 - 700. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $805
Lot 4128		1925 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-63. Untoned. A lustrous, choice example with one small nick at the waist, another on the forehead, and a small dig in the sun rays at left (PCGS # 9180) . Estimated Value $575 - 600. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $719
Lot 4129		1925 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-63. A choice quality double eagle (PCGS # 9180) . Estimated Value $575 - 600. View details Check results on similar lots	Realized $810
Lot 4130		1925-D $20 St. Gaudens. NGC graded MS-65. Bright and intensely frosty. Pop 7; only 1 higher in 66. There are a few very light marks in the rays to either side of Liberty, with but a single mark on the leading leg just at the calf, and these can be used as identifiers. Beautifully preserved with exceptionally clean surfaces and thick bright golden mint frost. Subtly variegated patina around Liberty adds even more to the overall attractiveness of this high grade Gem. Broadly and well struck on the legends and main device, which is unusual for such a rare issue as the 1925-D, plus a bold sense of detail at the centers. Concerning this year, many were struck, few were saved, most were in the banks when Franklin Roosevelt confiscated the gold in April 1933. And, sadly for today's collectors, almost all of the confiscated gold coins were later sent to be melted (1937). The resulting 400 ounce "coin" bars (= .900 Fine) that resulted were then neatly stacked in the shadowy vaults of Fort Knox, Kentucky and the recesses of the New York City branch of the Federal Reserve Bank underground vaults. This is one of the rare Gems to survive. Estimated Value $60,000 - 70,000. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $66,700
Lot 4131		1925-D $20 St. Gaudens. NGC graded MS-65. A brilliant frosty example. Scarce in this high grade. In a year of high production at the Denver Mint, 2,938,500 double eagles were struck in 1925. Apparently, very few of these were distributed into general circulation. However, as had been the case for a number of years, many newly minted 1925-D double eagles were exported to Europe, where they remained stored in banks, primarily in Switzerland and France. At one time, the 1925-D was considered a foremost rarity, much more so than the 1920-S, 1930-S, 1931, and 1932. This was before an unknown quantity was discovered in the 1950s, followed by much larger quantities in Europe in the 1960s. Presently, the '25-D is regarded to be on a par in rarity with the 1924-D, although in finer Mint State grades (MS65 and better), it is slightly rarer, with only a dozen examples certified. The current offering is a sharply struck Gem with beautiful color and bright, gleaming surfaces that have a layer of sparkling mint frost over both sides. The carefully preserved surfaces show a few of the scattered trivial nicks common to a coin at this grade level, and one slightly more noticeable mark, a lengthy superficial luster graze beneath LI in LIBERTY, tailing down into the left obverse field. Some very wispy pin scratches are also noted, for the sake of accuracy, in the field area just to the left of the lower torch. All in all, however, on the basis of eye appeal and technical merit combined, this piece seems entirely worthy of its lofty rating, which makes it one of the top dozen examples of the year. NGC holder #630947-003. Pop 7; 1 in 66 as best by NGC. Estimated Value $60,000 - 70,000. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $71,875
Lot 4132		1925-D $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-63. Choice, well preserved and frosty. Scarce date. Tremendous value from a very positive set of circumstances, which collectors like better to see than wishy-washy dullness so commonly found on this rare '25-D issue; furthermore, the surfaces show pleasing yellow to golden hues. There is a short line in the field to the left of the torch; some nicks on the body as well, plus a few scratches on the eagle's wing. All these are in line with the grade. As for the strike, we can report everything is faithful to every detail from a decent blow by the dies, with only marginal weakness found at the upper knee and portions of the blouse across Liberty's upper body as well as the top part of the Capitol dome with some of the lower stars flattened. Like the 1924-D, the 1925-D had its rarity ranking revised since the mid-20th century by the appearance of a few minor hoards overseas. While both dates are similar in rarity taken as a whole, the advantage in high grades goes to the 1925-D. We have not offered a near-Gem for several sales. Typically unevenly impressed for the issue, the devices rise nicely but not quite boldly above the fields with clear overall definition. Pop 107; 117 in 64; 2 in 65; 2 in 66. (PCGS # 9181) . Estimated Value $7,500 - 8,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $10,063
Lot 4133		1925-S $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-63. Well struck with nice golden toning. A few obverse marks otherwise would grade a point or 2 higher. A thrilling example of this always-popular rare issue. This exceptional coin is beautifully toned and very nicely struck, including almost full features on the eagle. Only Liberty's nose is struck a little weakly as are a few breast feathers below the neck of the eagle. The 1925-S is similar in condition rarity to the other heavily melted dates such as 1924-S and 1926-D, but it is clearly not the absolute rarity that the '26-D is. The 1925-S, like the 1926-D, was evidently never found in overseas hoards of double eagles, explaining in large part why these two dates are so rare. Pop 66; 19 finer. (PCGS # 9182) . Estimated Value $20,000 - 22,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $25,300
Lot 4134		1926 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-64 PQ. Nice golden toning. Beautiful yellowish to tawny-gold in color with a bold strike, the surfaces reveal a few scattered obverse abrasions, otherwise gemmy (PCGS # 9183) . Estimated Value $700 - 750. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $920
Lot 4135		1926 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-64. Lovely golden toning. This is a splendidly lustrous coin whose warm toned features are alive with rich mint frost. The fully detailed surfaces are knocking on the door of an even higher grade (PCGS # 9183) . Estimated Value $650 - 700. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $920

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