Goldberg Coins and Collectibles

Sale 36

Pre-Long Beach Coin and Currency Auction

$20 St. Gaudens

Lot	Photo	Description	Realized
Lot 4136		1926-S $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-64 PQ. Gold-gold satin frost is boldly hypnotic on this fresh-appearing '26-S twenty. Since our observation is that this date is rarely fully struck, then this sharp coin has every suggestion of precision manufacture as seen in main devices. Satiny mint beauty! Pop 297; 19 in 65; 2 in 66. (PCGS # 9185) . Estimated Value $6,500 - 7,000. Frank McCarthy Collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $10,350
Lot 4137		1927 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-66. Rich golden-orange colors. Here and there a tiny contact mark, but too few and tiny to mention. Intense but still satiny frost typical of the 1927 date, the coin nicely toned through which brighter gold radiance persists almost undiminished as though sounding the drum of its extremely high grade (PCGS # 9186) . Estimated Value $2,000 - 2,200. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $2,990
Lot 4138		1927 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-65. Old green holder. Rich golden colors. The surfaces are sleek and glowing with a healthy show of gold color. A magnificent strike, as well as freedom from the usual deep marks. And that is why this is a coin to jump at before it's sale is history (PCGS # 9186) . Estimated Value $1,000 - 1,100. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,840
Lot 4139		1927 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-65. Frosty with mint color. A radiant gem of the kind of quality one likes to describe for bidders of this actively collected $20 gold design. Careening cartwheel luster blends easily with pale golden highlights on the frosted surfaces (PCGS # 9186) . Estimated Value $1,000 - 1,100. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,323
Lot 4140		1927 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-64. Lovely color with choice, satiny luster at the center and extending out to the rims (PCGS # 9186) . Estimated Value $750 - 800. Frank McCarthy Collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $886
Lot 4141		1927 $20 St. Gaudens. NGC graded MS-64. Light golden toning. A nice dusting of flaming golden luster covers the surface, with some light bagmarks on the body of Liberty. Estimated Value $650 - 700. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $834
Lot 4142		1927 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-64. Lovely golden color. The color, projecting outwards from the underlying luster, is especially vivid on this well struck 1927 double eagle (PCGS # 9186) . Estimated Value $650 - 700. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $920
Lot 4143		1927 $20 St. Gaudens. NGC graded MS-62. A small mark at Liberty's breast. Smooth golden color throughout, and frosty. Estimated Value $625 - 650. Frank McCarthy Collection. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $719
Lot 4144		1927 $20 St. Gaudens. NGC graded MS-63. The surfaces are radiant and each side has a nice veneer of warm patina that whips and tosses as it alternates between lighter and darker shades. Old holder. Estimated Value $625 - 650. Frank McCarthy Collection. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $805
Lot 4145		1928 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-66. Nice fresh example. Sun-fresh gold, indeed glowing with gold satin luster, and fully radiant with a near-perfect strike. Even the finest, most delicate detail seen on this coin struck with uncommon exactness for the issue (PCGS # 9189) . Estimated Value $2,000 - 2,200. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,840
Lot 4146		1928 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-64 PQ. Lovely golden toning. Glittering rivers of flame-colored mint frost from center to periphery whose shadings include apricot orange to pale rose (PCGS # 9189) . Estimated Value $700 - 750. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,035
Lot 4147		1928 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-63 PQ. Lovely rich golden toning. Almost opulent orange-gold color is seen over each side with light bagmarks a reliable indicator of the MS63 quality (PCGS # 9189) . Estimated Value $650 - 700. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $805
Lot 4148		1928 $20 St. Gaudens. NGC graded MS-62. Choice with original mint frostiness. Estimated Value $625 - 650. Frank McCarthy Collection. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $719
Lot 4149		1928 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-63. A satiny golden gem with strong underlying luster and delightful overall eye appeal (PCGS # 9189) . Estimated Value $575 - 600. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $719
Lot 4150		1928 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-62. Nice gold toning. Very choice, as one would look forward to from the grade; however, what really makes this break free from others is its extra brilliant cartwheel luster that rolls around each side (PCGS # 9189) . Estimated Value $550 - 575. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $750
Lot 4151		1929 $20 St. Gaudens. NGC graded MS-65. Bright gold color erupts from original surfaces untouched by toning. Taking stock of another key element of the grade, this piece has knife-edged devices throughout, including centers, rather than a soft, mushy strike as sometimes seen. A gem! Although not as widely known among the general collecting public as the more publicized dates of the 1930s, the elusive 1929 opens the final chapter of the Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle chronicle where every issue henceforth through the year 1933 is a major rarity. While the 1929 is among the most obtainable dates of this group in terms of overall numbers, it is seldom located at the gem MS65 level. As is characteristic of the 1929, this coin displays razor-sharp definition and is minimally abraded. Pop 5; none finer at NGC. Estimated Value $55,000 - 65,000. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $78,200
Lot 4152		1929 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-63. Very popular key date. Always in demand. Although not as widely known among the general collecting public as the more publicized dates of the 1930s, the elusive 1929 opens the final chapter of the Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle story where every issue henceforth through the year 1933 is a major rarity. While the 1929 is among the most available dates of this group in terms of overall numbers, it is seldom located at the choice MS63 level. As is characteristic of the issue, this coin displays razor-sharp definition and is minimally abraded. Lovely golden orange color with very frosty luster. There is a short mark above the knee of the longer leg, as well as a few light bagmarks on the trailing "flight feathers" of the eagle. Crisp bloom from the dies like this makes for a very appealing specimen whose reputation among coin collectors is as timeless and rock solid as the sword Excalibur set in the stone in the tale of King Arthur! Pop 36; 101 finer. Many repeats. The story gold tells of the days immediately after the stock market crash in October 1929, is one of waves of panic. First among residents of foreign lands, then in 1931 panicky withdrawals of gold by European central banks, and later, as the maelstrom built to a frenzy and the panic spread to the "forgotton man." The everyday American bank depositor such as clerks, salespeople, merchants, schoolteachers, all began in the summer of 1932 to hoard gold and paper money. Thousands of people did everything in his or her power to retrieve some semblence savings from the toppling banks. Huge gold flows were clocked out of and back into the banking system throughout this difficult time. When the final blow-up came in March 1933 and the gong sounded with the closing of the banks, little did the average individual realize he'd never see a circulating gold coin again, in his lifetime, or in the lifetime of his heirs. Estimated Value $28,000 - 32,000. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $35,650
Lot 4153		1931 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-65 PQ. A frosty gem coin. Well struck. Very popular date. Since virtually the entire extant population for 1931 falls into the Mint State grades, it is plain to see that this double eagle issue was never released for general circulation. Most of the 2,938,250 pieces originally minted were melted in the Mint, and today the 1931 is comparable in overall rarity to the highly respected 1932. Pop 28; 8 in 66; 1 in 67. Among Saint-Gaudens pieces, the 1931 is considered to be one of the top seven rarest issues in the series, with precious few examples surviving the mass melting of the Roosevelt Administration in the 1930s. Experts have speculated over the years which of these later dated issues is now the rarest, and exactly how they should be ranked. The population figures by the major services can sometimes be misleading as to exact rarity as the same coin may have been submitted to both services at different times, or even the same service multiple times thus causing the published figures to be skewed. The 1931 we present in this lot is a beautiful coin. Its surfaces display excellent mint frostiness, which is characteristic of this issue but not too often found other than baggy. The color shows a pretty combination of colors, from light to not quite medium yellow-gold color with subtle rose pink accents turning to the warm orange color of apricot. The design elements are sharply made, and include strong definition on the central devices, as well as in the less central regions such as the Capitol dome and most of the stars. The surfaces on both sides are immaculate for the issue; a handful of trivial marks here and there are not even worth the time it takes to give them individual mention. While copper stains often dog this issue like measles in a kindergarten, the present example reveals not even a single solitary spot, none whatsoever. What a treat it is for us to describe this 1931 double eagle for you. And what a pleasure it will be to some fortunate buyer who acquires possession of it! (PCGS # 9192) . Estimated Value $85,000 - 95,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $132,250
Lot 4154		1931-D $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-63. Very rare date and a date always difficult to obtain. A boldly struck gold-surfaced coin whose high-end depth of detail in the strike complements the equally fresh warmly toned mint bloom. Sometimes on this issue, the devices that were left by the dies display the required precision due to strong die pressure, and we find that everything is finely detailed, including the centers. The rarity of this D-mint issue should be readily evident after Akers referred to a group of fifteen to twenty examples that surfaced in the mid 1980s. While the coins in that "hoard" were sufficient to knock the 1931-D out of the same rarity class as the vaunted 1930-S, most of these graded approximately Mint State 63. And while the typical 1931-D $20 gold piece is among the least attractive of the rare late date issues, primarily because of bagmarks, the present offering takes its place near the front of the line, with ample surface originality and real beauty in a gold coin! Pop 15; 48 finer. Estimated Value $45,000 - 55,000. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $74,750

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