Goldberg Coins and Collectibles

Sale 51

Pre-Long Beach Coin and Currency Auction

$1 Gold

Lot	Photo	Description	Realized
Lot 1329		1849 $1 Gold Liberty. No L. NGC graded MS-62. Frosty and mostly untoned, with some light hairlines in the fields. Boldly struck on the portrait and stars, this being the first year of issue. Estimated Value $500 - 525. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $949
Lot 1330		1851 $1 Gold Liberty. PCGS graded MS-65. A gorgeous brilliant frosty mint gem specimen. The surfaces on this handsome gold dollar are judged by us to be fresh golden in color, and not just fairly lustrous but amazingly so, with the grade acting on behalf of its outstanding quality. What one sees customarily on this small-format denomination is an unconvincing impression left in the centers after the recoil of the dies; greatly to our pleasure and the bidders' enjoyment, and something we gladly proclaim, that is not the case here. This coin is mostly sharp, with the sole exception of the hair curls above the ear, in fact. And a beautiful Gem from top to bottom. Pop 59; 30 finer (PCGS # 7513) . Estimated Value $4,500 - 5,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $6,038
Lot 1331		1853-C $1 Gold Liberty. NGC graded MS-63. Boldly struck on slightly granular surfaces. Plenty of mint luster remains. Only 11,1515 minted. The strike on both sides of this coin is typical of the issue. There is some softness of detail on the obverse over Liberty's brow and on top of the hair curls; rim dentils are nearly all missing; and on the reverse over the 18 in the date and the second L in DOLLAR, with similar lack of detail in the dentils. There is a short horizontal distraction through the 1 of the denomination and a tiny mark on the rim above E in STATES; a small pit by the lowest star. Extensive luster everywhere. Truly exceptional for the issue, which tends to come circulated, and in the realm of surface preservation it has very few peers (see the population figures below). The fields are frosty, not prooflike -- a feature that suggests it was struck later in the die's life. Vivid-gold color flows over both sides. Pop 13; 3 in 64, 1 in 65 (PCGS # 7522) . Estimated Value $9,000 - 10,000. Ex Ashland City Collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 1332		1855-D $1 Gold Indian. NGC graded MS-64. Well struck with a bold date and mint mark. Light clash marks on both sides as made and a touch of softness on the uppermost forehead curls. The luster is intense with traces of reflectiveness here and there. The rarest by far of all type two gold dollars. Perhaps surprisingly for an issue with such a limited original mintage, the 1855-D was struck using two die marriages. The present Winter 7-I example (second 5 in date centered beneath A in DOLLAR) is one of the finest-known examples of both varieties, and it is an absolutely stunning representative. The '55-D typically displays varying degrees of striking irregularity in the center of the reverse that affects several of the letters in DOLLAR and the digits in the date. On this piece, however, one will see a sharply executed reverse strike that qualifies this piece as a Full Date example as defined by Doug Winter. In the 2003 book Gold Coins of the Dahlonega Mint: 1838-1861, the author states, "Among specialists, full date 1855-D gold dollars trade for a strong premium; in some cases as much as thirty to fifty percent above the price level for a coin with a typical weak date." The obverse impression is overall bold, and both sides possess pleasing color that blends orange-gold and green-gold shades. With satiny surface texture and a noteworthy lack of grade-limiting abrasions, this beautiful near-Gem comes highly recommended for both the Southern gold specialist and the advanced numismatic investor. As the only Type 2 gold dollar from the Dahlonega Mint, the 1855-D is an understandably popular coin among collectors. It is also a very rare issue, the original mintage being a mere 1,811 pieces and the total number of survivors probably numbering no more than 70-80 distinct examples. Conditionally rare starting at the Choice EF grade level, Condition Census begins in AU55. The 1855-D is the overall rarest Dahlonega Mint gold dollar after only the 1861-D, and it is prime condition rarity in the D-mint portion of this series. Supposedly because it was smaller and thicker than should have been, Mint Director Colonel James Ross Snowden ordered the gold dollar redesigned in 1854 to accomodate an increase in diameter to 15 millimeters. Although Chief Engraver Longacre dutifully carried out this request, his work caused striking problems on this occasion. His Type 2 designs were difficult to strike and wore down rapidly in circulation. These deficiencies affected all issues of this type, and they resulted in its replacement by the Type 3 pieces in 1856 (1857 for the San Francisco Mint). Due to its brevity, there are only six issues in the Type 2 gold dollar series: 1854, 1855, 1855-C, 1855-D, 1855-O, and 1856-S. The '55-D is by far the rarest, followed by the '55-C, '56-S and '55-O. Even the "common" 1854 and 1855 are relatively scarce coins in an absolute sense that are quite rare in Mint State from a market availability standpoint. The true origins of the gold dollar as a denomination lie in John Marshall's discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill in 1848. Although a coin of this face value had been proposed on several occasions in the past, and the Bechtlers actually struck examples in North Carolina beginning in the 1830s, Congress did not authorize the United States Mint to produce gold dollars until March 3, 1849. The primary reason Congress finally relented in that year was because the immense quantities of gold being mined in California forced silver coins out of circulation. Since few people in the United States of the late 1840s/early 1850s placed much trust in paper currency, the gold dollar was seen a logical replacement for the now-absent silver coinage in commercial channels. This denomination remained in production from 1849-1889, during which time it appeared in three distinct types. The abolition of the gold dollar was included as part of the Mint Act of September 25, 1890, and it probably resulted from the (by then) long-established unpopularity of the denomination as a circulating medium of exchange. Many issues in this series are scarce, if not rare, chief among which are the 1849-C Open Wreath, 1855-D, 1856-D and 1861-D. Pop 3; none finer. Tied for finest graded at either service. (PCGS # 7534) . Estimated Value $100,000 - 120,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 1333		1856 $1 Gold Indian. Upright 5. NGC graded MS-63. Frosty and delicately toned. The features are slightly rounded while some of the rim dentils are softly impressed by the dies. Smooth, problem free surfaces devoide of all by a couple of tiny marks. No tarnish spots, either. This is the first year of the Large Head Indian gold dollar Type 3 design. Pop 19; 16 finer, 13 in 64, 3 in 65 (PCGS # 7541) . Estimated Value $600 - 650. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 1334		1862 $1 Gold Indian. PCGS graded MS-65. Rich golden sunset toning on both sides. A sleek Gem. In an old green label holder. A beautifully preserved gold-surfaced coin whose high-end depth of detail in the strike complements the equally fresh mint bloom. Where an ineffectual imprint is sometimes left by the rebound of the dies that struck this denomination's coinage, the opposite is in fact the case here: devices show crystal clarity and abnormal detail in the centers. Bidders be warned, you may face stiff competition. With the nation torn apart by Civil War in 1861-65, the coinage of gold dollars first increased in 1861-62 as depositors rushed to turn their bullion and foreign gold coins into standard issues, and then once the supply coming into the mint ceased, production tumbled for the duration of the war (1863-65). Struck during an historic time in our history. Pop 74; 30 finer (PCGS # 7560) . Estimated Value $1,800 - 1,900. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $2,013
Lot 1335		1874 $1 Gold Indian. NGC graded MS-65. A lustrous Gem that has fresh golden color that shoots out beams of radiance, plus a decent, if not exceptional, strike that is typical for this year's coinage. 198,800 minted. Pop 114; 87 finer. (PCGS # 7575) . Estimated Value $1,900 - 2,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,725
Lot 1336		1883 $1 Gold Indian. NGC graded MS-67 Deep Prooflike. A flashy untoned deep mirror prooflike example. "It is not all gold that glareth" says Geoffrey Chaucer, but he probably wasn't looking at this gorgeous Gold Dollar struck in the year 1883. Nicely struck, and unlike those which have the faintest touch of weakness at the central and lower hair waves and on the feather puffs, this exemplary coin is bold. 10,800 pieces struck. Pop 2; none finer at NGC. Estimated Value $5,000 - 5,500. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $4,485
Lot 1337		Antique gold and diamond safety pin. Consists of 2 holed 1855 gold type 2 dollars and a small rose cut diamond all mounted into a pin that is still usable. Estimated Value $150 - 170. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $252