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Sale 59
Pre-Long Beach Coin and Currency Auction
| Lot |
Photo |
Description |
Realized |
Lot 586 |
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1783 Washington token. "UNITY STATES" Breen-1188. PCGS graded MS-60 Brown. Very attractive glossy light chocolate and steel brown. Underlying satiny mint luster covers the fields and protected areas. The usually seen impressed gridwork or file marks that were added near the edges of the planchets are nearly absent from this example. Only a few light diagonal marks under the date are present, and the strike is well above average for this popular Washington variety. This is a premium example in every respect. Pop 1; 10 finer (PCGS # 689) .
Estimated Value $1,000-UP.
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| Realized
$1,380 |
Lot 587 |
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1783 Washington token. "UNITY STATES" Breen-1188. PCGS graded VF-35. Medium brown and olive with a half dozen small spots of reddish chocolate toning on the obverse. A small carbon spot at the bust tip and a shallow planchet lamination slanting through the second S in STATES are the notable defects. The date and legends are complete and strong, which is not always the case with this variety thanks to the grid or file lines that were purposely added to the planchets to simulate circulation wear (wear was an indicator that the coin was acceptable in commerce) (PCGS # 689) .
Estimated Value $150-UP.
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| Realized
$240 |
Lot 588 |
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(1792) Washington Born Virginia in Silver with Plain Edge Breen-1240 Baker-60A Whitman-10740 NGC graded XF Details, improperly cleaned. Glossy dark grayish silver with lighter silvery gray toning on the highpoints. The surfaces are smooth and attractive, but a glass reveals some fine hairline scratches on both sides, strongest in the field before the portrait. None of these marks is visible without the aid of a glass and the eye appeal of this piece remains quite nice. The best identifying marks are a small nick hidden in the dentils over the G in VIRGINIA and a minor rim bruise at the bottom of the obverse (both marks clearly identifying this piece as the John Roper coin). Struck using the second reverse die, as are all the known pieces struck in silver. These were designed and struck as patterns for a copper cent and silver half dollar for our new country. About a half dozen examples are known in silver, and all but two of those were holed and plugged. The piece being offered here is one of the two "unholed" examples. Breen said it had never been holed and the Stack's catalog for the 1983 Roper sale said so as well. However, in our opinion it was holed (between the N and B above the head, just like on the "holed" examples). The hole was small and did not affect any of the design elements, and the plug repair was done with such exceptional skill that it is virtually undetectable. This leads us to suspect that the other "unholed" silver piece may be similarly repaired, but that is only a guess at this point. Regardless, the piece offered here is the finest example of this extremely rare Washington item, clearly finer than the Garrett and Robison examples (Norweb didn't have one in silver, and Ford had one with a lettered edge). A rare opportunity, indeed.
Estimated Value $10,000-UP.
Ex John L. Roper II, Stack's 12/8/83:402.
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| Realized
$66,125 |
Lot 589 |
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(1792) Washington Born Virginia in Copper Breen-1239 Baker-60 NGC graded VF Details, corrosion. Slightly glossy dark steel and olive brown. No marks or verdigris, but the surfaces are covered with fine to moderate roughness, strongest over VIRG. The legends are nearly complete, the only weakness on the two dates in the center of the reverse, as usual. Struck using the second reverse die. A decent albeit imperfect example of this popular Washington item.
Estimated Value $1,500-UP.
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| Unsold |
Lot 590 |
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1795 Washington Grate Halfpenny with Small Buttons Breen-1270. NGC graded AU-50. Glossy dark chocolate and olive brown with splashes of lighter brown and chocolate on both sides. No marks or verdigris, but there are traces of extremely fine roughness near the rim on the left edge of the obverse. Sharply struck. LONDON, which is often weak on this variety, is complete and strong on this example. Pop 2; 6 finer.
Estimated Value $150-UP.
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| Realized
$661 |
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