Goldberg Coins and Collectibles

Sale 62

The Pre-Long Beach Coin and Currency Auction

$20.00 Gold

Lot	Photo	Description	Realized
Lot 2214		1851-O. Sharpness of AU-50. Looks like this coin was in the ground for a long time as it has a somewhat matte-like appearance. A short scratch on the face. Generally smooth surfaces and enough detail on the main central designs to indicate that it spent very little time in circulation. Some of the outer peripheral devices were weakly impressed by the dies as often occurred in New Orleans double eagles from the 1850s and 1860s. Estimated Value $3,000 - 3,300. View details and enlarged photos	Unsold
Lot 2215		1851-O. Sharpness of AU-50. Numerous marks in the fields, yet it still has the unmistakeable allure of a double eagle struck at the Southern mint at New Orleans, Louisiana. The mint was established in 1838 to supply the fast-growing region with a dependable medium of exchange. Double eagles like the 1851-O presented here often were paid out to foreigners for imports received at the port of New Orleans. The Mississippi River (and New Orleans, its chief port) were famous in the 1850s for their paddle wheel steamboats. On a voyage to New Orleans down the Mississippi in the later 1850s, the steamboat pilot, Horace E. Bixby, inspired his passenger, Samuel L. Clemens (later calling himself "Mark Twain") to pursue a career as a steamboat pilot like Bixby himself; it was a richly rewarding occupation with wages set at $250 per month, equivalent to $150,000+ a year today. A steamboat pilot needed a vast knowledge of the ever-changing river to be able to stop at any of the hundreds of ports and wood-lots along the river banks. The future author meticulously began to study 2,000 miles (3,200 km) of the Mississippi for more than two years before he received his steamboat pilot license. While training, Clemens convinced his younger brother Henry to work with him. Henry was killed on June 21, 1858, when the steamboat he was working on, the Pennsylvania, exploded. Twain had foreseen this death in a detailed dream a month earlier, which inspired an interest in parapsychology. Twain was guilt-stricken over his brother's death and held himself responsible for the rest of his life. However, he continued to work on the river and served as a river pilot until the American Civil War broke out in 1861 and traffic along the Mississippi was curtailed. Estimated Value $3,000 - 3,300. View details and enlarged photos	Unsold
Lot 2216		1851-O. NGC graded XF Details, improperly cleaned. Still a decent looking example with all the finer details evident and complete stars. A few marks on the cheek (PCGS # 8905) . Estimated Value $1,800 - 1,900. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $2,415
Lot 2217		1852-O $20 Liberty. Sharpness of AU-50. However some stains on both sides. Perhaps from a ship wreck. Mintage: 190,000. Estimated Value $2,700 - 2,800. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $2,760
Lot 2218		1855. NGC graded AU-55. Delicate golden-orange toning (PCGS # 8914) . Estimated Value $1,700 - 1,800. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $3,105
Lot 2219		1857-S $20 Liberty S.S. Central America 20B Bold S SSCA 0730. PCGS graded MS-65. Gold foil tag. Well struck and beaming. We cannot overstate the importance of the present lot among advanced gold specialists. The 1857-S S.S. Central America hoard has long enjoyed a place of honor in U.S. numismatics as containing some of the most beautiful gold coins in the world. In the popular and widely collected Liberty double eagle series these stand out from afar. The vast majority of these coins have vibrant luster, bright and gleaming to one degree or another. Many are choice; a few are gem survivors, with today's market buyer preferring the Gems where possible. Gems are of the utmost beauty. This piece has a splendid "look" for an S-mint 1857-S double eagle struck. This lovely Gem possesses ample evidence of having received a powerful strike from the dies. Both sides are fully lustrous with a rich, frosty texture that highlights the undeniably original, variegated orange-gold color. Comes with the original box by the distributor. Estimated Value $9,500 - 10,000. The Wayne Fowler Estate. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $13,800
Lot 2220		1859-S. NGC graded AU-50. The letters in "Liberty" are doubled, an interesting artifact of the die making process. In 1859, a new "Rush" started in the West, this time following the discovery of the Comstock gold, silver, and lead deposits in Nevada City. Production levels were high at the San Francisco Mint. However, most $20 gold pieces saw heavy circulation which limits the available supply of nice AU pieces like the coin being offered (PCGS # 8928) . Estimated Value $1,600 - 1,700. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $2,645
Lot 2221		1863-S. NGC graded EF-40. Desirable Civil War date but struck in an area of the country where the winds of war weren't felt by the inhabitants. Whereas gold and silver coins went into hiding in the wartorn Eastern states, Out West, life went on pretty much as before. California's gold fields had passed their prime but new discoveries of gold (and silver) in Nevada -- the Comstock Lode -- were coming on stream in 1863 (PCGS # 8940) . Estimated Value $1,400 - 1,450. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,840
Lot 2222		1864-S. PCGS graded MS-62. Well struck and quite lustrous with plenty of frosty mint luster. A choice example with very few marks and certainly worthy of a MS-63 grade thus our Premium Quality designation. Small S examples are currently in the minority among the 1864-S Double Eagles. Also in the minority are coins that grade at or above the Mint State level, their number totaling fewer than you would think for both mintmark varieties despite shipwreck discoveries. Not only is this Choice BU example the of the Small S Double Eagle varieties, but it is also comfortably within the Condition Census for the issue as a whole. Striking deficiencies typically plague extant '64-S Double Eagles. That said, we note that the coin in this lot is generally well struck. A few of the obverse star centers, as well as some isolated highpoints on both sides, are a bit softly defined, but not extensively so for the issue. Satin-to-softly frosted reddish pink luster serves to enhance the eye appeal. None of the usual abrasions for this grade, which is a blessing, this coin is worthy of inclusion in the choicest collection of Liberty Double Eagles. The 1864-S was produced to the extent of 793,660 pieces. Like the 1863-S, the coin's rarity has been altered since the discovery of 108 examples in the S.S. Brother Jonathan treasure. According to Doug Winter and Adam Crum (2002), at least three dozen of those coins grade MS-60 through MS-63 at the two major certification services. As of September 16, 2004, Odyssey has recovered 167 additional pieces from the wreck of the S.S. Republic. Pop 11; 3 finer in 63. Privately purchased from a South American collection and graded several years ago (PCGS # 8942) . Estimated Value $13,000 - 15,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $18,975
Lot 2223		1865-S. PCGS graded MS-63 PQ. Brother Jonathan 781. A nice frosty uncirculated example. The 1865-S Brother Jonathan group is a perennially favorite issue in the Liberty head series. It is also extremely difficult to locate in pieces now that most have found homes in major collections. This is one of the finer looking specimens, albeit in modest MS63 but with qualities that send it to the front of the line. An almost magnificent coin, it has softly frosted mint luster and each side (but more so the reverse), shows a lively interplay of peach-colored orange-gold to bright reddish-pink patina. Sharply defined throughout, there are a few small, insignificant luster grazes in the fields but only trivial marks seen, and these mostly require a glass to find. It may be awhile before a similar choice grade 1865-S twenty such as this is again offered for sale at public auction (PCGS # 8944) . The Deep Sea Research group of entrepreneurs found and recovered 1,207 coins from the wreck of the Brother Jonathan, mostly in the form of 1865-S double eagles. Today, these are available in frosty Mint State grades. That source has also made a few Gem-quality examples available to collectors, although their number is currently limited to just a handful of MS65 and MS66 pieces. As such, the 1865 is, while not rare, considered one of the most historic offerings available to American numismatists. Estimated Value $6,500 - 7,000. The Wayne Fowler Estate. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $12,650
Lot 2224		1872-S. PCGS graded EF-45. Lovely golden toning. An attractive golden double eagle from the Golden State, the home to the 19th century Gold Rush and struck from locally mined ores. Well struck for the issue; typical surface marks from circulation. Traces of luster around the letters (PCGS # 8965) . Estimated Value $1,400 - 1,450. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,610
Lot 2225		1873. Open 3. PCGS graded MS-62. Well struck and frosty. Lovely reddish and golden toning. A wonderful choice coin for this grade and a coin that exhibits lovely rolling "cartwheel" luster from center to periphery. A few blemishes are limited to a mark at Liberty's cheek, some scuffs in the frost near stars 3-5 and below stars 7-9. Also, there is some very light abrasion on inside IN GOD WE TRUST on the reverse. In days gone by, these $20 gold pieces weren't collected as numismatic items but were used simply and exclusively as bullion for payment of goods and services rendered or due. The odds were against it but this piece remained uncirculated. How and why are best described as "just one of those mysteries of life." (PCGS # 8967) . Estimated Value $2,400 - 2,500. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $2,300
Lot 2226		1873. Open 3. NGC graded MS-62. Frosty and untoned. Housed in an Old Holder. Some obverse marks including a depression line in the hair waves around the ear. Very frosty for the date; these turned up in small bank groups over the years and have pleasing luster, all will agree. Pop 682; 62 finer (PCGS # 8967) . Estimated Value $2,400 - 2,500. The Wayne Fowler Estate. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $2,645
Lot 2227		1873. Open 3. NGC graded MS-61. Normal quotient of bagmarks and one or two slight rim bruises. Of the 1866-76 Type 2 dates, 1873 is the one most often seen (and available) in Mint condition. Coins of 1873 were made with Closed 3 in the date and Open 3 in the date. A quick glance at the 1873 Closed 3 date, made early in the year, resembled "1878," as the knobs on the 3 were close together. The more common Open 3 1873 $20 was created by filing away most of the bottom knob on the 3 of the date logotype and trimming the knob to a smaller size; dies punched with this modified date logotype are called Open 3 (PCGS # 8967) . Estimated Value $1,600 - 1,700. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,840
Lot 2228		1873. Open 3. NGC graded MS-61. Nice and frosty with antique golden orange toning. Scattered bagmarks as always, with some minor scuffs in the bright frost in the field near stars 3 to 6. There is also a little mark above the eagle's head. This issue comes well frosted (PCGS # 8967) . Estimated Value $1,600 - 1,700. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $2,013
Lot 2229		1873. Open 3. VF-35. We note a light rim bump. Estimated Value $1,200 - 1,250. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $1,466
Lot 2230		1873-CC. NGC graded AU-55. Attractive original toning. An splendid original coin. And a marvel of well struck workmanship exhibiting lustrous frosty mint surfaces with occasional light wear on it from the short time in circulation. Only 22,410 were struck. To put this coin in its proper perspective, it is a boldly struck example of the early and rare Carson City Mint issue of 1873, a coin that exhibits original patina and has rolling original surfaces from edge to edge. The few blemishes are limited to scattered marks, none unnerving. $20 gold pieces weren't collected by numismatists in those days. Instead, they were used in bullion transactions between banks and exporters/importers, also for payment of goods and services rendered or due. For some inexplicable reason, this attractive coin survived in About Uncirculated condition, choice and uncleaned. How and why are best left to those who can read Tea Leaves. Everybody with a numismatic background knows how difficult this date is to obtain. 1873-CC is a very rare year for any coin denomination from Carson City. Collectors universally avow its importance. But what do we know about the year itself? Without some historical point of reference, what is this, after all, but simply another rare coin? Yet the '73-CC is a lot more than that. In 1873, President Ulysses S. Grant was in his final term as President, a hard Panic in the summer and fall of 1873 upset the applecart. The 1870s were a decade of rogues called Carpetbaggers. Railroad tycoons were picking the pockets of the unsuspecting taxpayers. President Grant probably had the cancer which would end his life in 1885 -- one of the ravages of the war he had helped the Union to win. For numismatists today, of course, this important year signaled the passage of the Coinage Act of 1873, in which hard-money gold currency advocates convinced the Congress to demonetize silver. Out West, which concerns us most here, new railroads were snaking across the landscape. The year before (1872) a deadly plague had attacked horses, killing or sickening millions of them (the now-forgotten Great Epizootic of 1872). The invention of barbed wire was still a year off (1874) while the Indian Wars occupied the energies of William Tecumseh Sherman, late of the U.S. Army, an Indian hater to the last drop, who would soon engender blowback on the Army in the personage of a remarkable Native American commander calling himself Crazy Horse (1876). Verily, 1873 was a busy year! To paraphrase a line from Indiana Jones: this 1873-CC double eagle isn't just passing through history, it IS history! Pop 78; 109 finer (PCGS # 8968) . Estimated Value $14,000 - 15,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 2231		1874. VF-35. Light to moderate handling marks. Estimated Value $1,200 - 1,250. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $1,351
Lot 2232		1874-S. NGC graded AU-58. A brilliant untoned example. Lustrous. A small mark in the hair below the ear (PCGS # 8972) . Estimated Value $1,250 - 1,300. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,409
Lot 2233		1874-S. EF-40. Estimated Value $1,200 - 1,250. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $1,351
Lot 2234		1875. EF-40. Light to moderate handling marks. Estimated Value $1,200 - 1,250. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $1,351
Lot 2235		1876. NGC graded MS-63. Nice original mint color. While 1876 is not especially rare in the absolute sense it is scarce to find one above MS62. Sharply defined in all areas including stars and hair, the surfaces radiate the usual frosted mint luster common to Type 2 Philly Mint products, and the coin is unquestionably original with lovely, light pinkish-golden patina over each side. It has some normal bagmarks associated with this Type and grade, though none which require special mention. Pop 43; 10 finer in 64 (PCGS # 8976) . We pick two events from numerous choices to illustrate the American scene the year this $20 gold piece was minted: In 1876, Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" was published, sold by subscription, and became a best seller. (It was banned by the Denver Public Library.) And for the sports fan, baseball's National League was founded. Before the organization of the National League, amateur games were riddled with extralegal practices such as bribery and betting. The creation of professional teams with the founding of the National League in 1876, subject to one set of enforceable rules, formalized the American pastime. Extralegal practices such as bribery have lessened, but muscle enhancement drugs and bettiing are still around. Estimated Value $9,000 - 10,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $7,475
Lot 2236		1876. PCGS graded MS-61. Quite lustrous with brilliant golden color with a minor scuff in the hair above the hair bun. Crisply detailed. This year is famous in U.S. history for the disputed presidential election similar to the one in 2000. The voting of 1876 resulted in a political dispute of serious proportions. Rutherford B. Hayes, Republican, had 184 undisputed votes, Samuel J. Tilden, Democrat, 165, with twenty from South Carolina, Louisiana, Florida, and Oregon, in dispute. Tilden needed them all to be elected. Eventually, an electoral commission of fifteen men was appointed by Congress to decide the issue. On this there were eight Republicans and seven Democrats. Its decision was along strictly party lines, and Hayes became President (PCGS # 8976) . Estimated Value $1,600 - 1,700. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,955
Lot 2237		1876. NGC graded AU-53. Lightly toned and a lustrous example (PCGS # 8976) . Estimated Value $1,200 - 1,250. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,351
Lot 2238		1876-CC. NGC graded AU-55. Lightly toned with reflective surfaces, the quality is above average in its avoidance of the often-seen bagmarks and abraded condition of most lesser grade '76-CC double eagles. That said, this also displays extensive luster within the devices, a definitive positive for all serious bidders. Centennial Year (PCGS # 8977) . Estimated Value $2,500 - 2,600. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $3,220
Lot 2239		1876-S. NGC graded MS-61. Rich golden color. Final year for the desirable Type 2 motif, the last time the denomination is abbrievated as TWENTY D. From 1877 until the end of the series in 1907, the denomination is fully spelled out (PCGS # 8978) . Estimated Value $1,600 - 1,700. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $2,013
Lot 2240		1876-S. EF-40. We note some marks about the rims. Estimated Value $1,200 - 1,250. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $1,380
Lot 2241		1877-S. AU-50. Light to moderate handling marks on both sides. Estimated Value $1,200 - 1,250. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $1,380
Lot 2242		1878. EF-40. Toned. Estimated Value $1,200 - 1,250. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $1,351
Lot 2243		1878-S. EF-45. Light to moderate handling marks on both sides. Estimated Value $1,200 - 1,250. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $1,380
Lot 2244		1879-CC. NGC graded AU-55. Lightly toned. As the relentless pursuit for rarities increases, the relative mintage figures might suggest, the 1879-CC (10,708 pieces produced) is rarer than the 1878-CC (13,180 pieces produced). In About Uncirculated, however, the disparity between these two issues shrinks to insignificance, as neither date has more than five coins extant in grades above the AU level of preservation (per Winter, 1994). The present '79-CC example qualifies for Condition Census status, we feel. This is a colorful representative with reddish-gold overtones and deeply set, lustrous highlights on Liberty as well as the eagle. The strike is as close to full as one should expect for the issue, the luster is pleasingly frosty in texture, we want to emphasize. Not easily identifiable since marks are obscure and do not catch your eye, but there is one small reeding mark in the field above the left wing of the eagle. Pop 53; 56 finer (PCGS # 8989) . Estimated Value $11,000 - 12,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 2245		1882-S. VF-30. Scattered marks from normal circulation. Estimated Value $1,200 - 1,250. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $1,380
Lot 2246		1883-S. NGC graded AU-58. Natural pinkish color mint luster (PCGS # 9000) . Estimated Value $1,250 - 1,300. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,438
Lot 2247		1884-CC. PCGS graded AU-58. A nice frosty example. Only 81,139 pieces struck. A satiny frosty AU with warm gold toned surfaces that include bright areas in the hard-working luster beneath. Some weakness of strike is sometimes seen on CC-mint dates, but this isn't the case here, the coin is bold throughout, including the 13 obverse stars (PCGS # 9001) . Estimated Value $2,900 - 3,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $4,140
Lot 2248		1884-S. AU-50. Estimated Value $1,200 - 1,250. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $1,380
Lot 2249		1885-CC. PCGS graded AU-58. Lovely rich golden toning. Only 9,450 struck. If the 1882-CC to 1884-CC issues are encountered with some frequency in coin auctions, this isn't the case with the much scarcer 1885-CC $20. Well struck with natural surfaces on both sides. A very scarce twenty in upper AU condition. The original coinage total was gives an hint of the rarity of this date. A few small abrasions and scuffs, none of which are large enough to be mentioned. A desirable coin in this grade. Pop 25; 29 finer (PCGS # 9004) . Estimated Value $9,000 - 10,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $14,663
Lot 2250		1885-CC. PCGS graded EF-45. Some scattered marks here and there with a hint of light tone. Luster present in the devices. Only 9,450 struck of this scarce date (PCGS # 9004) . Estimated Value $3,500 - 3,700. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $4,888
Lot 2251		1885-S. PCGS graded MS-62. Nice light gold toning as on the $10 pieces, and again a lustrous example (PCGS # 9005) . Estimated Value $1,800 - 1,850. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $2,645
Lot 2252		1885-S. PCGS graded AU-58. Lovely orange toning and lustrous (PCGS # 9005) . Estimated Value $1,400 - 1,450. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,495
Lot 2253		1885-S. PCGS graded AU-58. Light gold toning, another frosty specimen which has only slight friction on the high points (PCGS # 9005) . Estimated Value $1,400 - 1,450. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,438
Lot 2254		1888-S. AU-58. Light hairlines from an old cleaning. Estimated Value $1,200 - 1,250. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $1,438
Lot 2255		1889-S. NGC graded AU-58. Light pinkish toning (PCGS # 9012) . Estimated Value $1,200 - 1,250. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,380
Lot 2256		1892-S. PCGS graded MS-61. Reflective surfaces and bright, a pleasing S-mint twenty from this period (PCGS # 9021) . Estimated Value $1,500 - 1,550. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,610
Lot 2257		1892-S. AU-50. Some mint luster remains. Estimated Value $1,200 - 1,250. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $1,438
Lot 2258		1893. PCGS graded MS-62+. Lightly toned and frosty (PCGS # 9022) . Estimated Value $1,600 - 1,700. The Dr. Charles Richman Collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,955
Lot 2259		1894. NGC graded MS-60. The 1890s were sometimes referred to as the "Mauve Decade," because William Henry Perkin's aniline dye allowed the widespread use of that colour in fashion, and also as the "Gay Nineties", under the then-current usage of the word "gay" which referred simply to merriment and frivolity, without the connotations in present-day usage. The phrase, "The Gay Nineties," was first used in 1926, however (PCGS # 9025) . Estimated Value $1,300 - 1,350. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,380
Lot 2260		1895. NGC graded AU-58. Quite frosty (PCGS # 9027) . Estimated Value $1,200 - 1,250. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,500
Lot 2261		1895-S. NGC graded AU-55 (PCGS # 9028) . Estimated Value $1,200 - 1,250. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,409
Lot 2262		1896-S. PCGS graded MS-62. Housed in an Old Green Holder. Nice even gold toning. A lustrous S-mint issue (PCGS # 9030) . Estimated Value $1,550 - 1,600. The Wayne Fowler Estate. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,955
Lot 2263		1897. PCGS graded MS-62. Quite frosty if slightly bagmarked. There is a little impurity spot by the 13th star (PCGS # 9031) . Estimated Value $1,450 - 1,500. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,783

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