Goldberg Coins and Collectibles

Sale 62

The Pre-Long Beach Coin and Currency Auction

$20.00 Gold

Lot	Photo	Description	Realized
Lot 2314		1920. NGC graded MS-65. A well struck frosty untoned example exhibiting light mint bloom colors. Very rare date in this high grade. The 1920 double eagle is of relatively low mintage (228,250), and yet examples are readily available and thousands have been certified up to MS63 quality. This issue heralds the 1920s, a decade in which Philadelphia coins from 1922 to 1928 are very common (especially 1924 and 1928), but where many scarce to rare mintmarked varieties are in the wings. Condition rarity is the key here. To reiterate, whereas the 1920 is available through MS63, it becomes more challenging at the near-Gem level. Then, in Gem condition, the 1920 is one of the most, if not the most widely respected condition rarities in the entire series of Saint-Gaudens double eagles. In Mint State 65, only eight have been so graded (one by PCGS, and seven by NGC) with none finer at either service. This is an absolutely grand coin whose rich mint frost and natural color accents the bold design elements. Devices on both sides are well defined, as demonstrated by the detail on the Capitol building, on Liberty's eyes and lips, her hands and toes, the olive branch, etc. Not to be overlooked is a strong bold eagle: plumage, flight feathers, tail feathers. A few trivial marks fall well within the dimensions of the MS65 grade. Minute abrasions include one on the nose and another at the top of the torch hand -- these may aid in identifying this particular specimen. We see it as a rare opportunity for the specialist, no two ways about it. For the collector who wants a stunning certified Gem 1920 Saint, this is the chance of a lifetime to obtain this date. Pop 7; none finer (PCGS # 9170) . Estimated Value $40,000 - 45,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 2315		1920. PCGS graded MS-63. Frosty with lovely pinkish to rose gold accents around Liberty. This date becomes prohibitively expensive in Gem condition; most collectors are well satisfied with a choice lustrous coin such as the present offering (PCGS # 9170) . Estimated Value $1,500 - 1,550. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,840
Lot 2316		1920-S. PCGS graded MS-64. In a new PCGS shield holder. Well struck and frosty with hues of golden-orange and olive. We are pleased as can be to have been awarded this extremely rare coin for auction. Throw away the mintage figures since, of the 558,000 struck, perhaps no more than a few score survive today in all grades. The rest were melted or otherwise lost. This date is so rare that Breen estimated the number to survive at 8-12 when he compiled the information for his Encyclopedia in the 1970s (the book was published in 1988). Today, with the advantage of the PCGS and NGC Population Reports a fair number (but not a large number) have been graded by PCGS and NGC services. The census no doubt includes some duplication between them, so the total might be adjusted downward. This attractive MS64 is one of the best, as PCGS reports only 13 this high, with four graded higher! Carefully struck for the date, with full details on the devices, and just a minor scattering of ticks limiting this from full gem status. Identifiable by a small above the 20 in the date and another, among several, below the lowermost leaves of the branch in Liberty's outstretched hand. Also a couple of parallel scuffs on the upper curve of one wing on the reverse. Booming luster and a wonderful example for the specialist to purchase for a date set. One of the centerpieces among the double eagle offerings in this sale, we feel it is destined for similar distinction in an advanced collection of this beautifully rendered gold series. Pop 10; 1 in 64+, 4 in 65, 2 in 66 (PCGS # 9171) . The history of this 1920-S issue is sad but interesting. As is the case with other $20 gold pieces struck during the Roaring 'Twenties and early 'Thirties, mainly these were stored in bank vaults as backing for checking account deposits and Gold Certificates, the principal "hard money" back then. Gold $20s and gold bars were also the principal export medium in hard-money specie payments for imports. People have forgotten that under a gold standard (which ended in 1933), paper money and checking deposits weren't money at all but were commonly termed "money substitutes" or "promised money" payable on demand in the monetary metal. They were described as such in the college textbooks. All went fairly well but with emerging distress in the system when, at the depths of the Great Depression, a February to March 1933 banking panic caused the Roosevelt administration to withdraw gold from circulation. The amount withdrawn is estimated at $2.8 billion (or approximately. $130 billion at today's gold price). Whatever coins resided in the banks and at the various sub-Treasury buildings around the country were transferred to the government's account. In their place were issued Series of 1929 Federal Reserve Bank Notes. Numismatists may remember these from their brown seal and serial numbers. These had the backing of The Full Faith and Credit of the Government instead of hard assets. (Most 1920-S twenties that weren't exported from this group now owned by the government were melted beginning in 1937, to be turned into heavy 400-oz. "Coin-Gold" .900 Fine bars that are today stored in such depositories as Fort Knox. Gold ownership was re-legalized in January 1975, through an act of congress.). Estimated Value $120,000-UP. Ex Hesselgesser Collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 2317		1921. NGC graded MS-61. Lovely golden toning. A popular key date. Frosty Mint quality and just shy of the Choice category. This bold example of the rare 1921 issue has full bright yellow-gold luster with a normal wisp of pinkish red to enhance the coin, the luster illustrating the memorable cartwheel display. A few scattered marks are to be found on the obverse, while the reverse boasts a suitable satin-like and more mark-free surface. We note a faint line in the color at the eagle's beak. A mintage of 528,500 pieces would seem to make the 1921 a fairly affordable issue compared to similar-mintage years in the series; one thing differentiates it, however, the coin was produced in the depths of a short, sharp post-World War I business depression. Like other dates in the series, much of this issue was stored in banks, at the Federal Reserve, or in U.S. Treasury vaults. Presumably these met the same fate in 1933-37 as so many millions of other $20 gold pieces, they were melted. In terms overall rarity, the 1921 is considered fourth rarest in the Saint-Gaudens double eagle series after the 1907 Ultra High Relief, 1927-D, and 1933. This issue is difficult to locate in Mint State, more so than even the 1930-S and 1931-D. That makes this an offering of significant importance to 20th century gold collectors. Again, both sides display original golden patina and swirling luster. Pop 16; 20 finer (PCGS # 9172) . 1921 is the year President Warren Gamaliel Harding (1921-23) took office as the 29th President of the United States. He was a decent man of reasonable talents say some. He held poker games in the White House twice a week, historians note. And whenever he got a chance, he sneaked away to a burlesque show. The ladies loved him; he returned the favor. These pastimes seemed enough for the man; they helped him bear up in his eminent role and keep him from wanting to do anything. Another saving grace was that Harding neither thought nor spoke clearly enough for anyone to figure out what he was saying. He couldn't rally the troops and get them behind his ideas; he had none. And even if he tried, they wouldn't comprehend him. H.L. Mencken, the social commentator and political gadfly of the twenties, preserved a bit of what he called "Gamalielese," just to hold it up to ridicule: "I would like government to do all it can to mitigate, then, in understanding in mutuality of interest, in concern for the common good, our tasks will be solved." The sentence is so idiotic and meaningless, it could have come from the mouths of any of our recent high officials. But the crowds seemed to like the way Harding delivered it. He said it with such solid conviction, it "was like a blacksmith bringing down a hammer on an egg," says Mencken. Estimated Value $90,000 - 100,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 2318		1923-D. PCGS graded MS-66. Beautiful reddish-golden mint bloom colors on both sides. From center to periphery the intense flood of luster glows. The '23-D Saint has memorable luster, full and satiny as many of these trace to original European hoards taken out of the country in the 1930s during the world banking and political crisesback then. It appears that a few American coin dealers with the blood-hound tracking sense of a Sherlock Holmes, discovered them in European bank vaults and were able to acquire them for their customers back home. We feel assured that we have them to thank for this handsome offering (PCGS # 9176) . Estimated Value $2,500 - 2,600. The William Pannier Estate. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $3,105
Lot 2319		1924. NGC graded MS-67. Well struck with lovely golden toning. Pristine golden fields stream light out in every direction. As far as the strike goes, putting the results in a few words we can say it was struck with systematic exactness throughout. A measure of its beauty can be gotten from the supplied photos. But the best way to appreciate this coin's beauty and striking bold relief is from first-hand observation with or without a magnifying glass. It is genuinely Superb. Pop 151; 4 finer (PCGS # 9177) . Estimated Value $7,500 - 8,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $8,338
Lot 2320		1924. PCGS graded MS-65. Housed in an Old Green Holder. A nice light gold example, frosty and marvelous appearing (PCGS # 9177) . Estimated Value $2,000 - 2,100. The Wayne Fowler Estate. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $2,128
Lot 2321		1924. PCGS graded MS-64 PQ. Housed in a First Generation Holder. A lovely coin (PCGS # 9177) . Estimated Value $1,700 - 1,750. The Wayne Fowler Estate. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,783
Lot 2322		1924. PCGS graded MS-64. Housed in a First Generation Holder. Lightly toned (PCGS # 9177) . Estimated Value $1,650 - 1,700. The Wayne Fowler Estate. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,955
Lot 2323		1924. PCGS graded MS-64. Housed in a First Generation Holder. Nicely toned (PCGS # 9177) . Estimated Value $1,650 - 1,700. The Wayne Fowler Estate. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,783
Lot 2324		1924. PCGS graded MS-64. Housed in a First Generation Holder. Nice toning and well struck (PCGS # 9177) . Estimated Value $1,650 - 1,700. The Wayne Fowler Estate. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,955
Lot 2325		1924. Sharpness of EF-40. Cleaned. Housed in a custom 14kt gold rope mounting. Estimated Value $1,500 - 1,600. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $1,639
Lot 2326		1924. NGC graded MS-63. Frosty (PCGS # 9177) . Estimated Value $1,500 - 1,550. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,696
Lot 2327		1924-S. NGC graded Unc Details, improperly cleaned. We note some contact marks about the rims and faint hairlines due to cleaning (PCGS # 9179) . Estimated Value $2,200 - 2,400. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $2,128
Lot 2328		1925-S. NGC graded MS-65. An untoned frosty mint example of this rare date. Like the 1924-S, the 1925-S also had its rarity ranking realigned since the mid-20th century after the emergence of a few small groups overseas. While both dates are popular with advanced collectors in this series, the edge in high grades clearly goes to the 1925-S. We have not offered a Gem for awhile. Typically well impressed for the issue, the devices rise boldly and prominently above the fields with solid reference definition at the face on Liberty, her knee, her toes, the gown folds, and, switching to the reverse, throughout the eagle's breast plumage and trailing wing feathers. There is much more we could write about the sharp devices, but this will suffice. As for the luster, this too is special: frosty in quality, and the surfaces are bathed in vivid original reddish-gold color. A shallow diagonal mark is present on Liberty's chest; also seen, a couple of similar diagonal ticks on the upper curve of one wing of the eagle. These are the only worthwhile pedigree markers. Belief is that only 275-330 1925-S $20s have survived the gold recall of the early-to-mid 1930s. Pop 2; 1 in 66; 1 in 67 (PCGS # 9182) . 1925 was a stellar year for the historian to point to. Harry Houdini, the magician, was at the height of his fame; there was a speculative Florida land boom (which crashed that year following an unexpected hurricane that devastated the region and all the false hopes for a quick profit). Out in California, the state where this 1925-S double eagle originated, Aimee Semple McPherson (1890-1944), also called Sister Aimee, preached her version of the gospel in Los Angeles, California. An evangelist and media celebrity in the 1920s and 1930s, she founded the International Church of the Foursquare located in Echo Park. McPherson has been noted as a pioneer in the use of modern media, especially radio, which she drew upon through the growing appeal of popular entertainment in North America. Meanwhile, in 1925 occurred the legendary Scopes Monkey Trial, when two big shot lawyers of the day went head to head to discover whether mankind really is descended from the apes. The trial in the sleepy little town of Dayton, Tennessee, made headlines around the world. In fact, it made quite a show during an otherwise broiling hot summer that year, with the religious William Jennings Bryan on one side fighting the State's case against the avowed atheist Clarence Darrow, lawyer for the defense. In the end, the "defendant," a school teacher by the name of John Scopes, was found guilty for teaching evolution to his high school students and fined $100 for breaking the law against doing such a vile thing. (The fine was later rescinded on a technicality.) As Wikipedia describes it: "The trial drew intense national publicity, with modernists pitted against traditionalists over the teaching of evolution in the schools and a Fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible. The trial proved a critical turning point in the American creation-evolution controversy." Estimated Value $80,000 - 90,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 2329		1926. PCGS graded MS-64 PQ. Lovely golden toning, equally prestigious satiny luster with few contact marks (PCGS # 9183) . Estimated Value $1,650 - 1,700. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,955
Lot 2330		1927. PCGS graded MS-66. Lovely rich golden mint color, the luster booming! The surfaces are radiant and each side has a nice veneer of golden patina that whips and tosses as it alternates between lighter and darker shades. Most coins of this date are extremely well struck; some are a little better than others; and collectors, true to their tradition, wish that all could be like this impressive MS66 Saint exhibiting fine detail to all the high points (PCGS # 9186) . Estimated Value $2,300 - 2,400. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $2,760
Lot 2331		1927. PCGS graded MS-65. A frosty untoned gem, pleasant, almost cheery gold satin frost display lots of fresh gold color (PCGS # 9186) . Estimated Value $2,000 - 2,100. The William Pannier Estate. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 2332		1927. PCGS graded MS-65. Housed in a First Generation Holder. Light gold toning and a gem (PCGS # 9186) . Estimated Value $2,000 - 2,100. The Wayne Fowler Estate. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $2,070
Lot 2333		1927. PCGS graded MS-64. Nice gold toning (PCGS # 9186) . Estimated Value $1,650 - 1,700. The Dr. Charles Richman Collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,725
Lot 2334		1927. PCGS graded MS-63. Light hint of gold toning (PCGS # 9186) . Estimated Value $1,500 - 1,550. The Dr. Charles Richman Collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,610
Lot 2335		1928. NGC graded MS-66 Star. Beautiful rich golden mint bloom color adds greatly to its eye appeal thus the "star" designation. From an original mint wrapped roll (PCGS # 9189) . Estimated Value $3,000 - 3,300. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 2336		1928. NGC graded MS-66 Star. Rich golden toning. Vibrant and refreshingly clean for this issue, with flickering luster in the fields and sundrenched golden devices. The fields are all natural and satin with much eye-appeal. From an original mint wrapped roll (PCGS # 9189) . Estimated Value $3,000 - 3,300. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 2337		1928. NGC graded MS-66. Star. CAC Approved. A gem with lovely original toning. From an original roll. Pop 89 in MS66 Star (PCGS # 9189) . Estimated Value $3,000 - 3,300. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $4,629
Lot 2338		1928. NGC graded MS-66. Star. CAC Approved. A gem with lovely original golden toning. Collectors will have a field day examining these attractive Gems to pick just the right one for a U.S. Gold Type Set. A rare opportunity that shouldn't be missed. Pop 89 in MS66 Star (PCGS # 9189) . Estimated Value $3,000 - 3,300. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 2339		1928. NGC graded MS-66. Star. CAC Approved. A gem with original golden toning. This lovely Gem is finished in satin luster with glowing fields and sharply impressed devices. From an original roll. Pop 89 in MS66 Star (PCGS # 9189) . Estimated Value $3,000 - 3,300. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $4,945
Lot 2340		1928. PCGS graded MS-66. Lovely golden toning. From an original roll (PCGS # 9189) . Estimated Value $2,600 - 2,700. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 2341		1928. PCGS graded MS-66. A lovely well struck example. From an original roll (PCGS # 9189) . Estimated Value $2,600 - 2,700. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 2342		1928. PCGS graded MS-66. Lovely rich golden toning. From an original roll (PCGS # 9189) . Estimated Value $2,600 - 2,700. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 2343		1928. PCGS graded MS-66. Nice toning. From an original roll (PCGS # 9189) . Estimated Value $2,600 - 2,700. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 2344		1928. PCGS graded MS-66. Lovely original golden toning. From an original roll (PCGS # 9189) . Estimated Value $2,600 - 2,700. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 2345		1928. PCGS graded MS-66. Rich golden toning. From an original roll (PCGS # 9189) . Estimated Value $2,600 - 2,700. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 2346		1928. PCGS graded MS-66. Nice full mint bloom. From an original roll (PCGS # 9189) . Estimated Value $2,600 - 2,700. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 2347		1928. PCGS graded MS-65 PQ. CAC Approved. Lovely toning. From an original roll (PCGS # 9189) . Estimated Value $2,200 - 2,300. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 2348		1928. PCGS graded MS-65 PQ. Attractive golden toning. From an original roll (PCGS # 9189) . Estimated Value $2,200 - 2,300. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 2349		1928. PCGS graded MS-65 PQ. CAC Approved. Rich golden toning. From an original roll (PCGS # 9189) . Estimated Value $2,200 - 2,300. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 2350		1928. PCGS graded MS-65. Lovely toning. From an original roll (PCGS # 9189) . Estimated Value $2,100 - 2,200. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 2351		1928. PCGS graded MS-65. Lovely mint bloom. From an original roll (PCGS # 9189) . Estimated Value $2,100 - 2,200. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $2,473
Lot 2352		1928. PCGS graded MS-65. Lovely mint toning. From an original roll (PCGS # 9189) . Estimated Value $2,100 - 2,200. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 2353		1928. PCGS graded MS-65. Nice original mint bloom. From an original roll (PCGS # 9189) . Estimated Value $2,100 - 2,200. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 2354		1928. NGC graded MS-65. A gem untoned example, dazzling and well struck with everything a quality-minded buyer could desire (PCGS # 9189) . Estimated Value $1,900 - 2,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,955
Lot 2355		1930-S. PCGS graded MS-65. In a new secure plus holder. Well struck and delicately toned. The lovely natural golden toning on both sides improves the already expansive beauty of this Gem quality example. A very rare late date Saint-Gaudens double eagle. The production run was a mere 74,000, serving to give an explanation to the low supply of coins to be had by collectors. Always difficult to obtain. There do not appear to be many abrasions that would bar this frosty double eagle from its lock-solid MS65 designation by the grading service. It is really quite spectacular! Since it is a full-bore Gem we see no need to persuade one and all to prepare a strict market price. There will be no slipping through the cracks with this one when it comes up for bidding. Besides the coin's smooth features, both sides show a precision strike that conforms well with what we know about other 1930-S $20 gold pieces, that this date was more carefully produced than other S-mint twenties in the Saint-Gaudens series. Identical to other issues in the late 1920s and early 1930s, this year was a heavily melted one. In the vein of the 1929, 1931, 1931-D, and 1932 from the standpoint of total number of coins known, the number saved was severely reduced after the great gold confiscation by the Federal government in 1933 (approximately $2.8 billion in gold valued at the then $20.67 per ounce fixed price). As an MS65, the 1930-S is an extremely rare coin with very few pieces having been so graded by the major services. Of the highest order of rarity, this piece will be certain to spawn much interest at lot viewing and the price it finally realizes at the sale could be a revelation to many. Pop 7; 6 finer (PCGS # 9191) . Estimated Value $170,000 - 190,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 2356		1931. NGC graded MS-66. A very frosty example. Two small marks on the hip and upper thigh serve to identify this specimen, the top one set on the diagonal, the other horizontal. Since virtually the entire population for 1931 falls into the Mint State grades, it is plain to see that this double eagle issue was never released for circulation. Instead, most of the 2,938,250 pieces originally made were melted in the Mint and today the 1931 is comparable in overall rarity to the widely respected 1932. 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 meltings 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. A lustrous Gem that has glinting gold color that shoots out beams of radiance in all directions plus the desired full strike. Indeed, on the heels of such active luster, we are pleased to describe a coin faithful to every detail from a full blow by the dies. Pop 5; none finer at NGC (PCGS # 9192) . The year 1931 was one of worldwide tension and outright uncertainty. Britain went off the Gold Standard September 20, 1931. With the pound sterling vacillating wildly between $3.50 and $4 (it had been pegged at $4.86 for more than a century), Europeans, fearing further monetary devaluations, sought gold. A vast flood of gold, especially gold coins rather than bars, flowed out of U.S. government stockpiles in the autumn of 1931. Over $650 million in gold -- equivalent to thirty-two and one half million double eagles! -- left the U.S. in the first month after the devaluation of the pound, mostly to France. At the same time, U.S. paper currency in circulation rose rapidly as confidence in banks deteriorated and the availability of financial services diminished with each bank failure and curtailment of service here at home. Circulation rose over $600 million, over 10%, in just three months. On October 8, 1931, the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank admitted that its cheap money policy had failed to end the Depression. It raised the rediscount rate from 1 1/2% to 2 1/2%, and again on October 15, to 3 1/2%, in its efforts to stem the gold and capital exodus. Estimated Value $80,000 - 90,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold

Page 3 of 3

1 | 2 | 3