Goldberg Coins and Collectibles

Sale 72

February 2-5. 2013

$2.50 Gold

Lot	Photo	Description	Realized
Lot 1689		1805 NGC graded XF Details. Plugged. Probably worn as jewelry long ago. During this whole decade, quarter eagles were coined only in isolated driblets of a few hundred or at most a few thousand pieces. In most of these years, each date represented a new design modification--creating instant rarities and type coins. The problem is less why the coins are rare, why so few were made to begin with, but why any were struck at all. To judge from available Archives records, they were ordered on whim by a few local banks (principally the Bank of Pennsylvania and the Bank of the United States). Between 1803 and 1833, the Mint's major output consisted of cents, half dollars, and half eagles; all other denominations had a kind of poor relative status--seldom called for, few made, little welcome (PCGS # 7653) . Estimated Value $1,400 - 1,450. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $3,465
Lot 1690		1834. No motto. NGC graded MS-62. CAC Approved. A hint of warm gold tone. Lustrous. Quarter eagles and half eagles of the Classic Head type, from dies by William Kneass, were first made in 1834 and with that date, and made their début in circulation in August. As they were produced under the provisions of the Mint Act of June 28, 1834, promoted by Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton, these issues were popularly referred to as "Benton's Mint Drops." Some others called them "yellow boys." By August 1834 no gold coins had been in American circulation since the very early 1820s, and the sight of them was quite unfamiliar to just about everyone. The continued exporting of American gold coins finally caused congress to act. The mint was instructed to lower the gold content of Half Eagles just sufficiently to where they no longer were profitable to melt. It has been estimated that upwards of 98% of the pre-1834 No Motto mintage was consigned to the melting pots. Much was refashioned into these attractive No Motto Half Eagles by William Kneass.Pop 61; 96 finer (PCGS # 7692) . Estimated Value $4,200 - 4,400. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 1691		1836. Block 8. PCGS graded EF-45. Golden toning (PCGS # 97694) . Estimated Value $550 - 600. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $725
Lot 1692		1843-D. Small D. PCGS graded EF-45. Pleasing detail from its time spent in circulation, with natural color and very agreeable surfaces. The Dahlonega Mint struck gold coins exclusively. It's mandate to begin minting started in 1838, with Gold Dollars, Quarter Eagles, Three-dollar gold (in 1854 only), and Half Eagles produced. When the mint was seized by the breakaway Confederate States of America in 1861, minting operations ceased (PCGS # 7730) . Estimated Value $1,800 - 1,900. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 1693		1844-C PCGS graded Genuine. Our grade is AU with light hairlines from old cleaning. Scarce date from the 1840s. Only 11,622 minted (PCGS # 7735) . Estimated Value $1,700 - 1,800. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,955
Lot 1694		1848. CAL Above Eagle. NGC graded AU-58. Only 1,389 minted. Very popular. A landmark rarity in the Liberty Quarter Eagle series, the 1848 CAL. is also a historically significant issue as the first true Commemorative coin struck in the United States Mint. "The story of this issue begins with James Marshall's discovery of gold in California's American River on January 24, 1848," explains Bowers. "At the end of that year (on December 9, to be exact), Colonel R. B. Mason, the military governor of California, sent 230 ounces of the precious metal to Secretary of War William L. Marcy on the East Coast. Marcy, in turn, forwarded the bullion to the Philadelphia Mint where it was used to strike 1,369 1848-dated Liberty Quarter Eagles. To distinguish these coins from the other 6,500 1848 Quarter Eagles struck in the Philadelphia Mint, and also to commemorative Marshall's important discovery, the 1,369 special examples were stamped with the abbreviation CAL. in the reverse field above the eagle while the coins were still in the die." Exactly how many examples have survived is a matter of debate, but we believe that only 85-100 coins are known in all grades. A few of the higher-grade pieces are Prooflike, which is the first significant physical attribute of the present near-Mint example. Both sides also possess handsome color that alternates between khaki-gold and orange-gold shades as one rotates the coin under a light. Abundant mint bloom is also present here and there, most noticeably around Liberty and the eagle. Overall bold, if not sharp in strike, the only pedigree marker of note is a small mark in the field below the 9th star. Graded a desirable NGC AU58, this lovely example would serve as a centerpiece in the finest numismatic holding. Pop 9; 20 finer (PCGS # 7749) . Estimated Value $50,000 - 55,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $52,900
Lot 1695		1852-O. NGC graded AU-58. Light even toning. Having only 140,000 minted at New Orleans, this quarter eagle is scarcer than the more common P-mint with its 1.1 million mintage, nearly eight times as large. Pop 127; 32 finer (PCGS # 7766) . Estimated Value $1,400 - 145. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,639
Lot 1696		1860. PCGS graded Proof 65. CAC Approved. Proofs made prior to 1859 were unrecorded in the Mint records. Those from 1859-on are the first where production figures are obtainable after the Philadelphia Mint publicly began marketing Proof coins in 1858. The 1860 consisted of 112 pieces in Proof. However, many got melted before finding an end purchaser. Breen in his research when describing the 1860 issue posits a survival of 20 to 30 pieces. Jeff Garrett and Ron Guth expand upon this number slightly in the 2008 edition of their Gold Encyclopedia: "The mintage figure of 112 is very misleading as to the true rarity of the 1860 Liberty Head quarter eagle in Proof. The date is just as rare as other issues from the 1860s, with only 30 to 50 coins struck. If 112 examples of the date were actually produced, most were either melted as unsold or entered circulation. The 1860 quarter eagle is rarely offered at public auction, and just a few of them have sold in the last decade, the finest being the PF-66 Harry W. Bass example sold in 2000 for $34,500. Examples also reside in the museum collections of the Smithsonian Institution and the ANS. All of the Proof 1860 quarter eagles are seen with the New Reverse. Also interesting is the position of the date, which slants down sharply to the right on Proofs of the year." The present Gem PCGS example is a resoundingly beautiful specimen with keen-edged and detailed design elements. The reflective orange-gold surfaces show only minimal signs of contact. The fields include a trace of the wonderful orange-peel texture often associated with 19th century Proofs, however the effect is subtle. Pop 1; none finer. The Finest graded example at PCGS (PCGS # 7886) . Estimated Value $30,000 - 35,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $37,950
Lot 1697		1861 Type 2. NGC graded MS-62. Frosty with a distinctive pinkish gold resonance in the luster. Bold stars and other devices (unlike on some branch mint issues struck around this year). Estimated Value $850 - 900. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $891
Lot 1698		1861 Type 2. NGC graded MS-62. Lightly toned. Lustrous and choice. Estimated Value $850 - 900. View details and enlarged photos	Unsold
Lot 1699		1868-S. NGC graded AU-55. Untoned. Lustrous. Scarce, with only 34,000 struck. Pop 36; 79 finer (PCGS # 7808) . Estimated Value $950 - 1,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 1700		1881. PCGS graded AU-50. CAC Approved. Lightly toned. Only 640 struck. A key date on many a specialists' Want List. With so few made, it stands to reason few would get offered. In any condition 1881 is a talked about date in this extensive $2.50 gold series (which ran from 1840 thru 1907) (PCGS # 7833) . Estimated Value $3,800 - 4,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $4,370
Lot 1701		1897. PCGS graded MS-66. Frosty and well struck, with lovely surface, booming luster, and endless eye-appeal (PCGS # 7849) . Estimated Value $3,200 - 3,300. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 1702		1897. NGC graded MS-63. Well struck with choice, lustrous surface throughout. An attractive specimen. Only 29,768 minted (PCGS # 7849) . Estimated Value $550 - 575. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $604
Lot 1703		1902. PCGS graded Proof 60. Light gold toning. A light reverse pin scratch. The warmly toned surface has the familiar smooth mirror finish, while devices are needel-sharp as befits a well-made Proof. Mintage was low throughout the period: Only 193 struck in 1902 (PCGS # 7928) . Estimated Value $2,800 - 3,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 1704		1902 and 1904. ANACS graded both AU-58. Lot of 2 coins. Estimated Value $500 - 550. View details	Realized $667
Lot 1705		1903. PCGS graded MS-63. CAC Approved. Housed in an Old Green Holder (PCGS # 7855) . Estimated Value $550 - 600. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $690
Lot 1706		1905 and 1907 Both VF. Lot of 2 coins. Estimated Value $450 - 500. View details	Realized $633
Lot 1707		1907 MINT ERROR. PCGS graded MS-64. Small Plan Lamination Reverse. Estimated Value $675 - 700. View details and enlarged photos	Unsold
Lot 1708		1852, 1901, and 1906 All Sharpness of VF. All damaged. Lot of 3 coins. Estimated Value $450 - 500. View details	Realized $748
Lot 1709		A Lot of ANACS Slabbed $2½ Gold Coins. Dates and grades include: 1878 AU55, 1896 AU50, and 1903 AU50. Lot of 3 coins. Estimated Value $750 - 800. View details	Realized $943
Lot 1710		1908 and 1913 VF and XF. Lot of 2 coins. Estimated Value $450 - 475. View details	Realized $575
Lot 1711		1908 and 1909 Both VF. Lot of 2 coins. Estimated Value $425 - 450. View details	Realized $546
Lot 1712		1910. NGC graded Proof 67. Only 682 struck. Lovely golden toning. Well struck and choice. Mintage ballooned in 1910 to 682, nevertheless, not many have been found in gem condition. In fact, NGC has graded just 11 this high per the appended census (see below), while many are sequestered away in museum collections or off the market for years to come. Hence, this is certainly one of a select group which is among the finest available of the date. No signs of handling marks and the surfaces are quite warmly toned and well preserved. The only faint disturbance would be a couple of nearly invisible hairlines in the fields. Don't expect to find a better one without diligent searching, as this is a really beautiful, and outstanding coin. Perfectly struck and a visual masterpiece of Bella Lyon Pratt's incuse design. Pop 11; 4 finer, 3 in 67 Star, 1 in 68 (PCGS # 7959) . Historical account: The obverse portrays Brule Lakota Chief Hollow Horn Bear, who had taken part in Theodore Roosevelt's inaugural parade, March 4, 1905. The Chief died March 15, 1913, age 54, at Providence Hospital, according to the notice in the April 1913 Numismatist, which misidentified him as the model for the 1899 $5 Silver Certificates. His true identity as Boston sculptor Bela Lyon Pratt's model for the 1908 Quarter Eagles and half eagles first came to light in an exhibit in the 1988 ANA Convention; we have not yet learned who was the exhibitor. The raised flat fields of the new design meant that Proofs would have to be in one of the French matte finishes. Proofs (1908-15) were not as popular as the old-fashioned brilliant Proofs of former designs, especially because they were darker and duller than business strikes; many were mistakenly spent, others melted in 1916 as unsold. Concerning the Matte Proofs: Prior to the 1940s, many collectors turned up their noses at Matte and Satin-finish Proofs. They were caught in a nineteenth century time warp and did not welcome the modernistic, French-inspired coin-matting influence which swept Europe and America during the opening decades of the twentieth century. But time and familiarity soon bore fruit. Today, Matte Proofs are revered more than their brilliant cousins by collectors, who pay highly to acquire them. If you would object with this assertion, then explain the wide price premium that Matte Proofs have over earlier Brilliant Proofs. Estimated Value $40,000 - 45,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $46,000
Lot 1713		1914-D and 1925-D. Grades include: ANACS XF45 and ICG AU50 respectively. Lot of 2 coins. Estimated Value $450 - 500. View details	Realized $598
Lot 1714		1926 and 1929. PCGS graded EF-45 and AU-55 respectively. Lot of 2 coins. Estimated Value $500 - 525. View details	Realized $575
Lot 1715		1929. PCGS graded MS-63. CAC Approved PQ. Nicely toned (PCGS # 7953) . Estimated Value $600 - 650. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 1716		A Set of $2½ Indian Head Gold Coins. Dates range from 1908 to 1929. All 15 coins are housed in a Capital Plastics holder. Grades range from XF to Unc . Estimated Value $7,000 - 8,000. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $8,165
Lot 1717		A Complete Set of Indian $2½ Gold Coins 1908 to 1929. Includes the key date 1911-D. Housed in a Capital Plastics holder. A lot of 15 coins grading XF to Unc . Estimated Value $5,000 - 6,000. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $10,063
Lot 1718		A Trio of PCGS Slabbed $2½ Indians. Dates and grades include: 1910 XF45, 1912 XF40, and 1915 XF40. Lot of 3 coins. Estimated Value $675 - 700. View details	Realized $863
Lot 1719		A Group of Indian $2½ Gold Coins. Consists of: 1911, 1912, 1925-D, and 1929. A lot of 4 coins. Coins grade XF to AU. Estimated Value $1,000 - 1,050. View details	Realized $1,380
Lot 1720		A Lot of Gold Coins In Mounts. Consists of: 1913 $2½ VF-EF and 1995 $25 ½ oz. American Gold Eagle in a possible Gold mount. A total of 2 coins. Estimated Value $950 - 1,000. View details	Realized $1,265
Lot 1721		1914, 1927, and 1928 All VF. Lot of 3 coins. Estimated Value $675 - 700. View details	Realized $776
Lot 1722		1925-D $2.5 and 1909-D $5. Coins grade XF45 and VF20 cleaned respectively. Lot of 2 coins. Estimated Value $500 - 550. View details	Realized $661