Goldberg Coins and Collectibles

Sale 91

June 2016 Pre-Long Beach

Midwestern Family Collection - $10 Indian

Lot	Photo	Description	Realized
Lot 1610		1907 $10 Indian. Wire Rim, Periods PCGS MS64. PCGS graded MS-64+. CAC Approved. This is the design that is closest to the original concept of the designer Augustus Saint-Gaudens intentions. Known technically as Judd-1774, these are actually patterns, but were produced in sufficient numbers (like the $4 gold Stellas) so they are widely collected today as part of the regular series of Indian Eagles. However, after striking and examining these 500 coins, it became obvious to mint officials that they would not stack properly in a uniform fashion, which is a requirement for modern coinage of the 20th Century. Thus, some modifications had to be taken to reduce the Wire Edge feature and give these coins some kind of defined rim, which would allow for proper stacking. Although the original mintage was not recorded, a letter from Henry Chapman to John Garrett from 1908 provides the mintage of 500 pieces, a number which is borne out in the population data seen today and is likely close to the mark as Chapman had many close ties with the Philadelphia Mint. Most of the examples known are considered Uncirculated (although these patterns should be considered Proofs), although a few apparently slipped into circulation for a time. Ownership of an example is simply required for any serious numismatist of this series, and these represent an integral part of the transformation from the concept of Augustus Saint-Gaudens to circulating coinage by the end of 1907. Saint-Gaudens wanted a simple, elegant design for the eagle and double eagle. He reserved the full striding figure of Liberty for the larger $20 coin. Thus, a classical bust of Liberty would be required for the $10 coin, at the virtual demand of his friend and confidant President "Teddy" Roosevelt, an Indian headdress was included on Liberty's head, neither logical nor realistic, but a requirement nonetheless to appease the powers that be. The obverse design was elegant and simple; thirteen stars were placed as rim fortifications along the upper half of the obverse, the only letters were a small LIBERTY placed on her war bonnet. The date 1907 is located below her truncation. The reverse design is somewhat crowded by the requirements of the day, a standing eagle stares fixedly to the left, above is UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, behind the eagle's back is E PLURIBUS UNUM and below is TEN DOLLARS. Tiny mintmarks, when applied, reside to the left of TEN. The only remotely open space on the coin is before the eagle's proud breast, which soon became the location of the Motto in 1908! Nevertheless, these elegant coins remain one of the most popular designs struck for circulation, and holding one of these in your hand gives one a glimpse into the greatness of that era. While not the absolute finest from a technical grading perspective, the quality here nudges close to the gem levl, and this historic and handsome coin will always represent a fleeting peek of the granduer of the Roosevelt era. Rich golden toning. Only 500 minted. Pop 3; 90 finer (PCGS # 8850) Estimated Value $40,000-UP Ex. US Gold from a prominent midwestern family collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $55,225
Lot 1611		1907 $10 Indian. Rounded Rim, Periods PCGS MS65. PCGS graded MS-65+ PQ. CAC Approved. This is one of the great rarities of the 20th Century. After the stacking failure of the 1907 Wire Edge coins this revised design was implemented, employing the same triangular stops before and after the words on the reverse, with the inclusion of a thick rim at the edge of both dies, allowing for better stacking. However, after a rather large mintage of between 20,000 and 34,100 pieces, production was halted. Mint Engraver Charles E. Barber did not like this design and pointed to the fact that certain areas tended to not strike up well, notably the hair over Liberty's ear and portions of the eagle's wing and trailing leg and claw. Mint Director Frank Leach agreed with Supeintendent John H. Landis that these coins did not meet their quality standards and ordered them melted. Only 42 pieces were released. Charles E. Barber then set to task to stengthen certain areas of the master hubs and place his own stamp on Saint-Gaudens work. Barber strengthened the feather ends, omitted the triangular dots, moved one of Liberty's curls to encroach the IBE of LIBERTY and altered the shape of the branch in the eagle's claw. Although the result was sharper feather ends, the central features continued to show softness on both Liberty and the eagle once the Barber revisions went into production. For many years these Rolled Edge coins were considered a pattern issue (J-1775), but with the prodigious mintage and intention for circulation, these technically were not patterns at all but simply an intial production run which was found to not meet up to standards. In due course these coins were not generally released to the public or circulation. Many examples exist of abrupt changes to initial coin designs, especially when the conceptual designs were created by artists from outside the Mint. Professional jealousies run deep, and most of the Mint's employees don't favor outsiders designing coins. Furthermore, the practical issues of coin design often get in the way of concepts, such things as how well a coin functions in a vending machine often cause heartaches for designers and modifications to artistic concepts. Examples include Christian Gobrecht's initial design of the half dime and dime of 1837 without obverse stars, the Drapery issues of the next few years, the 1913 Buffalo nickel which was changed midyear to stand on more defined and solid ground, the 1921 Peace dollar in high relief which was modified. Needless to say the Standing Liberty quarter had more than its share of changes to its 15 years of production. These changes are often necessary, and are part of the fascination to this hobby. The Rolled Edge coins are considered close to the original Saint-Gaudens design, with the minor addition of the rim, but their central striking softness became their undoing and provided an opportunity to make modifications to the details of the concept. These 42 or so coins represent a high point in our coinage, which of course had to be chisled down to a more workaday style that would endure circulation and would strike up well enough under the constraints of the coining press. These Rolled Edge coins remain one of the most popular and elegant of the 20th Century and their rarity remains legendary. Possessing one of these places any collection into the catagory of greatness that will long be remembered. Pop 1; 17 finer (PCGS # 8851) Estimated Value $200,000-UP Ex. US Gold from a prominent midwestern family collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $376,000
Lot 1612		1907 $10 Indian. No Periods. Our grade is MS-64. The edges are prooflike and different than the normal No Periods type. Three raised edge separation lines between the stars are far more pronounced than normal. This coin was sent to PCGS for special status consideration and there was no consensus of opinion. The Philadelphia Mint was trying all sorts of things to get these Saint-Gaudens style coins to strike up. Perhaps the collar was adjusted here, to allow for slight expansion of the planchet, as Barber needed to increase production and get these into circulation after the delays and striking troubles of the initial styles. Further study is needed. Estimated Value $1,500-UP Ex. US Gold from a prominent midwestern family collection. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $3,760
Lot 1613		1908 $10 Indian. No Motto PCGS MS65. PCGS graded MS-65. CAC Approved. Only 33,500 minted, making this one of the lowest mintages of the entire series. The surfaces are satin smooth and offer considerable glowing luster. The broad open fields show only a few minor scuffs, and no deep or distracting marks. Sharply struck to the centers, and this is worthy of note as most of the No Motto 1907 pieces show softer central strikes. An important and elusive type coin or one for the date specialist. At the gem level, this issue is somewhat clallenging to obtain, but can be had for a price. Frosty with light golden toning. Pop 29; 15 finer (PCGS # 8853) Estimated Value $10,000-UP Ex. US Gold from a prominent midwestern family collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $15,276
Lot 1614		1908-D $10 Indian. No Motto PCGS MS63. PCGS graded MS-63. Light golden toning with attractive surfaces that have minimal bagmarks. The strike is bold and the eye appeal strong throughout. This date and mint is quite difficult to obtain in gem or finer grades, so most collectors seek a handsome choice example like this to represent this issue. Pop 102; 59 finer (PCGS # 8854) Estimated Value $4,000 - 4,500 Ex. US Gold from a prominent midwestern family collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $7,638
Lot 1615		1908 $10 Indian. Motto PCGS MS65. PCGS graded MS-65 PQ. CAC Approved. Lovely rich golden toning with exceptional surfaces. Should be regraded as the MS-65 grade does not seem to do full justice to the quality of this amazing coin. Notice the full blazing luster and undiminished surfaces that support the classic orange-gold hue. Liberty's face, neck and cheek are all exceptionally clean. A delight for the specialist! Pop 78; 47 finer (PCGS # 8859) Estimated Value $5,000-UP Ex. US Gold from a prominent midwestern family collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $15,863
Lot 1616		1908-D $10 Indian. Motto. Altered surfaces. Still a nice looking coin despite the qualifier (PCGS # 8860) Estimated Value $900 - 1,000 Ex. US Gold from a prominent midwestern family collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,528
Lot 1617		1908-S $10 Indian. Motto PCGS AU58. PCGS graded AU-58 PQ. CAC Approved. Lovely golden toning. Looks Mint State and just missed that level by a hint of wear. This is a scarce, low mintage issue that is always in strong collector demand (PCGS # 8861) Estimated Value $2,300 - 2,400 Ex. US Gold from a prominent midwestern family collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $5,170
Lot 1618		1909 $10 Indian PCGS AU55. PCGS graded AU-55. Light golden toning and wonderfully original! (PCGS # 8862) Estimated Value $500 - 550 Ex. US Gold from a prominent midwestern family collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $676
Lot 1619		1909-D $10 Indian PCGS AU55. PCGS graded AU-55. Light golden toning and a scarce date with a mintage of 121,540 pieces (PCGS # 8863) Estimated Value $600 - 650 Ex. US Gold from a prominent midwestern family collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $940
Lot 1620		1909-S $10 Indian PCGS AU58. PCGS graded AU-58 PQ. CAC Approved. Quite frosty for this popular San Francisco issue. The surfaces are pleasing with precious few signs of handling and just a whisper of circulation (PCGS # 8864) Estimated Value $900 - 950 Ex. US Gold from a prominent midwestern family collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,528
Lot 1621		1910 $10 Indian PCGS MS64. PCGS graded MS-64+ PQ. CAC Approved. Boldly struck and well preserved. Right on the cusp of the gem level! Pop 8; 94 finer (PCGS # 8865) Estimated Value $1,300 - 1,400 Ex. US Gold from a prominent midwestern family collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $5,170
Lot 1622		1910-D $10 Indian PCGS MS62. PCGS graded MS-62. Nicely toned and a pleasing example of this plentiful issue (PCGS # 8866) Estimated Value $650 - 700 Ex. US Gold from a prominent midwestern family collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $940
Lot 1623		1910-S $10 Indian PCGS AU58. PCGS graded AU-58 PQ. CAC Approved. Well struck with lovely toning. A classic slider that just misses full mint condition (PCGS # 8867) Estimated Value $850 - 900 Ex. US Gold from a prominent midwestern family collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,146
Lot 1624		1911 $10 Indian PCGS MS62. PCGS graded MS-62. Lovely light golden toning and nicely balance with amply luster and a sharp strike (PCGS # 8868) Estimated Value $650 - 700 Ex. US Gold from a prominent midwestern family collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $881
Lot 1625		1912 $10 Indian PCGS MS65. PCGS graded MS-65. Well struck and quite choice with attractive orange-gold color throughout. Pop 37; 14 finer (PCGS # 8871) Estimated Value $6,000 - 6,500 Ex. US Gold from a prominent midwestern family collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $7,344
Lot 1626		1912-S $10 Indian PCGS AU58. PCGS graded AU-58 PQ. CAC Approved. Frosty and choice for the given grade (PCGS # 8872) Estimated Value $800 - 850 Ex. US Gold from a prominent midwestern family collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,704
Lot 1627		1913 $10 Indian PCGS AU58. PCGS graded AU-58. Light golden toning (PCGS # 8873) Estimated Value $600 - 650 Ex. US Gold from a prominent midwestern family collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $852
Lot 1628		1913-S $10 Indian PCGS AU53. PCGS graded AU-53. Light gold toning on this key date issue. For some reason, the 1913-S coins were not generally saved in high grade, and gems are virtually unobtainable. Hence most collectors obtain an example at the lower end of Mint State or showing some degree of light circulation as seen here (PCGS # 8874) Estimated Value $1,200 - 1,300 Ex. US Gold from a prominent midwestern family collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,528
Lot 1629		1914 $10 Indian PCGS MS63. PCGS graded MS-63. Lovely light gold toning with nice visual appeal for the grade (PCGS # 8875) Estimated Value $1,400 - 1,500 Ex. US Gold from a prominent midwestern family collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,821
Lot 1630		1914-D $10 Indian PCGS MS63. PCGS graded MS-63. Nice golden toning with a hint of coppery richness (PCGS # 8876) Estimated Value $1,200 - 1,300 Ex. US Gold from a prominent midwestern family collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,821
Lot 1631		1914-S $10 Indian PCGS AU58. PCGS graded AU-58. CAC Approved. Lightly toned and scarce, this San Francisco coin is a prize to find in upper mint state grades. Here is one with limited circulation on the high points of the design (PCGS # 8877) Estimated Value $900 - 1,000 Ex. US Gold from a prominent midwestern family collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,469
Lot 1632		1915 $10 Indian. Our grade is Sharpness of Extremely Fine, cleaned. Estimated Value $500 - 525 Ex Stack's Davis-Graves Sale, April 8-10, 1954 #999. Envelope included Ex. US Gold from a prominent midwestern family collection. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $676
Lot 1633		1915-S $10 Indian PCGS AU55. PCGS graded AU-55 PQ. CAC Approved. A hint of gold tone on this low mintage date, only 59,000 pieces were struck and this is a tough issue to locate nice (PCGS # 8879) Estimated Value $1,200 - 1,300 Ex. US Gold from a prominent midwestern family collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $3,878
Lot 1634		1916-S $10 Indian PCGS MS63. PCGS graded MS-63. Frosty and choice and likely from one of the hoards that returned to these shores from Europe in the 1970s. Not many exceptional coins exist and the majority known today are in the lower Mint State grades than Choice, or show some degree of circulation. Pop 104; 64 finer (PCGS # 8880) Estimated Value $4,000 - 4,400 Ex. US Gold from a prominent midwestern family collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $9,106
Lot 1635		1920-S $10 Indian. Cleaning. Merely 137 examples are estimated to have survived in all grades. A wonderful looking example with some faint hairlines indicating a past cleaning or wiping. This is one of the tougher dates in this series to obtain in any grade! Don't let the minor cleaning issue get in the way of admiring this rarity. Despite a mintage of 126,500 pieces these obviously ended up being melted in the 1930s as so few are known today. Often seen with RTY weak on LIBERTY as seen here, a characteristic of the striking that year. An important offering that would bring multiples of the likely price realized were it not lightly cleaned (PCGS # 8881) Estimated Value $15,000-UP Ex. US Gold from a prominent midwestern family collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $47,000
Lot 1636		1926 $10 Indian PCGS MS64. PCGS graded MS-64. CAC Approved. Nice light golden toning with coppery iridescence and satiny smooth surfaces (PCGS # 8882) Estimated Value $950 - 1,000 Ex. US Gold from a prominent midwestern family collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,763
Lot 1637		1930-S $10 Indian PCGS MS65. PCGS graded MS-65+ PQ. CAC Approved. Only 96,000 minted of which merely 237 examples are estimated to have survived according to CoinFacts. Full mint bloom and should be regraded as the surfaces are simply amazing in quality, with incredble mint freshness and bloom. It would be difficult to imagine a more attractive example of this scarce issue. So many 1926 Indian eagles were struck in that there were enough $10 eagles on hand to supply the needs of banks until 1930. By then the roaring economy was starting to turn down, and demand for new coins was tepid. Hence the mintage of the 1930-S issue was limited. Given so few of these were initially produced it is remarkable how many choice and finer examples exist. Those that die enter circulation in the early 1930s were quite limited, the majority that do survive are in mint condition, with only a few pieces showing even light circulation wear. Gems are reasonably available for a price, such as this example, but can be had with patience. A few finer examples exist than this offering, but precious few. If you have been looking for a really special coin, one that has been off the market for decades, then your search is over! Pop 3; 6 finer, 5 in 66, 1 in 67 (PCGS # 8883) Estimated Value $70,000-UP Ex. US Gold from a prominent midwestern family collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $102,813
Lot 1638		1933 $10 Indian PCGS MS66. PCGS graded MS-66. CAC Approved. The legendary 1933 Indian Eagle is represented by no more than 40 examples are estimated to have survived. This one is likely to be the very finest known, although one other exists at this grade level seen by NGC. That particular coin was last sold by Stack's in October of 2004 for $718,750 and has not been seen at auction since that time. This coin being offered now, was not known to most of the numismatists of this generation, and had never been certified until just prior to this auction. It is the finest seen by PCGS. Well struck, very frosty, and the finest example we have ever seen. The mintage in the early months of 1933 started off with a bang, a total of 312,500 pieces were struck. However, worldwide troubles were brewing that would alter the course of many countries. The price of gold had been set artificially low in the early 1920s for the amount of paper money in circulation. By the 1930s pressure was building on various countries gold reserves, the flow of gold lost all balance and international transactions saw a dramatic increase in the flow of gold away from country after country. In order to stem the tide, most of the European countries ceased to honor their prior pledges and "went off" the gold standard. This put further pressure on the countries that remained on a gold standard. In early 1933 the international pressure focused on the United States, whose tremendous gold reserves were under what seemed to be worldwide attack. Armoured cars lined up in New York to take the gold from the reserve banks to the nearby docks bound for overseas as demand for payment in gold bullion continued. March 4, 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt assumed the presidency of the United States and he took immediate steps to halt this flow of gold out of the country. The Great Depression was worsening, and something had to be done. By following other European countries, Roosevelt took America off the gold standard, calling in all non numismatic gold coins from the population. A bank holiday was declared and the gold reserves were revalued higher at the stroke of his pen. The first shipment of 1933 eagles had taken place on January 19, 1933. Other shipments followed and some of these were released through the normal course of events, up to the day before March 4, 1933 when Roosevelt was inaugurated. This is the open window where people in America could have obtained a 1933 $10 gold piece and kept it, but given that only 40 so exist today, not many had the wherewithal, time or money to purchase one of these before the window was slammed shut. Unlike the 1933 double eagle, which is illegal to own (other than the sinlge specimen from the Farouk Collection) it at least is possible to possess this issue. Additional reading can be found in the book Illegal Tender: Gold, Greed, and the Mystery of the Lost 1933 Double Eagle by David Tripp. Pop 1; none finer. Tied for the finest at either grading service. We feel it is even better than the NGC MS-66 (PCGS # 8885) Estimated Value $750,000-UP Ex. US Gold from a prominent midwestern family collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $881,250