Lot 3498
1850 Baldwin & Co. (San Francisco) $5 Gold. Kagin-2, R-5. PCGS graded MS-61. Premium Quality. A wonderful rarity that we had the pleasure of handling way back in 1988, when we sold it (under the Superior Galleries name) as part of the A. Bernard Shore collection. In 1988 we called it "MS-60." Today it merits a grade of MS-61 at PCGS, tying it with one other example as the finest graded at any service (it's also nice to have our conservative grading recognized by third-party experts). A beautiful piece with fully lustrous surfaces, no wear, but with some scattered nicks and scratches on both sides. Struck from a terminal state of the dies, with a large cud over the eight and ninth stars, plus a tinier rim cud at 9 o'clock on the reverse. The strike is excellent, even in the areas opposite the cuds, which is amazing considering that the Pioneer minters were more interested in extending the life of their dies than the quality of their coins. Thanks to on-going research, we know a lot more about Pioneer Gold coins, their rarity, and the conditions in which they can be found. As a result, the importance of this piece has only magnified over time (PCGS # 10025) Estimated Value $22,000 - 27,000
Superior Galleries "A. Bernard Shore Collection" January 30, February 1-2, 1988, Lot 4635. Earlier from the Pacific Coast auction of June 1987 (Lot 1816), possibly from the Stack's auction of June 1983 (Lot 826).
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| Realized $28,750 |
