Stack’s Bowers Galleries is hosting a series of important U.S. coin, Americana, and paper money auctions from March 24 through 26 at the
Bellagio Hotel in
Normally held in conjunction with the
Whitman Coin & Collectibles Expo in
Baltimore, this auction features thousands of lots to choose from, with hundreds of important rarities, including many condition census pieces, many seldom offered. A close study of the sale catalogs reveals why these sessions are some of the most anticipated of the year.
CoinWeek has looked over every lot to pick out this insightful auction preview. These are the Lots You Need to Know.
As a professional numismatist who has worked for some of the biggest companies in the industry, I have had the honor of being a part of the sale of some of the greatest coins in existence, from ancient to modern times.
Most recently, having cataloged the
Bruce Morelan Collection of early type and silver dollars, I have had the honor of having the finest
1794 dollar (the most expensive coin ever sold) and the
Dexter-Dunham-Pogue 1804 dollar cross my desk. As someone who has cataloged such great rarities, one might think “why could someone like that want to own that could top those seven-figure rarities?” My list is going to be completely different than anything you would expect. Each of the 10 coins listed below would form the “core” of a collection that would explain who Greg Cohen is, as a numismatist and history buff. These 10 pieces almost make up a numismatic biography of myself.
United States 1933 Double Eagle $20 Gold Coin
The
1933 double eagle $20 gold coin is one of American Numismatics’ most notorious coins. Only one surviving specimen was ever monetized and made legal to own, yet an uncertain number of examples still exist.
When the
United States made the controversial decision in 1933 to suspend the gold standard that it had based its monetary policy on since the turn of the 20th century, most double eagles dated that year were summarily melted down. It was an ignoble end for the most spectacular of all American coin designs.
That American sculptor
Augustus Saint-Gaudens would have a hand in creating that design and remaking American coinage was no easy accomplishment. The world-renowned sculptor, venerated in his time and even more so sense, had a serious distaste for the Mint’s bureaucracy and an even lesser opinion of its chief engraver. He turned down more commissions than he could possibly accept. Commissions with even better terms. A
“This specimen … was once owned by legendary collector
Louis Eliasberg and, graded PCGS PR66, is the finest specimen known,” explains
Brett Charville, president of PCGS, which graded the coin and other pieces in the Liberty Nickel sets recently procured by Morelan. “Bruce and Laura as a team have built some of the finest coin collections of our generation. Their collaboration exemplifies the amazing accomplishments that can be achieved when an ultimate collector like Bruce works with a true numismatic advocate like Laura.”
Both the Mint State and Proof collections of Liberty Head Nickels are ranked as number-one sets in the
Bruce Morelan Buys Finest 1913 Liberty Nickel, Legend Buys The Finest MS+pr Sets Of Liberty Nickels coincommunity.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from coincommunity.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.