Heritage’s conventional Platinum Night time session — initially set for the now-canceled Florida United Numismatists public sale — is reset for Jan. 21, becoming a member of single-owner Platinum Classes of the Bob R. Simpson and Donald Groves Partrick collections on Jan. 20 and 21, respectively.
As is common for the multi-consignor session, it has loads of fascinating tons.
An 1894-O Barber half greenback graded Mint State 67 Prooflike by Skilled Coin Grading Service and given a inexperienced sticker by Licensed Acceptance Corp. is an enigmatic particular challenge from the New Orleans Mint. These have typically been known as Proof or Specimen strikes, and had been clearly struck with nice care.
The gathering of Louis E. Eliasberg Sr. included a number of of those “Department Mint Proof” Barber half {dollars}, which had been probably bought straight from the U.S. Mint by well-connected people. Final provided at Bowers and Merena’s 1996 public sale of the James Bennett Pryor Assortment for $24,200, it was Pryor’s favourite coin in his diverse assortment of Flowing Hair via Franklin half {dollars}.
Heritage writes, “The strike is a trifle delicate in locations, particularly famous on the arrow fletchings and the proper (going through) claw,” and cites Q. David Bowers’ cataloging of the Pryor Assortment, the place he wrote, “fairly probably struck as a presentation piece or perhaps a proof.”
With an absence of documentation that firmly establishes that it was struck as a Proof, the coin’s deserves should communicate for themselves. This coin “borders on Deep Mirror Prooflike,” in its distinction between fields and units.
High 1915 Proof gold $20
One other gorgeous group within the sale is an authentic Proof set of 1915 cash, from the Lincoln cent to a PCGS Proof 65+ Saint-Gaudens gold $20 double eagle.
The minor cash are provided collectively in a separate lot as a five-piece Proof set, whereas the Proof 1915 Indian Head gold $2.50 quarter eagle and $5 half eagle, together with the Proof 1915 Indian Head gold $10 eagle and Saint-Gaudens $20 double eagle are provided as single tons.
The 12 months 1915 marked the ultimate one among Proof gold cash of those varieties, with simply 50 double eagles struck. The next 12 months noticed Proof manufacturing of solely the Lincoln cent and Indian Head 5-cent coin on the Philadelphia Mint. Proof coin manufacturing would resume on a widespread scale in 1936, with some one-off Proof points in between.
The end seen on the Matte Proof Saint-Gaudens $20 double eagles varies by 12 months. Heritage writes, “A heavier sand grain was used on 1915 proof twenties, ensuing within the coarser floor seen on this piece,” additional observing, “Each minute strike element is totally introduced up on each side.” PCGS has graded simply two 1915 double eagles in Proof 65+, together with the topic providing, that are tied for the finest-graded on the service.
Matte Proof 1922 greenback
Contrasted with the Morgan {dollars} which loved common Proof manufacturing from 1878 to 1904, and the distinct Zerbe and Chapman-style Proofs in 1921, Proof manufacturing of the Peace greenback was far more restricted. A Excessive Aid 1922 Peace greenback graded Matte Proof 64 by PCGS has a inexperienced CAC sticker; the Proof {dollars} of this 12 months are a very diverse group.
Heritage has recognized three obverse and 4 reverse subtypes, struck in 5 completely different combos, explaining, “The excessive reduction matte proofs are important for his or her formidable rarity (PCGS estimates 5 to eight items are recognized) and their distinctive excessive reduction design element. However in addition they symbolize a distinct design subtype, and should advantage classification as a sample, together with the excessive reduction satin proofs.”
This one has “distributed minute tan freckles, and a tiny tick on the bottom of Liberty’s neck gives one other identifier,” however the surfaces are in any other case stone-gray, “and below sturdy magnification exhibit the finely-grained texture attribute of matte proof manufacturing of the period.”
Anthony de Francisci’s design was struck for circulation in excessive reduction in 1921 solely, so the few 1922 Peace, Excessive Aid {dollars} are particularly essential as a definite sort within the collection.
Offered to a president
A handful of points from the traditional commemorative coin collection of 1892 to 1954 can be found as Proofs; some had been clandestine problems with the U.S. Mint. In distinction, for the 1928 Hawaii Discovery Sesquicentennial half greenback, 50 documented Proofs had been produced for presentation functions. Amongst those that acquired the particular Sandblast Proof half {dollars}, as printed in The Numismatist, had been the Hawaiian Historic Society, the British Museum, Nice Britain’s King George V, the American Numismatic Affiliation and the American Numismatic Society, together with President Calvin Coolidge, the recipient of the provided coin.
Coolidge’s coin descended to John Coolidge, the president’s son, and was subsequently bought in 1973, afterward residing in a number of collections. It was most lately auctioned in 2002 at Heritage’s FUN sale the place it realized $33,350.
Heritage writes on the PCGS Proof 64 graded instance with a inexperienced CAC sticker, “The Coolidge specimen provided right here shouldn’t be solely simply the second sandblast proof to look at public sale since 2008, it’s, to our data, the primary sandblast proof provided with CAC endorsement.”
The agency acknowledges that the Coolidge provenance — documentation is included within the lot — makes it particularly fascinating.
Heritage observes that these sandblast Proof points have two distinct classes: these with a traceable provenance to the unique recipient and people with out. “The historical past of a particular coin and the particular person to whom it was initially offered are monumental concerns when figuring out a coin’s numismatic and historic significance,” the cataloger notes, earlier than concluding, “There are few numismatic properties which were bought previously fifty years which have a extra stable, fascinating, and historic pedigree than this sandblast proof Hawaiian half.”
Heavy steel (gold medal)
One other spectacular lot comes from Heritage’s continued choices from numismatist Alan V. Weinberg, a 27-ounce Cyrus W. Discipline congressional gold medal measuring 102.2 millimeters in diameter and 9.5 millimeters thick, containing just below 25 troy ounces of gold. The congressional decision to award Discipline — an American businessman who laid the primary transatlantic cable — was accepted in 1867, and based on NGC, who graded the medal MS-62, it was struck in 1868.
Robert W. Julian stories that simply two had been produced. After the primary was briefly misplaced, a second was struck for Discipline. When the primary was found, it was bought by Discipline for the value of its gold content material. Julian’s analysis means that the provided medal was the second produced, and as such, was the one offered to Discipline. The dies had been additionally employed to strike aluminum and bronze examples, and an instance of the latter is obtainable in an accompanying Signature session.
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