Goldberg Coins and Collectibles

Sale 41

Pre-Long Beach Coin and Currency Auction

$1 Gold Liberty

Lot	Photo	Description	Realized
Lot 1441		1849 $1 Gold Liberty. Open wreath. PCGS graded MS-64. Well struck and frosty. A lustrous coin soaking up mint glow on choice surfaces with nothing to censor it from its refined grade. Pop 161; 58 finer, 44 in 65, 12 in 66, 1 in 67, 1 in 69 (PCGS # 7502) . Estimated Value $1,500 - 1,600. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $2,128
Lot 1442		1849 $1 Gold Liberty. Open wreath. NGC graded MS-63. Small head variety with L. Untoned open wreath. Here is an early modification of the obverse design featuring a smaller bust of Liberty than on the later 1849 issues. The reverse design has an Open Wreath enclosing the date and denomination. This obverse and reverse combination only appeared on the coinage of 1849. Gold dollars were struck in Philadelphia, New Orleans, Charlotte, and Dahlonega in this year. The Open Wreath design was common to the coinage of all Mints (PCGS # 7502) . Estimated Value $1,000 - 1,050. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,093
Lot 1443		1850-C $1 Gold Liberty. SEGS graded MS-61. There is a faint hairline in the field at the star nearest Liberty's chin. Well struck and lustrous. Our grade is AU-58, but the coin retains almsot all of its original bloom and sparkle. Scarce C-mint date: only 6,966 pieces struck (PCGS # 7510) . Estimated Value $3,200 - 3,400. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $3,680
Lot 1444		1850-D $1 Gold Liberty. NGC graded MS-63. Mostly untoned. With this lot, we are proud to offer a lovely example whose satiny bright yellow gold luster complements the wonderfully detailed design definition. Liberty's facial profile is slightly frosted. The surfaces are quite choice and faintly suggest prooflike reflection, with a few very minor hairlines. One of the very finest Mint States in existence (per the following census), a truly important Dahlonega gold dollar and a milestone for the specialist in the series. With regard to mintage and rarity, this issue is in the middle of the series of Dahlonega Mint gold dollars. In 1850, this Georgia mint produced 8,382 gold dollars, the third highest mintage of any issue from 1849 to 1861. Perhaps it is this mintage that explains why this issue is often mistaken and underrated. Only four issues are rarer in high grade according to Douglas Winter. His "High Grade Rarity" ranks the number known in AU50 and higher grades, useful information in relation to the present sale. More to the point, this present 1850-D is ranked between 1860-D and 1861-D issues for rarity in high grade. Pop 4; 2 finer in 64 (PCGS # 7511) . Estimated Value $15,000 - 17,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $17,250
Lot 1445		1853 $1 Gold Liberty. NGC graded MS-63. Lightly toned. The centers as well as the outer areas are splendid yellow-gold oscillating with deeper frostier peripheries. Sharply struck on obverse and reverse including all stars (PCGS # 7521) . Estimated Value $750 - 800. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $891
Lot 1446		1853-C $1 Gold Liberty. NGC graded MS-63. Only 11,515 minted. A hint of light golden toning and a nice strike for this date. Likely a rare Mint State survivor from this low mintage Southern Mint, just estimating from the details. The surfaces are vivid gold in hue and satin-fresh with luster. Struck with uneven exactness throughout which produced weak rim dentils yet better detail in some of the stars and on Liberty. There is a small flake in the planchet near the lower obverse border as well as a thin line through the 1 in the denomination on the reverse. A bold "C" mintmark. Pop 13; 3 in 64, 1 in 65 (PCGS # 7522) . Estimated Value $9,500 - 10,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 1447		1854-D $1 Gold Liberty. NGC graded AU-58. Lightly toned with plenty of luster still intact. Only 2935 coins struck. This exciting Dahlonega gold rarity has original gold luster present with a hint of toning that suffices to add character to the very pleasing surfaces, surfaces that are free of any serious impediments. It resides in a grade classification with a small accompaniment of other AU58 coins. There are about two dozen Mint States recorded in the census. Of course, he was not aware of this example and it is not included in his roster. The opportunity to acquire a rarity is more important than the price paid. No matter what the successful bidder pays for this 1854-D, he will then possess it, while hundreds if not thousands of gold dollar buyers will be left seeking a similar dream-specimen and regretting the lack of an ownership opportunity. Among Type I gold dollars of the brief 1849-54 period, the 1854-D stands out among Dahlonega issues. It is the rarest issue, both in terms of mintage and from the number of examples than can be counted today. All may have been struck from one reverse die (the obverse has not been as closely studied), this die being one of three shipped to Dahlonega for use this year. (Enough obverses were on hand from prior years that no additional obverse dies were required in 1854.) Regarding the number surviving from the 2,935 mintage, a ratio of 3% to 4% would point to as few as 100 pieces, which, indeed, is probably quite near the mark. In any auction season, very few pieces appear for sale. Pop 34; 28 finer (PCGS # 7526) . Estimated Value $7,000 - 7,500. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 1448		1855 $1 Gold Indian. PCGS graded MS-62. Nice golden toning on this popular type 2 gold dollar. Here and there some marginal uneveness in the strike (primarily at centers). A wreath of corn, cotton, maple, and tobacco that designer James B. Longacre would in due course immortalize on the Flying Eagle cent also made the move from the three dollar gold piece to the new Type 2 gold dollar. Once the Treasury Department agreed to the new design, coinage began on August 19, 1854. The design would last only into 1856 (PCGS # 7532) . Estimated Value $2,800 - 3,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $2,990
Lot 1449		1855-C $1 Gold Indian. SEGS graded MS-60 T-2. Retooled obverse fields. Expert rim repair @ K-12. A more or less typical strike for this rarity sharp outer detail but soft centers. Somewhat lustrous with pleasing light reddish-gold color; the surfaces are as described, worked in the obverse field. The reverse shows die clash marks within the wreath that is typical on an 1855-C gold dollar. This is the least available of the Charlotte Mint dates in higher grades. It belongs to a collection where it will be cherish for its rarity and historic angle rather than as a condition-rarity, and will undoubtedly highlight such a set (PCGS # 7533) . Estimated Value $6,000 - 6,500. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 1450		1855-D $1 Gold Indian. NGC graded AU-58. Well struck and untoned. Only 1,811 struck. A very rare date. Light die clash visible around Liberty, with more extensive clash marks (as always, on the reverse, where a ghost image of the Indian head shows within the confines of the wreath. Well struck on the denticles and all legends, perhaps excepting the 8 in the date (which lies opposite the highest point of Liberty's hair on the other side). The date 1855-D is legendary among collectors of this series. Partly, this is because it is the only Dahlonega Mint Type 2 Gold Dollar; but especially it is renowned for having a low mintage, hence, great rarity. There were three dies shipped to the Mint in 1855. And after being struck, nearly all the coins did what they were meant to do, they circulated, many of them significantly. This coin's superior quality is of the sort that turns heads and attracts nods of approval from those in the know. The low NGC census says a lot, too, about the number of survivors in this upper grade level: Pop 14; 6 finer, 1 in 60, 1 in 61, 1 in 63, 3 in 64 (PCGS # 7534) . Estimated Value $22,000 - 24,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $21,850
Lot 1451		1858-D $1 Gold Indian. NGC graded MS-62. A nice full strike with all letters and numerals complete. Attractive honey color golden surfaces. This is another choice Dahlonega Mint gold dollar, with the obverse well struck, save for the very highest points of the hair and ostrich feathers; smooth rolling luster, heavy lettering (as almost always seen), and bold appearance -- very praiseworthy. The reverse also does itself justice in featuring nice striking on the wreath, date and legends, with no traces of the minting irregularities sometimes found on other D-mint dates. As has been mentioned before, in the field of Charlotte and Dahlonega coins, aesthetic beauty far surpasses mere numerical condition. And it is here that the present coin scores high on all counts, generating a truly memorable experience for the auction bidder. Pop 15; 10 finer, 7 in 63, 1 in 64, 2 in 66 (PCGS # 7549) . Estimated Value $11,000 - 12,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 1452		1859-D $1 Gold Indian. NCS graded Details of AU-50. Improperly cleaned. Untoned with moderate hairlines. Only 4,952 coins minted. Concerning the 1859-D gold dollars, none were intentionally saved at the time, and thus survival of pieces in any condition is a matter of chance (PCGS # 7553) . Estimated Value $1,000 - 1,200. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,110
Lot 1453		1860-S $1 Gold Indian. PCGS graded MS-61. Rich golden-orange color. As if this were not sufficient to whet the appetite of a gold coin collector, the piece shows striking sharpness above and beyond the norm, with excellent detail on the hair of Liberty, the plumes of the ostrich feathers, and, on the reverse, the wreath, including the bow. The gold dollars of 1860-S are very scarce, approaching rare in Mint condition. There may be coins that sell for more than this, however few can match the combined rarity, desirability, and quality of this attractive MS61 1860-S gold dollar. Encapsulated in an old green label holder. Pop 6; 16 finer, 7 in 62, 6 in 63, 2 in 64, 1 in 65 (PCGS # 7557) . Estimated Value $2,200 - 2,400. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 1454		1861 $1 Gold Indian. PCGS graded MS-65. Rich golden toning on both sides. Tinged in delicate golden-rose shades whose deep color and vibrancy will cause anyone to fall in love with on first viewing. What's more this isn't just "virtually" fully struck, but indeed it is razor-sharp. The hair and headdress show definitive detail. The wreath, too, basks in bold color, luster and keen-edge design. Just the ticket for a collector who would like to own a Civil War era gold piece in full Gem condition. Hoarding of gold and silver coins began at the outbreak of the Civil War in April 1861 and grew in intensity until all suddenly disappeared in 1862. After about June, 1862, the United States Philadelphia Mint was, so far as gold was concerned, merely an establishment conducted for the benefit of New York banks and bullion dealers. West of the Mississippi, however, where large amounts of gold were coined in San Francisco, most gold and silver remained in circulation. The war panic in the metropolitan areas of the Eastern states seemingly did not find its counterpart in the commerce in the Far West. Pop 25; 7 in 66. (PCGS # 7558) . Estimated Value $2,500 - 2,700. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 1455		1862 $1 Gold Indian. PCGS graded MS-66. Well struck with nice toning. The surfaces are radiant and each side has a nice veneer of patina that whips and tosses as it alternates between lighter and darker shades atop the smooth golden satin glowing from within. Surrounding N of UNITED is a more prooflike areas of surface. What's more, substantial detail to the highpoints on this fine example gives it a boost, with a thorough and effectual imprint from the dies on Liberty and the shield; there are no weak areas left after the recoil of the dies, none whatsoever. Pop 24; 3 in 67 (PCGS # 7560) . Estimated Value $2,400 - 2,600. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $2,760
Lot 1456		1874 $1 Gold Indian. Numistrust graded MS-64. Well struck and attractively toned about the borders. Our grade is MS 63 (PCGS # 7575) . Estimated Value $600 - 650. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $604
Lot 1457		1875 $1 Gold Indian. NGC graded MS-61. Nice golden toning. Reflective surfaces. Production of one-dollar gold at Philadelphia descended like a torn hot-air balloon from 198,820 pieces in 1874 to a mere 420 coins in 1875. Four hundred of the latter were the business strikes, a figures that classifies the 1875 as the key date, low-mintage Philadelphia Mint issue in the series. Perhaps no more than 50 to 70 business strike 1875 gold dollars remain out of that total. Nearly all, oddly enough, grade Mint State. The present coin has a small, diagnostic mint-caused die scratch in the obverse field below the chin. The surface is relatively few of abrasions for the MS61 grade. A Prooflike coin with pleasing fresh-gold appearance. Pop 4; 9 finer. Only 400 struck for this year. Very rare (PCGS # 7576) . Estimated Value $6,000 - 6,500. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $7,800
Lot 1458		1885 $1 Gold Indian. PCGS graded MS-65. Lovely rich golden toning. Some faint adjustment lines through the upper feather ends. A nice fresh-appearing gold piece with notable luster throughout, satiny, almost prooflike in its tendencies. This is a well-struck example of the 1885 issue with good details. It has no bothersome abrasions, copper spots, or points of wear. Only 11,156 struck. Pop 61; 24 in 66, 10 in 67 (PCGS # 7586) . Estimated Value $2,400 - 2,500. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold