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Sale 42
Pre-Long Beach Coin and Currency Auction
| The Dr. Hesselgesser Collection of $20 St. Gaudens |
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| Lot |
Photo |
Description |
Realized |
Lot 3543 |
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1928 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-66 PQ. Lovely rich golden toning on both sides of this Premium Quality example. Nearly in the Superb MS67 class. Another gorgeous Saint-Gaudens twenty, this too, displays a precision strike on the legends and main devices (which is typical for the date, by the way), and not even a trace of soft detail at the key high points. Pop 2,278; 65 finer in 67 (PCGS # 9189) .
Estimated Value $2,200 - 2,400.
The Dr. Robert Hesselgesser Collection.
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| Realized
$3,480 |
Lot 3544 |
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1929 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-64 PQ. Frosty with a hint of light gold and green toning. A Premium Quality coin. The collector who knows his dates in the Saint-Gaudens series of double eagles will know at once that 1929 is a date to be reckoned with in all states of preservation. We do not need to tell readers that this one spikes up dramatically on the scale of price and rarity compared to the far commoner issues from Philadelphia in 1924-28. We suppose from having viewed a fair number of 1929 double eagles that a most never reached circulation. That explains why this piece in particularly is strikingly brilliant throughout with no heavy abrasions present to sidetrack your enjoyment of the smooth surface and bold color. And like most which are quite fully struck, this marvel of precision minting shows all regions crisply detailed including the centers of the main designs, Liberty and the eagle. The year 1929 marked the pinnacle of the economic boom in America in the 'twenties. The so-called Roaring Twenties as historians have come to describe that remarkable decade. What better way to commemorate the times than by associating yourself with the past through the ownership of this handsome (and very rare) double eagle. At the 2007 A.N.A. Convention top Double Eagle experts including David Akers all agreed that this coin should be Mint State 65.Pop 81; 27 finer, 22 in 65, 5 in 66 (PCGS # 9190) .
Estimated Value $40,000 - 45,000.
The Dr. Robert Hesselgesser Collection.
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| Realized
$52,900 |
Lot 3545 |
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1930-S $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-64 PQ. PCGS #11617033. Nice natural golden toning on both sides of this premium quality example. A very rare late date Saint Gaudens double eagle. The production run was a mere 74,000 pieces, helping to explain the low supply of coins available for collectors to obtain. There do not appear to be many abrasions that would bar this frosty double eagle from its lock-solid MS64 designation by the grading service. Since it is a near-Gem we encourage one and all to formulate a strict market price. There were be no slipping through the cracks when it comes time for bidding. Besides the coin's smooth features, both sides show a precision strike that conforms well with what we know about other 1930-S $20 gold pieces, that this date was more carefully produced than other S-mint twenties in the Saint-Gaudens series. Identical to other issues in the late 1920s and early 1930s, this was a heavily melted year. Like the 1929, 1931, 1931-D, and 1932 from the standpoint of total number of coins known, the amount saved was drastically reduced after the great gold seizure by the Federal government in 1933 (approximately $2.8 billion in gold valued at the then $20.67 per ounce fixed price). Pop 18; 7 in 65, 5 in 66 (PCGS # 9191) .
Estimated Value $130,000 - 140,000.
The Dr. Robert Hesselgesser Collection.
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| Realized
$152,375 |
Lot 3546 |
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1931 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-66. PCGS #11617030. Well struck with rich golden toning on both sides. Among the finest known. A very rare date. Since virtually the entire collector holdings for 1931 falls into the Mint State range, observation tells us that this date never reached general circulation. Most of the 2,938,250 pieces originally minted were melted by the government and today the 1931 is comparable in overall rarity to the equally respected 1932.
Among Saint-Gaudens pieces, the 1931 is considered as one of the top seven rarities in the series. Note that the population statistics by the grading services can sometimes be ambiguous since the same coin may have been submitted to both services at different times, or to the same service multiple times thus affecting the published figures. Be that as it may, only a few better-quality specimens have been auctioned in recent years, with this handsome MS66 among the most eye-catching and beautiful, the very sort of coin to handle the situation when numerous bidders show up at an auction hankering to bid. Pop 9; 1 in 67 (PCGS # 9192) .
Two events, completely separate from the issue of this rare double eagle, but worth mentioning all the same, occurred in 1931: The Star Spangled Banner was adopted as the United States National anthem, and a foreign-born gentleman with a thick Hungarian accent, Béla Ferenc Dezso Blaskó (October 20, 1882 -- August 16, 1956), but better known to us as Béla Lugosi, went on to fame (and fleeting fortune) on the silver screen with the airing of the 1931 original film version of Dracula.
Estimated Value $120,000 - 140,000.
The Dr. Robert Hesselgesser Collection.
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| Realized
$143,750 |
Lot 3547 |
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1931 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-63 PQ. A hint of light gold tone. A nicely struck Premium Qaulity example. Very rare date. If the purchase of a 1931 double eagle is on your agenda, do not expect to get any sleep the night before the sale with this piece waiting to cross the auction block. Some might wish they could pitch their moving tent outside the door of the auction room to get a choice seat when the room fills with bidders. Like a first ray of sunshine on a golden morning, this warm-golden, bold pieces is as sharp as any seen from new dies, just estimating from the details. The surfaces are vivid in their hue. Similar to the few other 1931-dated pieces of this caliber, the strike is thoroughly convincing in all areas, even where some weakness is often found at Liberty's facial features and toes. The only point where an "identifying feature" might be located is a small flake in the surface (as made) below EN of TWENTY on the reverse. All else is exceedingly choice for the grade, hence the "Premium Quality" assignment. Most of these were melted (this applies to the 1929-33 dates in particular). Pop 8; 62 finer (PCGS # 9192) .
Estimated Value $60,000 - 65,000.
The Dr. Robert Hesselgesser Collection.
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| Realized
$63,250 |
Lot 3548 |
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1931-D $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-62 PQ. Lovely orange and sea green toning. A great Premium Quality coin that should be regraded. A lovely example. Collectors prefer it when a coin has every possible positive attribute, and this 1931-D meets the challenge. It is very close to the MS63 grade assignment as seen in its glowing molten gold surfaces that contain the abovementioned patina and no observable problems on either side. More than a little elusive in such Choice condition and with intact mint color. Having covered the mint bloom, we take stock of the coin's detail. And here too, the coin excels: Clockwork precision is seen in the details of Liberty as well as the eagle, without a single soft spot noted in the strike, none whatsoever. The '31-D twenty is among the most desired rarities in the series. Most were melted. After looking at this coin many times we wonder why it is not a MS63 or MS64. Pop 14; 72 finer (PCGS # 9193) .
Estimated Value $60,000 - 70,000.
The Dr. Robert Hesselgesser Collection.
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| Realized
$63,250 |
Lot 3549 |
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1932 $20 St. Gaudens. NGC graded MS-66. NGC #1508325-003. Well struck with rich golden toning on both sides. A very rare date in top condition, the first of two offered in the Hesselgesser Collection. Creamy gold surfaces eddy and churn with almost "frothy" luster with the coin's color shifting back and forth between warm golds, peachy oranges, and pale rose shades. At the same time that the luster blossoms, substantial detail reveals itself on the highpoints of this exceptionally fine example. An historic offering in this grade, truly a coin to retain in your memory for years to come.
During the year this double eagle was minted, the country was in the throes of an economic maelstrom. Banks were closing left and right. The Dow Jones Stock Index, which had traded as high as 381 in September 1929, scraped bottom at 42 (yes, forty-two, for an 88% decline) in the summer of 1932. At the same time, the price of gold in London and other European capitals began to rise, climbing from $20.67 an ounce to about $29 an ounce late in the year as panic spread. (England, Germany, Austria, and other European governments had gone off the gold standard in 1931.) The American presidential election in November 1932, rather than soothing the disturbance with a nice calming layer of oil instead inflamed passions to the point where Americans (as well as Europeans) made their intentions known both legally and morally under the Gold Standard rules by engaging in a massive gold "run on the banks." It was in these circumstances that the new man in office, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, would take the rickety steering wheel in the first stress-filled "100 days" of his administration, March of 1933. Is it any wonder why so few rare 1932 double eagles exist today? Pop 9; 3 in 66 star (PCGS # 9194) .
Estimated Value $120,000 - 140,000.
The Dr. Robert Hesselgesser Collection.
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| Realized
$143,750 |
Lot 3550 |
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1932 $20 St. Gaudens. NGC graded MS-65. NGC #3021262-003. Lovely natural rich toning and well struck. A very important late date double eagle. A superlative Gem whose sharp beauty causes it to project extraordinary visceral impact onto any collector viewing it for the first time. From the yellow-gold satin luster with its pale reddish undertone, to the near-absence of tiny abrasions, all the evidence points to a first-rate example, an exemplary coin if we may be so bold as to state the obvious, a specimen whose illustrious quality is fully confirmed by the numerical grade.
This is the final affordable date in the double eagle series (the 1933 is too costly to contemplate unless you have co-signing rights to Donald Trump's checking account). When the time came for President Roosevelt to issue his executive order seizing the gold in the banks, the major stock of 1932 double eagles and other gold coins that were still being held as backing for currency and checking deposits were locked up, never again to see the light of day. Well, we've fudged there slightly; perhaps a few would see the light of day, since coin collectors probably are unaware of the fact, but tens of thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of double eagles were exported AFTER the gold seizure order in 1933. The few surviving pieces dated 1932 remained in their European hoards until the 1960s to 1980s, when they were sold back to savvy American gold importers. A revered date, perhaps fewer than a hundred to a hundred and fifty pieces survive of the 1932 double eagle mintage. Pop 14; 9 in 66, and 3 in 66 star (PCGS # 9194) .
Estimated Value $90,000 - 100,000.
The Dr. Robert Hesselgesser Collection.
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| Realized
$103,500 |
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