Goldberg Coins and Collectibles

Sale 57

Pre-Long Beach Coin and Currency Auction

$20 Gold St. Gaudens

Lot	Photo	Description	Realized
Lot 2684		1926 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-64. An intensely lustrous example exhibiting delicate mint bloom colors (PCGS # 9183) . Estimated Value $1,650 - 1,700. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,696
Lot 2685		1926 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-63. Captivating sunset golden toning graces both sides. Fantastic lustrous surfaces (PCGS # 9183) . Estimated Value $1,450 - 1,500. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,495
Lot 2686		1926-D $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-62 PQ. Well struck, fully lustrous, boasting rich golden bloom colors. A Premium Quality coin for the grade. Among Saint-Gaudens double eagles the 1926-D is one of the most elusive of its era. The color of this coin is especially attractive, with the underlying luster glistening. The strike is sharp like on a P-mint 1926 (it is the 1926-S double eagles where poor rims predominate). Further, we note no weakness on the main devices on either side. There are a few light bagmarks in the obverse field and on Liberty, but a glass is needed to see them -- a euphemism for "none are major, not a one objectionable." Among the most desired double eagles in the series in any condition. Worthy of the finest collection. In the context of the 1920s the production figure for the 1926-D is considered small, just 481,000 pieces. It is to be expected that of these, only a few were distributed, perhaps a thousand or so. Today, the population is likely in the range of 300 to 450 pieces according to the field population in Bowers' double eagle guide book, placing it squarely in the rarity class. (Years ago, just a handful were known, and much ink was expended on extolling the fame of the 1926-D. Catalogs from the late 1940s and early 1950s are well worth reading in this regard. They transmit an appreciation for the Saint-Gaudens series, not only the '26-D but for other key issues as well.) As noted, this is a watershed event in any sale of U.S. gold coins. Pop 49; 73 finer (PCGS # 9184) . Estimated Value $30,000 - 33,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 2687		1927 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-64 PQ. Intense lustrous surfaces. Premium quality for the grade (PCGS # 9186) . Estimated Value $1,650 - 1,700. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,754
Lot 2688		1927 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-63. Golden toning. We note a few copper spots on both sides (PCGS # 9186) . Estimated Value $1,450 - 1,500. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,409
Lot 2689		1927 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-63. Lightly toned. A choice, well struck double eagle (PCGS # 9186) . Estimated Value $1,450 - 1,500. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,466
Lot 2690		1927 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-63. Subdued toning is visible on both sides of this frosty coin (PCGS # 9186) . Estimated Value $1,450 - 1,500. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,466
Lot 2691		1927 $20. NGC graded MS-63. Soothing golden hues. Estimated Value $1,450 - 1,550. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $1,466
Lot 2692		1927 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-63. Eye catching mint luster, as fresh as a daisy. (Gold is money and money is gold, even if we no longer use it in our everyday lives. For example, you and each of your 83.33 closest friends could have bought a large bottle of Heinz Ketchup back in 1927 with one $20 gold piece. The price per bottle was 24¢. Today, at our estimated bid price of $1500 for the coin, you and your now 753.7 closest friends and loved ones can do the same with 32oz bottles @ $1.99 each. The lesson: gold retains its buying power.) (PCGS # 9186) . Estimated Value $1,450 - 1,500. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,495
Lot 2693		1927 $20. NGC graded MS-61. Light bag marks. Estimated Value $1,250 - 1,300. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $1,265
Lot 2694		1927-S $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-63. Fully lustrous with rich mint bloom colors on both sides. A very scarce date, particularly so this choice. Throw away the mintage figures on this date, as virtually all were melted. Perhaps 250 are known today per the Bowers Double Eagles guide book (Breen estimated only 15, but that seems comical with today's Population Reports helping to expand our knowledge). This coin has mint fresh luster and is well struck, although a bit weak at the extreme edge (on the reverse only), common on San Francisco double eagles of this period. A handful of unobtrusive marks, including a few on the flight-feathers, does not detract in the least from the overall eye appeal. In conclusion, an impressive coin for the MS63 grade, and one that will please most collectors since it is well preserved with choice color. Pop 25; 13 finer (PCGS # 9188) . Estimated Value $40,000 - 44,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 2695		1928. NGC graded MS-64. Sensational golden orange shades are evident on both sides, eye-appeal that hits a home run! Estimated Value $1,650 - 1,700. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $1,581
Lot 2696		1928 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-63. Frosty and choice. We note a small rim nick below the sun on the reverse (PCGS # 9189) . Estimated Value $1,450 - 1,500. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,466
Lot 2697		1928 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-63. Lightly toned (PCGS # 9189) . Estimated Value $1,450 - 1,500. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,466
Lot 2698		1928 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-62 PQ. Nice golden toning, glowing luster (PCGS # 9189) . Estimated Value $1,400 - 1,450. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,351
Lot 2699		1928 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-62. Another that has shimmering luster; average bagmarks for this grade (PCGS # 9189) . Estimated Value $1,350 - 1,400. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,294
Lot 2700		1928 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-62. Lightly toned (PCGS # 9189) . Estimated Value $1,350 - 1,400. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,323
Lot 2701		1928 $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded AU-58 (PCGS # 9189) . Estimated Value $1,100 - 1,150. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,236
Lot 2702		1930-S $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-65. A stunning gem example bursting with rich mint bloom colors throughout. The lovely natural rose & golden toning on both sides improves the already expansive beauty of this Gem quality example. An extremelyrare late-date Saint-Gaudens double eagle. The production run was a mere 74,000, serving to give an explanation of the low supply of coins to be had by collectors. Always difficult to obtain. There do not appear to be many abrasions that would bar this frosty double eagle from its lock-solid MS65 designation by the grading service. It is really quite spectacular! Since it is a full-bore Gem we see no need to persuade one and all to prepare a strict market price. There will be no slipping through the cracks with this one when it comes up 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 year was a heavily melted one. In the vein of the 1929, 1931, 1931-D, and 1932 from the standpoint of total number of coins known, the number saved was severely reduced after the great gold confiscation by the Federal government in 1933 (approximately $2.8 billion in gold valued at the then $20.67 per ounce fixed price). As an MS65, the 1930-S is an extremely rare coin with very few pieces having been so graded by the major services. Of the highest order of rarity, this piece will be certain to spawn much interest at lot viewing and the price it finally realizes at the sale could be a revelation to many. Pop 8; 5 finer in 66 (PCGS # 9191) . Estimated Value $150,000 - 160,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $161,000
Lot 2703		1931-D $20 St. Gaudens. PCGS graded MS-65. A well struck frosty gem specimen ablaze with delicate golden mint bloom colors. One of the finest graded of the date, and a rarity in all grades. Breen estimated two decades ago in his Encyclopedia that only 30-35 survived, but this number appears low to us now, since the combined NGC and PCGS Population Reports show more than 120 pieces graded in all grades. All the same, the coin presented is clearly one of the better specimens known, this radiant gem boasts luxurious golden frost around the periphery, enhanced by pleasing light rose shades in towards the centers. Minor handling marks but nothing to keep this from the rock-solid gem class it is in, as a strong glass will reveal. An opportunity for the advanced numismatist. The rarity of the 1931-D should be readily evident after Akers referred to a group of fifteen to twenty examples that surfaced in the mid 1980s. While the coins in that "hoard" were sufficient to knock the 1931-D out of the same rarity class as the vaunted 1930-S, most of these graded no better than Choice MS63. Often the various grading services overshoot in their estimates or undershoot, but on this particular occasion they must have had their 20-20 spectacles focused, which resulted in their shooting squarely at the bull's eye and hitting it dead on target. A strong, quibble-free MS65, in other words. This leaves gemmier specimens like the one offered here as better condition rarities. The present naturally toned 1931-D $20 gold piece is among the most attractive of the late date issues we have offered in recent sales, primarily due to its spectacular aesthetic appeal! Pop 14; 3 finer in 66 (PCGS # 9193) . Estimated Value $80,000 - 85,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $103,500
Lot 2704		A Pair of 1908 No Motto Saints. Grades include: PCGS MS63 and PCGS MS64. Both coins are lightly toned. Estimated Value $3,050 - 3,200. View details	Realized $3,134
Lot 2705		A Pair of $20 Saints. Both Sharpness of AU-50. Both coins lightly cleaned with rim marks. Dates include: 1908 No Motto and 1925. Estimated Value $2,100 - 2,200. View details	Realized $2,300
Lot 2706		A Pair of Saint Gaudens Double Eagles. Dates include: 1910-S VF cleaned and 1927 AU cleaned. Estimated Value $2,000 - 2,100. View details	Realized $2,300
Lot 2707		A Trio of PCGS graded MS63 Saints. Dates include: 1920, 1923, and 1924. All display a hint of toning. Estimated Value $4,350 - 4,500. View details	Realized $4,485
Lot 2708		A Pair of NGC graded MS62 Saints. Dates include: 1922 and 1924. They are both toned. The 1922 displays just a touch of coloration. Estimated Value $2,700 - 2,800. View details	Realized $2,588
Lot 2709		A Trio of 1924 Saint Gaudens Double Eagles. NGC graded all UNC Details. All three have some problems. Estimated Value $3,300 - 3,400. View details	Realized $3,571

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