Goldberg Coins and Collectibles

Sale 69

The May Pre-Long Beach Auction

$2.50 Gold

Lot	Photo	Description	Realized
Lot 1931		1834. No motto. PCGS graded AU-50. Light golden toning with slightly reflective surfaces. The year 1834 was a pivotal one for U.S. gold coins in particular. The melt value of a quarter eagle produced in the old-tenor Capped Bust style had risen to $2.66; the gold content was reduced, with this Classic Head, No Motto design style signifying the change (PCGS # 7692) . Estimated Value $900 - 950. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,150
Lot 1932		1835. NGC graded MS-61. As usual, a trifle soft in the centeres. Brilliant and untoned. To permit gold coins to circulate at par -- which had not happened since 1815 -- Congress reduced the authorized weight of the various denominations through the Act of June 28, 1834. On August 2, 1834, the new standard went into effect with these William Kneass-designed pieces. To readily differentiate the new coins from the old, the design was changed. Chief Engraver Kneass created what is called the Classic Head today. The head of Liberty faces left, her hair secured by a band inscribed LIBERTY, stars circling her head, and with the date below. The reverse depicts an eagle with a shield on its breast, perched on an olive branch and holding three arrows. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and 2 1/2 D. surrounds. The motto E PLURIBUS UNUM, used on quarter eagles since 1796, was omitted (PCGS # 7693) . Estimated Value $3,000 - 3,200. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $2,818
Lot 1933		1839-C. PCGS graded MS-61. Nice golden toning. Only 18,140 struck. Mintmark on obverse above the date. Date repunched at 39. Light yellow gold still evident in the protected areas merging into warm orange shades of "old gold" toning on the topmost design and throughout much of the field, very pretty, and with indications of extra careful handling and preservation over the years. Probably the net result of loving ownership by its former admirers. Sharply struck with a wealth of detail, this scarce issue has extraordinary importance as the first quarter eagle from the newly opened Charlotte Mint. Three die varieties are described below, this example being variety C. Rather than being an overdate, this is better described as a repunched date, in our opinion. On the present piece a tiny line or crack connects the left tip of the shield to the eagle's beak, and there are other die cracks noted as well. Another crack connects the obverse rim through star 9 and hair to TY then along the tops of those letters to the hair curl below. Identification of three die varieties: A: Mintmark over left half of digit 3. Tip of branch stem over right upright of D. Usually cracked, neck to right wing. B: Mintmark over left half of digit 3. Tip of branch stem over left edge of D. Usually cracked through E of STATES. C: Mintmark over space between 83. Usually cracked, left shield tip to beak. Pop 1; 2 finer in 62 (PCGS # 7699) . Estimated Value $18,000 - 19,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $23,575
Lot 1934		1843-C. Large date, plain 4. NGC graded EF-45. "C" over "C" mintmark. Only 23,076 struck. Clean, virtually mark-free surfaces with moderate strike softness at centers. The reverse shows less detail than the obverse on even the best grade pieces, so grading is typically done from the obverse (PCGS # 7728) . Estimated Value $1,300 - 1,400. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,898
Lot 1935		1843-O. Small date, crosslet 4. PCGS graded AU-55 (PCGS # 7731) . Estimated Value $400 - 450. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $546
Lot 1936		1846. SEGS graded MS-61. Only 21,598 struck. Our grade is Sharpness of Mint State with some marks. Lustrous for such an early Liberty Quarter Eagle. Mint production would rise sharply after the discoveries of the California gold fields beginning in 1849-51. But many dates in the 1840s, like this 1846 Philadelphia Mint are very scarce. Estimated Value $1,800 - 1,900. View details and enlarged photos	Unsold
Lot 1937		1849-C. NGC graded AU-58. A nice untoned example. Only 10,220 struck. The 1849-C is one of the scarcer dates of the late 1840s quarter eagles from this mint. There were slightly over ten thousand pieces struck, of which 125-150 are believed to exist today. Only a few dozen pieces are known in AU, and just four or five properly graded Uncirculated pieces are believed extant, the highest graded of which is MS62. The current NGC population might be inflated somewhat by resubmissions. This piece shows typical Charlotte Mint detail for the year, with some weakness on the forehead curls; the reverse is sharp overall, with minor weakness on the legs and claws. The surfaces are lustrous and show several light ticks and a few faint hairlines (not from cleaning). Both sides are light golden in color with everything pleasing for the grade. An example with better eye appeal than usually seen on this underrated date. Pop 18; 8 finer, 3 in 60, 4 in 61, 1 in 65 (PCGS # 7753) . Estimated Value $5,500 - 6,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $6,095
Lot 1938		1851-O. AU-55. Consigned too late for 3rd party grading. Nice light golden toning. Estimated Value $650 - 700. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $1,150
Lot 1939		1852-D. NGC Unc Details, whizzed. Rare low mintage of only 4,078 (PCGS # 7765) . Estimated Value $1,000 - 1,150. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 1940		1853. NGC graded AU-58. Very close to Mint State (PCGS # 7767) . Estimated Value $300 - 325. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $334
Lot 1941		1854-O. NGC graded AU-55. Untoned; luster (PCGS # 7772) . Estimated Value $450 - 500. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $472
Lot 1942		1856. NGC graded MS-63. A nice frosty coin. Has a few light striations sometimes called "roller lines" through the brow and hair. Flattering mint frost that pulsates with reddish-gold to bright color. Practically fully struck, with just a suggestion of weakness at the eagle�s left leg and both claws. Pop 39; 34 finer (PCGS # 7777) . Estimated Value $1,000 - 1,100. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 1943		1857-S. NGC graded AU-55. Lightly toned. Only 69,200 struck of this scarce early San Francisco Mint date quarter eagle. Lustrous (PCGS # 7785) . Estimated Value $1,000 - 1,050. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $920
Lot 1944		1858-C. PCGS graded AU-58. Lovely golden-orange colors. Only 9,056 minted of which merely 225 examples are estimated to have survived. As years go on and such high-grade coins as this AU58 1858-C quarter eagle become less plentiful, as certain pieces meet varying fates through loss, handling, etc., we feel certain these will be rarer than the population figures suggest today. All of this noted, on an absolute basis the 1858-C at this level is a significantly scarce issue, a numismatic treasure, another find for the specialist. Date logotype very deeply punched into the die, slightly closer to the dentils than to the neck truncation, and somewhat to the left. Reverse with upper right of C mintmark embedded in arrow feather. Some die striations on the reverse indicate that this was probably an early impression, a thought amplified by a lack of clash marks (which tend to be common on branch mint coins of this era). Pop 9; 28 finer: 2 in 60, 7 in 61, 14 in 62, 5 in 63 (PCGS # 7787) . Estimated Value $4,000 - 4,500. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $4,370
Lot 1945		1861. PCGS graded MS-64 CAC Approved. New reverse. Bold strike with reflective fields. Tremendous detail from a very positive strike, which collectors like better to see than wishy-washy detail; furthermore, the surfaces show sharp golden hues. The mint luster rolls around both sides with a pleasing reflective sheen, and none of the features reveal any bothersome distractions. Possibly this piece was one of the earliest from new dies, judging by the prooflike tendencies. Pop 80; 35 finer (PCGS # 7794) . Estimated Value $1,700 - 1,800. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $2,128
Lot 1946		1862. NGC graded AU-50. Mintage of 98,508 after a burst of panicked bullion depositors caused the prior year's coinage to spike to almost one and one-third million pieces and the outbreak of the Civil War (1861-65). Most gold coins were hoarded in the Eastern region of the country thereafter. Many were exported. Mintage figures fell off to low levels except for the main export coin, the double eagle. If a merchant or exporter wished to acquire gold coins from a bank or from the U.S. Treasury in the years 1862-79, he often had to pay a stiff premium over face value. At one point in 1864 at the depths of the crisis, it took $264 in greenbacks to purchase $100 face in gold coins (PCGS # 7796) . Estimated Value $1,500 - 1,550. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 1947		1879. NGC graded AU-58 PQ CAC Approved. Only 1,100 examples are estimated to have survived (PCGS # 7830) . Estimated Value $300 - 325. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $408
Lot 1948		1890. PCGS graded MS-63 PQ CAC Approved. Only 8,720 minted. Light gold toning with reflective fields. Pop 29; 28 finer, 24 in 64, 3 in 65, 1 in 66 (PCGS # 7842) . Estimated Value $1,000 - 1,100. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,553
Lot 1949		1891 DDR FS-801. PCGS graded MS-64. Doubled reverse die with doubling most obvious on OF AMERICA per Breen-6310. A very choice, near-gem example. Pop 1; The Finest of 8 graded at PCGS for the variety (PCGS # 145709) . Estimated Value $1,700 - 1,800. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $2,185
Lot 1950		1894. Sharpness of AU. Polished surfaces resembling a proof. Estimated Value $200 - 225. View details and enlarged photos	Unsold
Lot 1951		1898. PCGS graded MS-64 PQ CAC Approved. Well struck and frosty. Only 24,000 minted (PCGS # 7850) . Estimated Value $750 - 800. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $845
Lot 1952		1903. Our grade is Sharpness of Mint State. The surfaces have been smoothed. Estimated Value $250 - 275. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $276
Lot 1953		1904. PCGS graded MS-63 CAC Approved. Another choice Liberty $2.50 gold piece. There were few calls for this denomination by bullion depositors, hence the slim mintage figures even in 1900-07, the most prolific dates. Compare the Red Book figures to those of double eagles struck the same years (PCGS # 7856) . Estimated Value $500 - 525. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $552
Lot 1954		1904. PCGS graded Mint Error MS-62. Obverse struck thru. This is a category of error coins which spans a very large number of types and kinds. The name "struck-thru" has been given to any kind of coin which was struck through some foreign object or material which was between the die face and the blank being struck. Terms like clogged dies, filled dies, and other related names all refer to the same general classification of errors. In each instance, the coin will have some kind of a depressed area which isn't the intended design meant for that strike. That depressed area will be an erratically shaped indentation which may or may not be identifiable. Due to the nature of the error, no two such error coins will ever be exactly alike (PCGS # 7856) . Estimated Value $450 - 500. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $483
Lot 1955		1905 PCGS graded Genuine Filed Rims (PCGS # 7857) . Estimated Value $275 - 300. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $265
Lot 1956		1906. PCGS graded MS-61 CAC Approved. Nicely toned (PCGS # 7858) . Estimated Value $400 - 425. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $472
Lot 1957		1907. PCGS graded MS-62 PQ CAC Approved. A hint of gold tone, plus bathed in frosted luster (PCGS # 7859) . Estimated Value $425 - 450. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $506
Lot 1958		1852, 1854, And 1854-O. Our grade is VF20. Lot of 3 coins. Estimated Value $600 - 700. View details	Realized $720
Lot 1959		A Lot of U.S. Gold Coins. Consists of: $1 Gold Type 2; 1854 XF with scratch and $2½; 1913 AU with minor flaw. Lot of 2 coins. Estimated Value $200 - 225. View details	Realized $588
Lot 1960		A Pair of U.S. Gold Coins. Consists of: $1 1860 NGC AU55 and $2½ 1861 PCGS AU53 OGH. Lot of 2 coins. Estimated Value $500 - 525. View details	Realized $587
Lot 1961		1908. PCGS graded MS-62. Mostly untoned, this is the first year of issue and lustrous (PCGS # 7939) . Estimated Value $400 - 425. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $495
Lot 1962		1909. PCGS graded MS-65 PQ. Rich golden toning and well struck. Housed in an OGH. Devices are sharp in all areas, as struck, as desired by collectors, which the grading service has taken into consideration in assigning the grade, as also desired by collectors. 1909 is, as a rule, scarcer than some of the P-mint dates on either side, and is certainly much rarer in Gem MS65 than the 1925-29 issues. The satin-like gleam of golden-colored originality is safe and sound from most abrasions of measurable size. Pop 144; 18 finer, 2 in 65+, 16 in 66 (PCGS # 7940) . Estimated Value $4,500 - 5,000. This is part of the #3 ranked PCGS Registry Set. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 1963		1909. ICG graded MS-63. Lightly toned. Estimated Value $800 - 850. View details and enlarged photos	Unsold
Lot 1964		1911. PCGS graded MS-65 PQ. CAC Approved. Housed in an OGH. Pop 78; 5 finer, 4 in 65+, 1 in 66. Lovely even golden toning. A problem-free Gem with luster racing across the surface, vivid and exciting in appearance when one considers the "average" Mint State�s appearance. What's more, the fields acquit themselves nicely in terms of the fewness of marks. Further on point, a blunt impression is sometimes left by the recoil of the dies that struck this year's coinage; just the same, we can report that this �11-P specimen, unlike the others, is outstanding in its detail and sharpness (PCGS # 7942) . Estimated Value $6,000 - 6,500. This is part of the #3 ranked PCGS Registry Set. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 1965		1912. NGC graded MS-63+ CAC Approved. Frosty and carefully preserved from the elements over the last 100 years (PCGS # 7944) . Estimated Value $1,100 - 1,200. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,265
Lot 1966		1914. PCGS graded MS-65. Housed in an OGH. Nice even gold toning. In Mint State, the 1914 is typically available with a sharp strike. The present example does indeed please in this regard, with all devices nicely delineated from a clear powerful impression. The color is lovely orange-gold in shade and is free of individually identifiable distractions. Housed in an early green-insert PCGS holder. The 1914 ranks second or third in rarity after the 11-D among the 15 Indian Quarter Eagle deliveries both in an absolute sense and is virtually tied with the 1914-D at the MS65 grade level. It is an important issue that can be a real stumbling block to assembling a high-quality Registry Set. Pop 48; 3 finer, 2 in 66, 1 in 67 (PCGS # 7946) . And for a bit of trivia: If one were to take a Time Machine back to 1914 when this Quarter Eagle made its appearance, and to wander through the local department and grocery stores, these are the prices he would find: women�s skirt, $5 each; mens shirts, Madras-silk, $1 to $3.50 each; boy�s suit, Norfolk style, $1.90 each; beef roast, 15¢ to 22¢ a pound; eggs, 22¢ a dozen; Pillsbury�s Best flour, 72¢ for a 24.5lb bag (!); bicycle, $15.00; movies, 15¢ to 25¢ a ticket; Persian rug, $5.75 to $22.00 each. Estimated Value $30,000 - 33,000. This is part of the #3 ranked PCGS Registry Set. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 1967		1914-D. NGC graded MS-64 CAC Approved. A frosty example. Choice from inside and out with luster extending across the key highest points of design! The satiny surfaces are afire with bright golden hues. Pop 1127; 40 finer, 39 in 65, 1 in 67 (PCGS # 7947) . Estimated Value $2,800 - 2,900. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $3,278
Lot 1968		1914-D. NGC graded MS-62. Lightly toned (PCGS # 7947) . Estimated Value $500 - 550. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $552
Lot 1969		1915. PCGS graded MS-65. Housed in an OGH. Light golden toning. Velvety to frost-laced fields almost stagger under the weight of its highly lustrous gold color. A hint of weakness at that is typically seen on the lower headdress feathers is missing on this much sharper struck specimen, with the key central areas strongly hit by the dies. A gem! Pop 106; 4 finer, 1 in 65+, 3 in 66 (PCGS # 7948) . Estimated Value $5,000 - 5,500. This is part of the #3 ranked PCGS Registry Set. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 1970		1915. PCGS graded MS-63 PQ CAC Approved. Choice throughout. A nice golden luster shoots from this coin. Precision strike on every device (PCGS # 7948) . Estimated Value $725 - 750. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $863
Lot 1971		1925-D. NGC graded MS-62. A hint of light gold tone (PCGS # 7949) . Estimated Value $400 - 425. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $437
Lot 1972		1926. PCGS graded MS-62 CAC Approved. Very frosty (PCGS # 7950) . Estimated Value $400 - 425. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $437
Lot 1973		1928. PCGS graded MS-62 PQ CAC Approved. Lightly toned and well struck. Impressively struck on the obverse feathers, the resounding gold tone resonates to the eye (PCGS # 7952) . Estimated Value $400 - 425. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $437
Lot 1974		1929. PCGS graded MS-64 PQ CAC Approved. A nice coin, one whose originality is evident in all areas: The deeply struck, matte-like surfaces are draped in a vibrant golden patina and show minimal abrasions. A sharp impression was left by the recoil of the dies that struck this coin (PCGS # 7953) . Estimated Value $1,250 - 1,300. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,409
Lot 1975		1929. PCGS graded MS-63 CAC Approved. Mostly untoned and well struck for the issue. What would $2.50 buy back then? Here are some typical grocery store prices from 1929: Apples.22/3 lbs; Bacon, Fireside, sliced.45/lb; Bananas.25/dozen; Bread, Supreme.08/loaf; Butter, Louella.53/lb; Cantaloupe.19/2; Coffee, Maxwell House.49/lb tin; Lamb chops.39/lb (PCGS # 7953) . Estimated Value $725 - 750. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $621
Lot 1976		1929. PCGS graded MS-62. Very frosty. Final year of design. There would be no further Quarter Eagles made going into the Great Depression (1929-39) (PCGS # 7953) . Estimated Value $400 - 425. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $506
Lot 1977		1929. PCGS graded MS-62 CAC Approved. A nice frosty coin (PCGS # 7953) . Estimated Value $400 - 425. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $437