Goldberg Coins and Collectibles

Sale 80

June Pre Long Beach Sale

Seated Liberty Dollars

Lot	Photo	Description	Realized
Lot 918		1840. PCGS graded Proof 62 PQ. CAC Approved. Nice even purple and blue toning. Only 15 minted. This boldly defined Select Proof 62 exhibits dusky mirrored fields beneath well-developed toning, and sharp clear devices, which had the coin been brilliant and untoned may qualify it for a Cameo designation. All stars sharply struck. Liberty's hair razor-detailed as well (some specimens in Proof show soft strike on the hair). Liberty and the shield keen-edged as well, with a broad square rim. On the reverse, full feathers and talon details. Very rare. Silver dollars dated 1840 have always been in strong demand by collectors as the first year of the design type. Most dollars of this era have bold, broad rims, making them very attractive but, at the same time, susceptible to bruises. According to the Bowers silver dollar encyclopedia, perhaps the odd mintage figure of 61,005 represents 61,000 business strikes plus five Proof or presentation coins, but this is unknown. However, more than five Proofs were eventually struck. The number of Proof dollars struck was nowhere recorded (nor were Proof mintages recorded for most other dates of the next two decades), but if one had to make an educated guess based upon Census figures and earlier auction records, perhaps on the order of 20 to 40 coins. Slightly more of this date were struck than of 1841 or 1842, both of which seem rarer today. "Conventional wisdom, as published by Walter H. Breen, suggests that restrikes were made of certain Proof dollars bearing the 1840 dates, and of other dollars in the 1840s, but I have seen no evidence of this in my own studies. For purposes of the present book, I take the stand that all Proof dollars 1840-1850 are originals, struck in or about the dates indicated on the coins. I believe that a Proof reverse die was kept on hand and used each year during this period, in the same manner that the large-berries half cent reverse die was used annually to coin half cents during the same period. For a different view, see Walter H. Breen's Proof coin Encyclopedia." Proof Seated Liberty dollars of this date were issued in sets (containing all denominations from the half cent to the silver dollar) as well as, apparently, individually. Pop 2; 11 finer, 8 in 63, 2 in 64, 1 in 65 (PCGS # 6981) . Estimated Value $18,000 - 19,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $19,975
Lot 919		1843. PCGS graded MS-63. Lovely blue and golden toning. A few light marks on Liberty, the obverse with lovely original smoky gray and russet toning, the reverse featuring light to medium dappled gray patina. At the same time that the luster blossoms, substantial detail reveals itself on the highpoints of this early No Motto Seated Dollar where some but not all stars show their radial lines, Liberty hair, drapery and shield are well defined, and the eagle is displaying full plumage, including the important neck feathers, wings, legs and claws. These are sometime problematic areas, but not the case here, everything is very sharp. Pop 15; 5 finer in 64 (PCGS # 6929) . Estimated Value $6,500 - 7,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $7,344
Lot 920		1845. NGC graded MS-62. Nicely toned. Repeating the low-mintage Silver Dollar production begun in 1844, the 1845 has an original mintage of just 24,500 pieces. The latter issue is very popular among collectors and rightly so, since the realization among most collectors that they often need to acquire circulated examples even though a Mint State is what is really desired, is more pronounced for the 1845. Writing in 1993, Q. David Bowers describes the 1845 in Mint State as "the rarest of all Liberty Seated Dollars of the 1840s." The elusive nature of this issue in Uncirculated condition is such that both the definitive Seated Dollar sets offered in the Richmond Collection (David Lawrence, 2004) and Morris Silverman Collection Heritage, 2002) had examples that graded only MS60. As one of the few Select 1845 Seated Dollar that we have ever offered, it is at the center of the useful "Condition Census" hierarchy for this issue. The surfaces really cannot get any more original in their light silver gray color. A few highpoints of the reverse eagle are a little softly defined (neck feathers and left wing), but we stress that the overall impression is notably sharp for the year and Type. Mint luster is softly frosted and suitably complete, while there are even hints of very modest brightness evident in the obverse field at certain angles. Just a few scattered, generally widely-distributed abrasions are all that seem to bar this important condition rarity from an even choicer grade. Pop 5; 4 finer, 3 in 63, 1 in 64. The Year 1845 in History, from the Bowers encyclopedia of Silver Dollars: "In 1845, Florida joined the Union on March 3rd as the 27th state, and on December 29th the erstwhile Republic of Texas (established in 1836) became the 28th. The border dispute with England over the definition of the line between Oregon and the British lands continued to make the news. Oregon belonged to the United States "by right of our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions," editor John L. O'Sullivan proclaimed in the July-August issue of United States Magazine and Democratic Review. In his annual message to Congress, President James Knox Polk decreed that we had the proper claim to the border at 54 degrees, 40 minutes and that this right was beyond question, giving rise to the cry, "Fifty-four forty or fight!" The city of Portland was established in Oregon Territory and was named after a city in Maine when two people from New England flipped a large cent to choose between Portland and Boston. To the south, relations with Mexico worsened, but there was no intention of going to war about it." Estimated Value $12,000 - 13,000. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $12,338
Lot 921		1845. NGC graded AU-55. Lovely natural toning. Only 24,500 struck of this elusive, low mintage issue. Few silver dollars were made in the 1840s, and then mintage bounced all over the place. The merchants and bankers who deposited metal with the Mint generally asked for half dollars instead of one-dollar coins. And so the Mint obliged. Highly prized in this outstanding state of preservation. Pop 367; 47 finer at NGC. Estimated Value $2,000 - 2,100. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $2,468
Lot 922		1846. NGC graded AU-53. Mostly untoned, we see luster evident around the devices and withini the stars and letters. Estimated Value $800 - 850. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $881
Lot 923		1847 and 1872 Liberty Seated Dollars. Both cleaned and damaged. Lot of 2 coins. Estimated Value $150 - 200. View details	Realized $329
Lot 924		1850-O. NGC graded MS-62. A scarce low mintage date. Beautiful natural iridescent tone featuring a blending of turquoise and rose added to its appeal. Only 7,500 struck. Pop 6; 10 finer, 6 in 63, 1 in 63 Star, 3 in 64. Estimated Value $10,000 - 11,000. View details and enlarged photos	Unsold
Lot 925		1854. PCGS graded Proof 64 PQ. CAC Approved. Lovely blue and gold toning. Well struck and very choice. Only 30 minted. Here we present a Proof Seated Liberty Silver Dollar that rarely appears with any degree of frequency in today's active rarities market. The original mintage of this issue is unrecorded, but numismatist suppose that somewhere between 50 and 100 pieces were sold to collectors as part of the year's Proof sets. The high-quality Proof 64 survivor in this lot exhibits natural toning that deepens in the peripheral areas to iridescent color. Both sides show exalted levels of nice mirrored fields with satin-textured devices that provide some cameo contrast (not mentioned on the PCGS holder). Outwardly bothersome handling marks are usually unavoidable on these large Proofs, as one should expect for the assigned grade, and we do find a very few little ticks on Liberty�s body at the high points and along the left arm, nothing even approaching noticeable, however. Indeed, the eye appeal is grand, the colors exquisite. Isolated striking incompleteness over the eagle's left wing is noted for accuracy. Advanced Seated Dollar collectors would be prudent to enter strong bids when this lovely specimen crosses the auction block. Pop 3; none finer at PCGS (PCGS # 6997) . Estimated Value $25,000 - 28,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $27,025
Lot 926		1854. NGC graded Proof 64. Only 30 minted. Lovely blue toning. Pop 7; 2 finer, 1 in 65, 1 in 66. Estimated Value $19,000 - 20,000. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $20,563
Lot 927		1855. NGC graded Proof 64. A nice bold strike with even toning on both sides. Only 60 minted. Pop 8; 3 finer, 2 in 65, 1 in 66. Estimated Value $19,000 - 20,000. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $20,563
Lot 928		1858. PCGS graded Proof 63. Only 300 minted. Light hint of gold obverse toning. Very popular coin. A glistening Choice Proof with luster that practically flies off the reflective surface. Subtle hints of champagne and other light colors bring out the expansiveness of the strike while it enhances the unexpectedly beautiful eye appeal of this coin. The obverse is razor-sharp while the reverse is only slightly less so, with most of the eagle properly impressed by the die, but only reasonably so along the left wing�s upper edge. (This is common on both Proof and circulations strike Seated Dollars. It may be due to this area of the design being in higher relief than it should have been.) The 1858 Dollar has long been considered to be a classic of the series. No specimens were struck for circulation, so the only surviving pieces are those made in Proof. Often a long span of time will elapse between offerings of these, particularly the choice quality offered here. Another major opportunity for the Silver Dollar specialist. Pop 30; 11 finer, 7 in 64, 4 in 65 (PCGS # 7001) . Estimated Value $8,000 - 9,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $11,456
Lot 929		1859-S. PCGS graded MS-61. Nice light gold toning. Only 20,000 minted. An historic issue, the 1859-S is the first Silver Dollar struck in the San Francisco Mint. It is also the only S-mint date in the No Motto Seated Dollar series that was issued from 1840 until 1866; one of just three San Francisco Mint deliveries in the entire Seated Dollar series. The '59-S was produced solely for export to the Orient. A case might be made that survivors of this 20,000-coin delivery are so elusive in today's market that virtually the entire mintage must have been sent to the Far East. Once overseas, these coins were melted because they were lighter than their Mexican 8 Reales counterparts, a coin they were meant to compete with, and one that Oriental merchants favored over all others. Very few 1859-S examples were retained stateside, and even fewer escaped the melting pot once exported. This, then, is one of the scarcest issues in the entire Seated Dollar series, and it is a significant condition rarity in all Mint State grades. A gorgeous strictly graded MS61 meeting the tight requirements by the grading service for this designation. The original toning mingles nicely with the luster, and exhibits some lovely iridescence in the blues and amber-golds. Pop 3; 14 finer, 6 in 62, 7 in 63, 1 in 64+ (PCGS # 6948) . Estimated Value $9,000 - 10,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $10,869
Lot 930		1860-O. PCGS graded MS-62 PQ. CAC Approved. A nice untoned example with semi-reflective fields and only a modicum of the usually seen bagmarks. Sure looks like a MS-63 coin. Most of these bright and lustrous BU 1860-O (and 1859-O) Seated dollars trace to the US Treasury Department where several original bags were released to the public in the 1960s (PCGS # 6950) . Estimated Value $2,000 - 2,100. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $2,350
Lot 931		1868. PCGS graded Proof 64 Cameo. Only 600 minted. Small mark by the 2nd star. The satin-like gleam of originality is safe and sound from most other abrasions of measurable size. Where a collector might expect to see the usual deviation in the sharp relief, mainly in the centers of the coin where the design sometimes failed to completely fill the dies even on the Proofs, this standout Seated Liberty Dollar takes the opposite road by being boldness personified! Pop 23; 9 finer, 7 in 65, 2 in 66 (PCGS # 87016) . Estimated Value $5,000 - 5,500. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 932		1868. PCGS graded Fine-15. Mostly untoned (PCGS # 6961) . Estimated Value $250 - 275. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $411
Lot 933		1869. NGC graded MS-64. Lovely light golden toning. Semi-reflective fields. Pop 10; 3 finer in 65. Estimated Value $8,500 - 9,000. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $9,106
Lot 934		1870. NGC graded Proof 66. Only 1,000 minted. Lovely rainbow toning on both sides. Pop 11; none finer at NGC . Estimated Value $17,000 - 18,000. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $19,388
Lot 935		1870-CC. NGC graded AU-55. Only 11,758 minted. Dark toning on both sides. Pop 24; 38 finer. Estimated Value $7,500 - 8,000. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $8,225
Lot 936		1870-CC. PCGS graded VG-8. Housed in an Old Green Holder. Only 12,462 minted. Nice even wear. Popular CC Dollar and one that collectors yearn for as the most affordable CC mint Seated date among the four issues made at Carson City, Nevada, 1870-73. Pleasing color and surfaces (PCGS # 6964) . Estimated Value $600 - 650. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,028
Lot 937		1871. NGC graded EF-45. Mostly untoned with luster visible. Well struck example of the With Motto design, issued from 1866 to 1873. Estimated Value $500 - 550. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $617
Lot 938		1871. NGC graded EF-40. Nice even toning. Estimated Value $450 - 500. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $529