|
Images courtesy of Ira
& Larry Goldberg Coins and Collectibles
The May 11, 2004 issue of
NUMISMATIC NEWS announced that NGC had recently graded the coin MS-63.
Significant examples:
PCGS MS-63 (illustrated
above). Unique! Discovered in early 1978 - Rarcoa - purchased by
John Abbott in 1978 for $425,000 - Auctions by Bowers & Merena, Inc.'s
"Four Memorable Collections" sale, September 1985, Lot 174, $176,000 -
"two prominent East Coast dealers" - Martin Paul - Superior's session of
Auction '86, Lot 1053, $253,000, "Brilliant Uncirculated with full
prooflike surfaces" - offered beginning in 1991 for $1,500,000.00 - to be
offered in Ira & Larry Goldberg Coins and Collectibles' Auction, October
1-4, 2000, Lot 1629 -
Varieties:
Q. David Bowers noted a "microscopic raised line" on the upper left
arm of Miss Liberty, wondering whether this might also appear on some of
the Half Dimes issued by the Philadelphia Mint (since they were
responsible for creating the dies sent to San Francisco).
Notes:
Numismatic treasures await us in the most unlikely places. Take the
1870-S Half Dime, for example. According to official Mint records, none
were ever struck, despite the fact that six pairs of Half Dime dies were
on hand at the San Francisco mint. Yet, in early 1978, a single example
of this previously unrecorded date was purchased as a common type coin.
The exciting news of the discovery of an 1870-S Half Dime stunned the
numismatic world and, following it's exhibition at the 1978 convention of
the American Numismatic Association, this previously unappreciated coin
sold for $425,000 to Michigan dealer John Abbott. How was the selling
price for this unique rarity determined? -- by a formula agreed to in
advance by all parties in which $25,000 was added to the hammer price of
the 1804 Silver Dollar sold as part of the John Work Garrett collection!
Accounts of the discovery
of the 1870-S Half Dime vary. One account claims the coin was found in a
"junk tray", another says a "junk box" (same thing, actually), and a third
says it was bought over the counter as a common type coin by a Cook County
(IL) dealer.
The cornerstone of the
second San Francisco Mint may contain another example of the 1870-S Half
Dime along with an 1870-S Three Dollar Gold piece (which is known to have
been placed therein) and possibly other 1870-S dated coins.
The following is a list of
all 1870-S dated silver and gold coins and their reported mintages:
1870-S Half Dime - 0
1870-S Dime - 50,000
1870-S Quarter Dollar - 0
1870-S Half Dollar - 1,004,000
1870-S Silver Dollar - 0
1870-S Gold Dollar - 3,000
1870-S Quarter Eagle - 16,000
1870-S Three Dollars - 0
1870-S Half Eagle - 17,000
1870-S Eagle - 9,000
1870-S Double Eagle - 982,000
Examples are known of every
denomination listed above except for the Quarter Dollar (could this be the
next undiscovered treasure?)
According to Breen, the
reverse of this coin was later used to produce 1871-S Half Dimes. He also
lists the exact weight of this piece as 19.599 grains (1.27 grams) and the
specific gravity as 10.316. The edge has 107 reeds.
Examples are known of every
denomination listed above except for the Quarter Dollar (could this be the
next undiscovered treasure?
The only/finest Uncirculated example graded by PCGS is a single MS-63.
Sources and/or
recommended reading:
"Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial
Coins" by Walter Breen
"The PCGS Population Report, October 2003" by The Professional Coin
Grading Service
Description of Lot 1053 in
the Auction '86 sale catalog
The Coin World website at
http://www.coinworld.com
/reading/errors/05amazing_g.html
Harlan Berk's website at:
http://www.harlanjberk.com/departments/
articles/td_arrtc/Tom11.htm
Numismatic News, May 11,
2004, page 52
|
