Mercury dime collector and serial entrepreneur, Randal Sadler, wins Annual Numismatic Survey prize
Heritage Auctions has awarded a Mint State 1907 High Relief Saint-Gaudens double eagle to longtime collector Randal Sadler as the Grand Prize in its annual, 2016 numismatic survey. The renown American classic was certified by NGC as MS61 Wire Rim, and its estimated value is $15,000.
Sadler, of Loveland, Ohio, is CEO at several companies, including PROWARE, a software used by the U.S. Court system; a UV water purification company; and a golf course. He has been a Heritage Auctions member for over a decade, specializing in Mercury Dimes.
“I’ve always taken Heritage’s surveys over the years,” Sadler said. “I use Heritage exclusively to purchase coins. Being a software engineer, I know that Heritage has just an awesome website. No one else has as much information available to collectors as Heritage.” Through Heritage Auctions, Sadler has assembled one of the most impressive Mercury Dime collections in the country.
Right: Grand Prize winner Randal Sadler
“Like most, I’ve been collecting since I was a kid,” Sadler said. “My father serviced the soda machine at his work and when I got my 50 cent allowance, I asked to get it in Mercury Dimes, Buffalo Nickels and Standing Liberty Quarters from the machine. Every week my allowance went into my Whitman folders.” Sadler’s boyhood fascination with numismatics and collecting has remained a lifelong passion, and he is a regular at coin shows across the nation.
Additional prizes awarded in the annual numismatic survey include:
First place, five winners may auction up to $100,000 at 0% sellers commission.
Second place, 10 winners may auction up to $50,000 at 0% sellers commission.
Third place, 10 winners may have a Heritage Auctions’ representative review their collection, give professional current market evaluation and have up to 30 coins certified by PCGS or NGC at Heritage’s expense.
The Grand Prize 1907 High Relief Double Eagle is considered by many to be the most beautiful variety of America’s most alluring coin. President Theodore Roosevelt personally selected sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens to create the now iconic coins as part of his initiative to improve the aesthetic qualities of America’s coinage. However, the high-relief edge was incredibly complicated to produce and prevented the coins from being stacked, limiting their commercial use.
Production was halted after 12,367 were minted, and a reduced-relief version with the date in Arabic numerals was produced from the remainder of 1907 until 1933. The scarce high-relief variety is at the top of most collectors’ want list, and examples are avidly pursued wherever they appear.
Sadler is excited to add a mint state example to his already remarkable collection.
“This is the first coin of this type I’ve ever owned so I’m really looking forward to adding it to my collection,” Sadler said.
