1861 Paquet Reverse Features in $16 Million Type I Double Eagle Display at January FUN

Gold Coin Worthy of a King Makes First Appearance in a Decade

By Monaco Rare Coins ……
The finest known of only two 1861 Philadelphia Mint Paquet Reverse Double Eagles, graded NGC MS67, has been sold and will be publicly displayed for the first time in a decade during the January 2017 Florida United Numismatists (FUN) Convention in Fort Lauderdale. It once was part of the fabled Palace Collection of King Farouk of Egypt.

Insured for $8 million, the historic gold coin will be displayed along with the Horseneck Collection of Type I Double Eagles that includes many of the finest known coins of their kind. The Horseneck Collection is also insured for $8 million, according to Adam Crum, Vice President of Monaco Rare Coins in Newport Beach, California.

The 1861-P Paquet Reverse was privately sold by Brian Hendelson, President of Classic Coin Co. of Bridgewater, New Jersey, for an undisclosed price to Larry Lee, President of Coin and Bullion Reserves of Panama City, Florida. Previous owners include Baltimore banker Waldo Newcomer, former U.S. Treasury Secretary William Woodin, Egyptian King Farouk and Ambassador and Mrs. R. Henry Norweb.

“The Paquet Reverse $20 denomination gold coin is named after Anthony C. Paquet, a mid-19th century engraver at the United States Mint, and only a few of them are known from the Philadelphia and San Francisco Mints dated 1860 and 1861. The reverse side of Paquet design has slightly taller, slender letters than the similar reverse design by Mint engraver James B. Longacre on other Double Eagles of that era,” explained Crum, author of the reference book, An Insider’s Guide to Collecting Type I Double Eagles.

“The 46-coin Horseneck Collection of Type I Double Eagles struck from 1850 to 1866 includes a dozen coins recovered from famous shipwrecks: the 1857 sinking of the fabled ‘ship of gold,’ the SS Central America; the 1865 wreck of the SS Republic; and the 1865 sinking of the SS Brother Jonathan,” said Crum. “The set’s 1854-O is graded NGC AU-58, tied for finest known, and was recovered from the SS Republic in 2003.”

Other highlights of the set include:

• 1850 graded PCGS MS-63+;
• 1856-O, NGC AU-58;
• 1857-S, recovered from the SS Central America, PCGS MS-66;
• 1861-S, Paquet Reverse, NGC AU-58; and
• 1866-S, No Motto, NGC MS-61.

“This is only the second display the Horseneck Collection. The first was at the 2016 ANA World’s Fair of Money in Anaheim, California where it was one of the featured exhibits and a highlight of the show this past August. I anticipate it will attract many new admirers in Florida when it’s displayed during the first three days of the 2017 FUN show, January 5 to 7,” said Crum.

“This remarkable set of Type I Double Eagles are owned by an anonymous East Coast numismatist who began collecting coins as a child in the 1950s. He worked for over decade with Monaco’s Sr. Numismatic Advisor, Neil Sharkey, and they took great care in choosing coins which are not only high quality, but have exceptional eye appeal and pedigree.” he explained.

Mark Salzberg, Chairman of NGC, had this to say about the set:

“The 1861 Philadelphia Paquet $20 Liberty has to be the greatest $20 Gold Liberty in mint-state, not only is it of exquisite quality, but it’s pedigree makes it one of the most interesting regular issue gold coins extant. The Horseneck Collection of Type I Double Eagles shows what commitment to quality can produce with a little patience and resources. The coins are all outstanding and the collector deserves a lot of credit for seeing it through to its completion.”

The set will be featured at the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) table #200.

For additional information about the exhibit, contact Adam Crum at Monaco Rare Coins at (888) 900-9948.