A Stella, certified by NGC, sells for $750,000, while a gold certificate, certified by PMG, sells for $600,000
A U.S. coin certified by NGC and a U.S. gold certificate certified by PMG – both from the late 19th century – finished at the top of Heritage Auctions’ sales at the FUN show last week. A group of four World War I notes from German New Guinea, all certified by PMG, was the top lot in Heritage’s world currency auction. These and other highlights follow:
Heritage Auctions’ FUN US Coins Signature Auction (January 4, 2018)
Lot 5009 — An 1880 Flowing Hair $4, graded NGC PF 67 Cameo, realized $750,000. Only about 20 specimens are believed to have survived of this type and date. The short-lived Stellas, which were issued only in proof and only in 1879 and 1880, are among the rarest and most desirable US gold coins.
Lots 5007 and 5008 – An 1879 Flowing Hair $4, graded NGC PF 67 Cameo, realized $312,000. While not as rare as the 1880 Flowing Hair $4, this particular specimen was among the finest for its type and date. Another 1879 Flowing Hair $4, graded NGC PF 66 ★ Ultra Cameo realized $240,000 moments later.
Lot 5097 – An 1856-O $20, graded NGC AU 50, realized $288,000. This is believed to be the rarest gold coin struck at the New Orleans Mint; the NGC Census contains only 11 of these coins.
Lots 4763 and 4764 – A 1943 bronze cent graded NGC MS 61 BN and a 1943-S bronze cent graded NGC AU 53 BN sold for $180,000 and $228,000, respectively. Copper was needed for the war effort at the time, and every 1943 cent, except for a few errors, was struck in steel. Those struck in bronze are highly sought by collectors due to their extreme rarity.
Lots 5188-5197: An Original Panama-Pacific Double Set sold for $550,021. The 1915 coins, struck to commemorate the opening of the Panama Canal, include a silver half dollar, a gold dollar, a gold quarter eagle, a round gold $50 and an octagonal gold $50. The double set allowed both the obverse and reverse to be seen in the display case. Among the 10 coins sold from the double set, a 1915-S Round Panama-Pacific Gold $50, graded NGC MS 66, realized $192,000, while a 1915-S Octagonal Panama-Pacific Gold $50, graded NGC MS 65, realized $138,000.
In a further testament to how special this set is, the original case sold for $18,000.
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Heritage Auctions’ FUN Currency Signature Auction (January 5, 2018)
Lot 22201 – An extremely rare 1882 $1,000 Gold Certificate, Fr#1218e, graded PMG 30 Very Fine, realized $600,000. The rare combination of the Rosecrans and Nebeker signatures indicates that this note is from the early 1890s. Only five such examples are known.
Lots 22274 and 22275 – Two 1934 $10,000 Federal Reserve Notes, Fr. 2231-B – one graded PMG 64 Choice Uncirculated and the other graded PMG 63 Choice Uncirculated – realized $132,000 and $114,000, respectively. The notes have a colorful history: They were part of a $1 million display of $10,000 notes at Binion’s Horseshoe casino in Las Vegas.
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Heritage Auctions’ FUN World Currency Signature Auction (January 4, 2018)
Lot 28312 – A group of four rare German New Guinea Notes from the Australian occupation during World War I, offered as a single lot, realized $168,000. The canceled notes, which have written dates of October 14 or November 5, 1914, are a 5 Marks graded PMG 45 Choice Extremely Fine, a 10 Marks graded PMG 53 About Uncirculated, as well as a 20 Marks and a 50 Marks, both graded PMG 35 Choice Very Fine.
