The Athens Collection of US Coins
The Athens Collection is a single-owner offering of US collector coins from the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries. All coins but one have a denomination of a dollar or lower, and roughly two-thirds of the offerings are Proofs. This collection is featured in a Heritage Auction scheduled for 6 PM Central Time on November 22, with bidding open now at Coins.HA.com.
The rarest and most sought-after Morgan dollars of 1921 are without question the deeply mirrored pieces known as Chapman Proofs. Students of the series are familiar with the 1921 Proof Morgans, most of which are attributed to a special order on the part of Farran Zerbe, and a few of which – an estimated 10-12 pieces — were struck on account of Henry Chapman. The Chapman Proofs are of significantly higher quality than the Zerbe pieces, and even low-grade coins display deep mirroring in the fields reminiscent of the government-sanctioned Proof Morgans of 1904 and earlier. Such is the case with the Athens Collection example. Despite the modest PCGS-assigned PR62 grade, the fields are distinctly mirrored, complementing the satiny devices and overall brilliant surfaces. As such, this is a pleasing example of this coveted proof rarity and a must-have item for the advanced Morgan dollar specialist.
There are numerous other highlights of this auction, including:
- 1877 20C PR63 Cameo PCGS
- 1836 $1 Judd-60 Original, Medal Alignment, Pollock-65, PCGS Genuine. Proof
- 1864 $1 PR64 PCGS
- 1888 $1 PR65 Cameo PCGS
- 1795 $5 Small Eagle, BD-3, AU55 PCGS
Bid on this auction exclusively at Coins.HA.com.
