Multimillion-Dollar Sets Involve the All-Time Finest 1913 Liberty Nickel, Graded PR66 by Professional Coin Grading Service
Bruce Morelan and Legend Numismatics recently completed a historic $6 million transaction to reclaim an exquisite collection of Liberty Nickels, including the 1913 Liberty Nickel graded PR66 by Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS). The sets, encompassing United States nickels dated from 1883 through 1913, were sold to Legend Numismatics by longtime collector Jerry Forsythe, who commissioned Laura Sperber and her Lincroft, New Jersey, auction company to build the sets.
“This specimen … was once owned by legendary collector Louis Eliasberg and, graded PCGS PR66, is the finest specimen known,” explains Brett Charville, president of PCGS, which graded the coin and other pieces in the Liberty Nickel sets recently procured by Morelan. “Bruce and Laura as a team have built some of the finest coin collections of our generation. Their collaboration exemplifies the amazing accomplishments that can be achieved when an ultimate collector like Bruce works with a true numismatic advocate like Laura.”
Both the Mint State and Proof collections of Liberty Head Nickels are ranked as number-one sets in the PCGS Set Registry, meaning these collections cumulatively boast the highest overall grade-point average of coins for all such registered sets. The keystone coin for the Proof Liberty Nickels With 1913 Proof (1883-1913) PCGS Registry Set is the 1913 Proof Nickel, and this transaction marks the third time Morelan has owned this exact specimen.
“It clearly is one of his all-time favorite coins,” says Legend Numismatics Founder Laura Sperber of the PCGS PR66 Liberty Nickel. “Bruce has no plans on selling it and is planning to keep it alongside his 1794 PCGS SP66 Flowing Hair Dollar and 1804 PCGS PR65 Draped Bust Dollar as family heirlooms.”
She goes on to say, “As a previous owner, the late Dr. Morton Smith, once said, ‘This coin needs a good home, [and] I am it.’ Morelan has the same feeling, and it’s his belief the 1913 Liberty Nickel is one of the greatest coins to own in all of numismatics.”
Morelan, whose recently repurchased 1913 Nickel previously sold at auction in 2018 for $4.56 million, further cements his place among the greatest collectors of all time.
“Not many collectors have owned both a 1913 Liberty Nickel and 1804 Draped Bust Dollar,” he notes. “Those two coins are so rare and popular, and simultaneous ownership just hasn’t happened much.”
His achievements put him in the company of but a handful of prestigious collectors to include Eliasberg and Reed Hawn. Morelan plans on displaying his prized 1913 Liberty Nickel at some point in the future.
