High-end, popular collector coins were featured as the September 6-9 Signature US Coin Auction in Long Beach raised close to $6 million for its consignors. Additional auctions of world coins, world currency, and US currency are expected to raise the total in Long Beach above $18 million. As always, all prices realized include a 20% Buyer’s Premium.
Two octagonal 1915-S Panama-Pacific $50 gold pieces were among the top lots of the coin auction. This iconic coin, struck to the tune of fewer than 700 pieces, has been a collector favorite for years, in part due to its large size and high denomination, and in part because its octagonal shape recalls the octagonal ingots issued during the California Gold Rush. Lot 3285, an example graded MS64 by NGC, sold for $90,000, while lot 3284, graded MS63 by PCGS, hammered for $72,000.
Another iconic collector coin, the 1895 Morgan Dollar, sold for $87,000 during the coin auction proceedings. Although Mint records say that twelve thousand examples were struck for circulation, they must either have borne a different date or have been melted, as today only proofs are known, creating a key date for the collectors of the popular Morgan dollar series. This piece was graded Proof-65 by NGC and bore the CAC sticker as endorsement of its quality.
Selling for $66,000 was a 1795 half dollar in the extremely rare O-132 variety. This is the only example of this variety traced today, with the only other example referred to in the numismatic literature not having been seen since the 1920s.
A few of the additional highlights of this coin auction included:
- 1879-CC $10 AU53+ NGC
- 1797 50C O-101a, Fine 15 PCGS Secure
- 1889-CC $1 MS62 PCGS Secure
- 1875-S 20C MS67 PCGS
- 1866-S $20 No Motto AU50 NGC
- 1880-CC $10 MS60 NGC
Our next coin auction of US coins is scheduled for October 11-15 in Chicago. It will be open for bidding soon at coins.HA.com!
