By Dan Duncan – Pinnacle Rarities….
From before the turn of the last century, the U.S. Mint produced coinage to commemorate specific events and individuals giving numismatics one of its most popular issues – the classic commemoratives series of 1892 to 1954. Pinnacle Rarities, Inc. is proud to announce the purchase of the incredible Bruce Scher 144 piece collection. The set is currently ranked by the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) as the number one all-time set in their Registry program.
The classic commemorative series has delighted U.S. collectors since their debut in 1892. Commemorative issues however, have been around since ancient times when Greeks and Romans commemorated their victories and rulers with images on early coinages. While commemorative medals were quite popular during the Mint’s early years, the production of commemorative legal tender didn’t happen until the World’s Columbian Exposition approached Congress and received approval in the summer of 1892 for the production of souvenir half dollars to be used for admission and as keepsakes from the fair. Eventually two coins were produced for the fair with the Board of Lady Managers gaining approval for a commemorative quarter. No other commems were produced until 1900 when another grand fair warranted it, this time a dollar for the Exposition Universelle in Paris, France. Over the next two decades, The Mint continued to offer a few commemorative examples for various celebrations, eventually opening the flood gates producing examples of 24 different designs in 1936. After this watermark year, the production began to wane with the last official issue the 1954 Washington Carver.
The series remains popular with collectors today for many reasons. Each design within the set is acutely pegged to a historical event or individual. The various motifs create demand from commemorative collectors and to individuals who cross collect the events. Some collectors focus on the number of recurring themes that are represented within the 50 designs as they chronicle the history of the U.S. including issues documenting early settlers, the Civil War, our nation’s westward push and other themes.
Click here to read more about collecting commems.
The Bruce Scher Collection has one example of each of the 50 designs, including a specimen representing every year and Mint mark from multiple year issues. Each coin was chosen for both superior eye appeal and high technical merit. The coins will be offered privately and through our website. The set contains six subsets all of which will remain all-time finest or among the finest on the PCGS Registry as follows: the Texas, Boone, Arkansas, BTW and Washington-Carver rank currently as the all-time finest. The Oregon set is ranked number two all-time and the 50 piece set ranks third all-time. Collections rarely are offered intact. The opportunity to view and catalog such an accomplishment was a thrill.
“Pinnacle is proud that Bruce chose us to market his fabulous collection. It has been our honor to work closely with Bruce in building this set and it is a joy handling these amazing specimens again,” remarked Kathleen Duncan, co-owner of Pinnacle Rarities, Inc.
It take years to assemble a collection like this, and this set’s impressive quality and aesthetic merits insure it will be remembered for many years to come.
VIEW THE SET ON THE PCGS REGISTRY HERE
VIEW AVAILABLE COMMEMS AND OTHER NEW COINS HERE
(Available Coins Will Post 6/25/2012)
