By Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker for CoinWeek Notes …..
Conway Anderson Bolt was a medical doctor and prominent figure in the Mid-Atlantic coin-collecting scene from the 1940s until his passing on November 25, 1973. A resident of Marshville, North Carolina, he worked as a medical consultant for the Union County Health Department.
Bolt was one of the few collectors to have ever owned a 1913 Liberty Head Nickel, purchasing one in 1943. Bolt would sell it to fellow Tar Heel George O. Walton in 1946. According to Harvey Stack, Walton and Stack’s played a major role in the curation of the Bolt Collection.
Stack’s sold the bulk of Bolt’s collection at auction from April 21-23, 1966, in conjunction with the Metropolitan New York Numismatic Convention held at the Park Sheraton Hotel at Seventh Avenue and 57th Street.
Bolt did not part with all of his numismatic holdings in 1966. Not consigned to the Stack’s sale was a collection of branch mint gold, which the Bolt estate sold to World-Wide Coin Investments in 1974, and Bolt’s collection of errors, which was sold by Pine Tree Auction Company at their 1975 G.E.N.A. sale November 20-22, 1975.
Conway’s 1849 Mormon $10 Gold Piece in “Strictly Fine” realized $11,000 ($107,360 in 2024 inflation-adjusted dollars) and was the sale’s top earner. This coin, according to Heritage Auctions, was purchased by the Church of Latter Day Saints. Four other private and pioneer gold pieces are counted in the sale’s Top 20.
Other highlights included Bolt’s 1879 Flowing Hair Stella, which sold for $6,000 ($58,600 adjusted), his 1796 Liberty Cap Quarter Eagle, Without Stars at $5,500 ($53,680 adjusted), and an 1886 Liberty Head Double Eagle in “Brilliant Uncirculated” condition, which brought $2,400 ($23,424 adjusted). The 1886 is one of the series’ toughest dates, and only a handful of examples are known in Mint State. It’s more likely that the Bolt coin would grade AU today.
The Bolt catalog contained no mention of half cents, which is unexpected considering a mostly complete date set of large cents, most noted in Very Fine to Extra Fine was on offer. Noted as uncirculated were Bolt’s 1812 Classic Head Cent, S-290, which was plated and noted as having “surface porosity in front of the nose; his 1816-1818 Classic Head Cents, 1820 Matron Head Cent, Large Date, 1831 Matron Head Cent, Large Letters, 1833 Matron Head Cent, Small Letters, two 1835 Modified Matron Head Cents, Young Heads (one with die break from 1 to ear); as well as most of his late dates.
Bolt’s complete set of Flying Eagle and Indian Head Cents in Mint State, plus duplicates and Proof issues, sold for $6,300 ($61,488 adjusted).
Bolt’s 1909-S V.D.B. Lincoln Cent is described as “Brilliant Uncirculated, Gem” and “one of the nicest examples we have handled in some time.” No image was provided, so we will likely never know how nice this coin was, but it’s a good bet that it wouldn’t crack the condition census today. Other notable Lincolns were his complete set of Matte Proofs and his BU Red 1914-D Lincoln Cent and 1922-D “Plain D”.
Session One covered Colonials, Coppers, Minors, and Minor Silver coins. Session Two featured gold, pioneer, and private gold. Bolt’s Half Dollars, Patterns, and Paper Money was covered in Session Three. For the federal issues, Proof coinage was well represented.
The catalog cover is printed on heavy paper stock and features a woodcut illustration of a Native American against a dark teal background. The overall layout is simple yet elevated compared to the typical Stack’s catalog of the period. The Bolt sale was a major auction that drew national interest, and so copies of the catalog can be acquired on eBay and from numismatic booksellers. Examples in above-average condition with the Prices Realized pamphlet sell for about $15 to $20.
Nearly every other page is illustrated, but image quality is usually too poor to allow for photo matching of coins. A few paper money lots can be identified based on the note’s legible serial numbers. Detailed prose is not present for most lots, and the catalogers provide precious little in the way of prior pedigree information, even though, as Harvey Stack suggests, Bolt bought many of these coins from his firm.
Select Coins Retaining the Bolt Collection Pedigree
Coin auction sales conducted during the Internet Age allow for much easier pedigree construction. Sadly, many pedigrees from before 2000 have been lost.
Of the 2,128 lots in the Bolt sale, only 11 can be found in Stack’s Bowers’ online archives, while nine are referenced by Heritage. Most of the currently traceable Bolt coins are rare patterns and Talbot, Allum and Lee Coppers.
Talbot, Allum and Lee Copper Mules
Lots 65 through 75 focused on Talbot, Allum and Lee Cents, which included a nice grouping of mules. None of these are illustrated, but four examples still traceable to the Bolt sale were purchased by Laird U. Park and resold in May 1976. All four reappeared at a 2018 Stack’s Bowers sale.
1794 Talbot / Birmingham Half Penny Mule
- PCGS MS65 #35678441: As “A Choice Red and Iridescent Proof.” “The Dr. Conway A. Bolt Collection,” Stack’s, April 21, 1966, Lot 69 – $75; “The Laird U. Park Collection,” Stack’s, May 1976, Lot 69. As PCGS AU58 #35678442. Stack’s Bowers, August 15, 2018, Lot 214 – $1,560.
1794 Talbot / Earl Howe Mule
- PCGS AU58 #35678442: As “About Uncirculated.” “The Dr. Conway A. Bolt Collection,” Stack’s, April 21, 1966, Lot 72 – $30; “The Laird U. Park Collection,” Stack’s, May 1976, Lot 72. As PCGS AU58 #35678442. Stack’s Bowers, August 15, 2018, Lot 214 – $660.
1795 Talbot / Blofield Cavalry Mule
- PCGS MS64BN #35678443: As “Brilliant Red and Iridescent Proof.” “The Dr. Conway A. Bolt Collection,” Stack’s, April 21, 1966, Lot 74 – $100; “The Laird U. Park Collection,” Stack’s, May 1976, Lot 74. As PCGS MS64BN #35678443. Stack’s Bowers, August 15, 2018, Lot 216 – $3,600.
- PCGS MS65BN #35678444: As “Brilliant Red and Iridescent Proof.” “The Dr. Conway A. Bolt Collection,” Stack’s, April 21, 1966, Lot 75 – $105; “The Laird U. Park Collection,” Stack’s, May 1976, Lot 75. As PCGS MS65BN #35678444. Stack’s Bowers, August 15, 2018, Lot 216 – $5,040.
Quarter Eagles
Bolt’s gold holdings were quite impressive, but few retain their connection to the sale. One of the more important gold coins, a 1796 Capped Bust Right, Without Stars Quarter Eagle in “Fine”, was listed as sold for $5,500. Harry W. Bass, Jr. purchased the coin, which is noted as a VF20 with the sharpness of XF45 by Heritage Auctions, and World-Wide Coin Investments purchased the piece two years before they bought the remainder of Bolt’s gold holdings. We could not positively identify this coin based on available online pictures.
- VF20: As “Extremely Fine and Incredibly Well Struck.” “The Dr. Conway Bolt Collection, Stack’s, April 22, 1966, Lot 713 – $5,500; World-Wide Coin Investments, October 11, 1972; “The Harry W. Bass, Jr. Collection, Part III,” Bowers and Merena, May 2000, Lot 80 – $24,150. Per Heritage: Sharpness of XF45 with heavy horizontal and vertical scratches.
Half Eagles & Half Eagle Patterns
1804 Capped Bust Right Half Eagle. Private Restrike. Judd-30
Struck in silver for a prominent 19th-century collector using genuine U.S. half eagle dies. This piece sold for $300 at the Bolt sale.
- PCGS MS62 #45371843: As “Extremely Fine, Stained.” “The Dr. Conway A. Bolt Collection,” Stack’s, April 21, 1966, Lot 1607 – $300. As PCGS MS62 #45371843. “The Mocatta Collection,” Stack’s Bowers, August 25, 2022, Lot 7235 – $26,400.
1811 Capped Head Left Half Eagle, Small 5
- NGC MS61 #3170782-004: As “Brilliant Uncirculated.” “The Dr. Conway A. Bolt Collection,” Stack’s, April 22, 1966, Lot 912 – $400; As NGC MS61 #3170782-004. “The Mulkin Collection,” Heritage Auctions, October 23, 2009, Lot 1403 – $10,350.
1820 Capped Head Left Half Eagle, Square Base 2
- PCGS MS63 CAC #06698820: As “Brilliant Uncirculated.” “The Dr. Conway A. Bolt Collection,” Stack’s, April 21, 1966, Lot 918 – $1,600. PCGS MS63 CAC #06698820: “The A.J. Vanderbilt Collection,” Stack’s Bowers, March 22, 2018, Lot 10329 – $45,600.
1820 Capped Head Left Half Eagle, Curved Base 2, Small Letters
A rare variety with fewer than 15 known examples, the Bolt coin sits on the lower end of the condition census, with the Childs PCGS MS64 CAC CMQ being the undisputed finest.
- PCGS MS61: As “Brilliant Uncirculated.” “The Dr. Conway A. Bolt Collection,” Stack’s, April 21, 1966, Lot 917 – $1,000; Stack’s, May 1971, Lot 1384. As PCGS MS61. “The Harry W. Bass, Jr. Collection, Part IV,” Bowers and Merena, November 2000, Lot 324.
1884 Liberty Head Half Eagle Pattern, Copper. Judd-1736
- PCGS MS65BN #44160972: “The A.M. Smith Collection,” M.H. Bolender, February 1936, Lot 32; M.H. Bolender, August 1938, Lot 173; Unknown intermediaries. As “Brilliant Iridescent Proof.” “The Dr. Conway A. Bolt Collection,” Stack’s, April 21, 1966, Lot 1717 – $105. As NGC PF64BN #2058227-003. Heritage Auctions, January 2006, Lot 3716. “The Dr. Tory Prestera Collection,” Stack’s, June 20, 2007, Lot 1583 – $39,100. As PCGS MS65BN #44160972. “The Bob R. Simpson Collection, Part IX,” Heritage Auctions, August 22, 2022, Lot 3429 – $36,150.
Eagles and Eagle Patterns
1795 Capped Bust Eagle, Heraldic Eagle Reverse
- PCGS MS62: F.C.C. Boyd; “World Greatest Collection (Boyd Collection),” Abe Kosoff, January 1946, Lot 318; “The Dr. Conway Bolt Collection,” Stack’s, April 1966, Lot 893; Bowers and Merena, September 2001, Lot 253; Stack’s, June 2002, Lot 65. As PCGS MS62: “The Thomas H. Sebring Collection,” American Numismatic Rarities, January 5, 2004, Lot 452 – Passed.
1797 Capped Bust Eagle Pattern, in Copper
- Net VF20 (Bent): As “Fine and Somewhat Bent.” “The Dr. Conway A. Bolt Collection,” Stack’s, April 21, 1966, Lot 1606 – $270; “The Dr. Curtis R. Paxman Collection,” Bowers and Ruddy, November 1974, Lot 1050; Stack’s, July 27, 2008, Lot 4151 – $63,250.
1804 Capped Bust Eagle Silver Die Trial
- PCGS PR64 #40273605: King Farouk; “The Palace Collections of Egypt,” Sotheby’s, February 1954, Lot 1708; “The Dr. Conway Bolt Collection,” Stack’s, April 32, 1966, Lot 1609 – $720; “The Eduard Kann Collection,” Abner Kreisberg, September 1971, lot 700; unknown intermediaries. PCGS PR64 #40273605. “The Bob R. Simpson Collection, Part III,” Heritage Auctions, January 20, 2021, Lot 3058 – $288,000; Heritage Auctions. January 11, 2024, Lot 4221 – $504,000.
1849 Pattern Eagle, in Copper
- NGC MS61BN: Guttag Brothers, October 1927; “Colonel” E.H.R. Green; “The Palace Collections of Egypt (The Farouk Collection)”, Sotheby’s, March 1954, Lot 1735a; “The Baldenhofer Collection,” Stack’s, November 1955, Lot 1068. As “Extremely Fine. Cleaned and Lacquered Years Ago.” “The Dr. Conway A. Bolt Collection,” Stack’s, April 1966, Lot 1726 – $110. As NGC MS61. American Numismatic Rarities, June 21, 2006, Lot 1001 – $26,450; Stack’s, July 27, 2008, Lot 4165 – $18,400.
1867 Liberty Head Eagle Copper Die Trial, Judd-602
- PCGS PR60BN: As “Lovely Iridescent Proof.” “The Dr. Conway A. Bolt Collection,” Stack’s, April 23, 1966, Lot 1645 – $130. As PCGS PR60BN. “The Lynch Collection,” Heritage Auctions, August 10, 2001, Lot 8345 – $2,760.
1884 Liberty Head Eagle Copper Pattern, Judd-1737
- PCGS PR66RB #44156134: “The A.M. Smith Collection,” M.H. Bolender, February 1936, Lot 33; unknown intermediaries. As “Brilliant Proof.” “The Dr. Conway A. Bolt Collection,” Stack’s, April 21, 1966, Lot 1718 – $65. As PCGS PR65RB. Heritage Auctions, January 2006, Lot 3717; “The Dr. Tory Prestera Collection,” Stack’s, June 20, 2007, Lot 1584 – $52,900. As PCGS PR66RB #44156134: “The Bob R. Simpson Collection, Part VII,” Heritage Auctions, January 13, 2022, Lot 3865 – $48,000. Upgraded by one point. Simpson novelty insert. Copper and violet toning.
Double Eagles and Double Eagle Patterns
1865 Liberty Head Double Eagle Copper Die Trial, Judd-454
- PCGS PR66RB #31383358: As “Uncirculated Gem.” “The Dr. Conway A. Bolt Collection,” Stack’s, April 23, 1966, Lot 1642 – $290; unknown intermediaries. As PCGS PR66RB #31383358. “The Bob R. Simpson Collection, Part XI,” Heritage Auctions, January 11, 2024, Lot 4244 – $63,000. Swirling blue/green color with coppery centers. Finest known.
1874 Liberty Head Double Eagle Copper Die Trial, Judd-1381
- PCGS PR60RB: As “Brilliant Proof.” “The Dr. Conway A. Bolt Collection,” Stack’s, April 23, 1966, Lot 1691 – $130. As PCGS PR60RB. “The Lynch Collection,” Heritage Auctions, August 10, 2001, Lot 8376 – $6,612.50.
Paper Money
Third National Bank of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania $50 Note, Fr. #440.
- PMG Net 25 Very Fine #5012296-017: As “Fine.” “The Dr. Conway A. Bolt Collection,” Stack’s, April 23, 1966, Lot 1871 – $385. As PMG Net 25 Very Fine #5012296-017. Heritage Auctions, January 4, 2018, Lot 21343 – $50,400.
1870 First National Gold Bank of San Francisco, California $50 Note, Fr. #1160.
- PMG 10 Very Good #1995414-001: As “Very Good with a small piece of the note missing above the 50.” “The Dr. Conway A. Bolt Collection,” Stack’s, April 23, 1966, Lot 1932 – $700. As PMG 10 Very Good #1995414-001. Heritage Auctions, January 12, 2023, Lot 20272 – $192,000. Missing area not present on note in its current state.
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