The Eliasberg specimen 1927-D double eagle is coming home.
It will be exhibited Aug. 16-19 in Denver, Colo., during the American Numismatic Association World?s Fair of Money convention.
The 1927-D exhibit is sponsored by North American Certified Trading of Irvine, Calif.
?The 1927-D Saint-Gaudens double eagle is the Denver Mint?s rarest coin, and the rarest issued 20th century U.S. gold coin,? said Doug Mudd, ANA curator of exhibitions. ?Only about a dozen surviving examples are known from 180,000 struck ... The Eliasberg specimen is believed to be the finest known.?
Graded MS-66 by Professional Coin Grading Service, the coin is owned by an anonymous East Coast collector who purchased it for nearly $2 million earlier this year, according to Andrew Glassman, president of North American Certified Trading.
The coin was owned for decades by Baltimore banker, Louis E. Eliasberg Sr. (1896-1976), the only person to ever assemble a complete collection of U.S. coins.
In addition to its Eliasberg pedigree, the coin also was previously owned by another prominent collector, Fred C.C. Boyd, a mid-20th century New York City news media executive.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt?s Gold Recall Act of 1933 demonetized gold. Gold coins still on hand at the Mint, including almost the entire mintage of the 1927-D double eagle, were destroyed.
In his reference book, A Handbook of 20th Century United States Gold Coins, 1907-1933, author David Akers stated: ?It is difficult to pick out one piece as the ?finest;? but that accolade most likely should go to the Eliasberg specimen.?
Writing in 1988, Akers estimated just 12 to15 surviving pieces, and in 2004 Q. David Bowers estimated approximately 15 survivors. Two of the coins are held by the Smithsonian Institution.
The convention will be held at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver and will be open to the public. Admission will be free.
For more information, visit www.money.org or call (719) 632-COIN.
