An 1879 $4 Flowing Hair Stella sold for $204,125 and landed in the top spot of the Heritage Long Beach, Calif., U.S. coin Signature Auction Sept. 17-21 at the Long Beach Convention Center.
The Flowing Hair Stella is one of 425 coined in 1879. Hobby lore says the coin was a popular gift from congressmen to their Washington, D.C., mistresses.
Another highlight of the sale was a 1929 Saint-Gaudens $20 gold graded MS-66 by Professional Coin Grading Service. Only six examples of the coin are known to exist in this grade, including the auctioned piece, which brought $184,000.
This and other prices include a 15 percent buyer’s fee.
Another Saint-Gaudens piece garnered the next highest price of the sale. A 1927-S $20 graded MS-65 by PCGS sold for $161,000.
An 1839-O Capped Bust, reeded edge, 50-cent piece graded Proof-63 by Numismatic Guaranty Corp crossed the block at $149,500.
Rounding out the top selling lots was a 1915-S $50 Panama-Pacific $50 round graded MS-64, which sold for $103,500. Its octagonal 1915-S $50 counterpart, graded MS-64, fetched $92,000. Both coins were graded by NGC.
The total U.S. coin auction prices realized at press time was $16,598,841, with after-auction sales continuing online. Adding in the firm’s paper money, world coin and token and medal offerings and total realized prices neared $35 million.
For more information about this sale, contact Heritage at 3500 Maple Ave., 17th Floor, Dallas, Texas 75219-3941. Phone: 1 (800) US-COINS. To view images, visit the firm online at www.HA.com.
