Pan-Pac tops Heritage sale

Selling for $92,000, a 1915-S Panama-Pacific octagonal $50 gold piece in Professional Coin Grading Service MS-64 condition, helped Heritage Auction Galleries eclipse $10 million in sales at the firm

Selling for $92,000, a 1915-S Panama-Pacific octagonal $50 gold piece in Professional Coin Grading Service MS-64 condition, helped Heritage Auction Galleries eclipse $10 million in sales at the firm?s 2006 Long Beach Signature Auction Feb. 9-11.

The total of the sale, held at the Long Beach Coin and Collectibles Expo in Long Beach, Calif., includes a 15 percent buyer?s premium.

Described by the cataloger as ?Exceptionally lustrous with rich orange-gold color, and a magnificent example of this exceedingly rare and perennially popular type,? the gold $50 was one of three coins that sold for $92,000.

An 1852 gold $1, graded MS-69 by PCGS and a 1910 $20, graded Proof-66 by PCGS, were the others.

?To say that we are thrilled with these results is an understatement,? said Greg Rohan, president of Heritage.

A total of 4,204 lots were offered. The auction netted $10,324,835. The total was expected to climb with a related Feb. 13 online session.

?A little over a month into 2006, we have already seen Heritage Coin and Currency Auctions realize more than $65 million,? said Rohan.

Topping all lots was a 1915-S Panama-Pacific five-piece set that realized $172,500. The set came with a box. Three letters from 1957 and 1959 included with the set trace its offering and purchase.

Included in the Pan-Pac set are: a 1915-S $50 round, graded MS-64 by Numismatic Guaranty Corp.; a 1915-S $50 octagonal, in NGC MS-64 condition; a 1915-S half dollar, graded MS-63 by NGC; a 1915-S gold dollar, in NGC MS-63 condition; and a 1915-S quarter eagle, graded MS-66 by NGC.

For more information, visit www.HeritageAuctions.com/coins.

To buy a catalog, contact Nicole Jewell by writing to her at: Heritage Auction Galleries, 3500 Maple Avenue, 17th Floor, Dallas, TX, 75219. To order by credit card, visit the Web site.

NMNAuthor