A 41-coin collection of 18th century U.S. coins traded hands for $2 million when it was acquired by Premium Numismatics, Inc., of Huntington Beach, Calif.
The collection includes an example of every date and variety of U.S. Mint regular issue copper and silver coin from 1793 to 1800.
?Many of them are in uncirculated grade,? said Don Willis, president of Premium Numismatics.
The cash sale was made through Legend Numismatics of Lincroft, N.J., which purchased the collection, then sold it to Willis.
Assembled by a Florida collector, some coins in the set have pedigrees to famous collections such as Eliasberg, Norweb, Garrett and Pittman.
?This truly is a once-in-a-decade collection,? Willis said. ?It took the collector 10 years to assemble the set, and you usually don?t see a collection of this caliber become available except every decade or so. Collections of this magnitude rarely come to market.?
Labeled the Naples III Collection, highlights of the set include:
- 1793 Chain cent, S-2, graded AU-55 by Professional Coin Grading Service, ex Norweb.
- 1793 half cent, B-2, C-2, PCGS AU-53, ex Garrett.
- 1794 half cent, B-2a, C-2a, PCGS MS-62 BN, ex Eliasberg.
- 1794 half dime, LM-4, PCGS MS-62.
- 1794 lhalf dollar, O-101, PCGS AU-58.
- 1794 dollar, PCGS XF-40, ex Gainsborough.
- 1795 cent, plain edge S-78, PCGS MS-63 BN, ex Pittman.
- 1795 half dime, LM-3, PCGS MS-63.
Two pieces are exceptionally nicely toned, Willis said:
- 1796 quarter, PCGS AU-58, with colorful toning described by Willis as ?mind blowing? and ?amazing.?
- 1799/8 dollar, 15 stars reverse, B-3, BB-141, PCGS MS-62, ?beautifully toned in fiery blue-greens and amber,? according to Willis.
Willis informally displayed the coins during the June 1-3 Long Beach Coin, Stamp & Collectibles Expo.
Images of the coins may be viewed online at www.PremiumNumismatics.com.
For more information, contact Premium Numismatics, P.O. Box 5880, Huntington Beach, CA 92615; telephone (800) 596-2646.
