A collection of U.S. coins to be offered without reserve bids anchors Superior Galleries? Nov. 16-17 auction in Santa Clara, Calif.
An 1834 $5 Capped Bust gold piece, NGC MS-65, will highlight Superior?s Santa Clara Elite Auction.
Superior?s Santa Clara Elite Auction, official auction of the Santa Clara Coin Expo, holds about 1,000 lots from the no-reserve Nevada Collection as well as 1,300 lots from several other consignments.
Among individual coin highlights is an 1834 Capped Bust $5 gold piece from the Guardian Collection, graded MS-65 by Numismatic Guaranty Corp.
?Few examples of the 1834 Capped Head half eagle survive today, and seldom are they found in grades finer than MS-63,? sale catalogers wrote, adding that MS-65 is the best grade for this date seen by either NGC or Professional Coin Grading Service.
A second gold standout is an 1866 $20 with motto IN GOD WE TRUST on the reverse. The motto was added to the design in mid-1866. This example is graded MS-64 by PCGS. ?Presently, this is the single finest certified piece known? to either PCGS or NGC, catalogers stated. ?This is an intricately struck, first year motto example that features sweeping luster and seamless yellow-gold color.?
The 1796 $10 gold piece is tougher than the 1795 despite a similar mintage. Superior is offering an NGC AU-58 1796 $10. Among the cataloger?s remarks: ?Although the eagle?s neck and chest exhibit faint rub, this well struck borderline uncirculated representative has a bold strike and is virtually without adjustment marks.?
Among other 18th century pieces is a 1798 Draped Bust dime, large 8 variety, graded NGC MS-65. ?This piece, at the MS-65 level, is the finest example thus far certified at NGC. PCGS has seen a single MS-66 coin and two MS-65 examples,? catalogers said. ?Nearly brilliant overall, there is just the slightest outline of toning around some of the devices. Well detailed on the strands of Liberty?s hair, the strike otherwise is somewhat uneven, with some softness on the peripheral stars. This is due to the very late state of the obverse die.?
A silver 1839 Gobrecht dollar restrike, classified as Judd-105 Restrike and Pollock-117, is graded NGC Proof-66. This restrike has a plain edge, lacks the designer?s name on the obverse and has coin alignment with the eagle flying level, referred to as Die Alignment III for this type.
Fewer than 12 examples of this restrike are known, catalogers said, noting that Proof-66 is the finest grade seen by either PCGS or NGC. ?This coin exhibits spindly die cracks on the reverse, similar to those seen on Judd-104 restrikes. The cracks extend through the tops of MERIC and NITE. There is a small, raised die spur on the upper curve of the D in UNITED,? catalogers wrote.
The 1,000-plus lots from the Nevada Collection include a 1926-S Mercury dime, graded NGC MS-67, as well as a 1936 proof set in PCGS Proof-64.
Two 1918/7-S Standing Liberty quarters will cross the block, one graded XF-45 by ANACS, the other PCGS AU-53.
An 1806 Draped Bust half dollar is offered in ANACS XF-40, and an 1813 Capped Bust half dollar, NGC MS-66, and 1870-CC Seated Liberty half, PCGS XF-40.
1797 and 1799 Draped Bust dollars, both graded AU-55, one by ANACS and the other by NGC, are offered without reserve. Joining them are an 1859-S Seated Liberty dollar, NGC MS-62; 1880 Trade dollar, NGC Proof-65; and 1895-O Morgan dollar, NGC MS-61.
An 1878 pattern dollar, Judd 1562, is graded PCGS Proof-65 Red Brown.
Nevada Collection gold includes an 1873-CC $20, ANACS AU-55; 1892-CC $20, ANACS MS-62; and a 1911-D quarter eagle, NGC MS-61.
The sale includes some medals; among them is a 19th century restrike of the French 1796 gold Castorland piece, graded NGC Proof-63, consigned as part of the Windermere Collection. According to catalogers, a group of French investors purchased 630,000 acres in upper New York state to create a colony for upper-class French families fleeing the French Revolution. In 1796, the Paris Mint struck medals depicting Cybele, the goddess of fertility and the wilderness and protectress of the people, on the obverse and Ceres, the Roman goddess of grain and the harvest, on the reverse.
?The original silver medallions were the same size and weight of a United States half dollar and some were known to have circulated as such,? catalogers wrote. ?Over the years, the Paris Mint has produced many restrikes ... in gold, silver and copper. This example is a restrike on a gold planchet.?
The full two-day sale holds about 2,300 lots and is is called the biggest and best Santa Clara auction to date by the firm.
In addition to the Nevada Collection, consignments include the Windermere Collection, the Cherokee Collection, the Robert K. Dobbs Collection, the Herman Lehnert Estate Collection, the Skeeter Collection, the Lionel L. Rudduck Collection, the Guardian Collection, the Curtis Stromme Pataco Collection and the Robert L. Wielgus Collection.
Lot viewing will be at Superior?s Beverly Hills, Calif., office by appointment, and without appointment during public hours at the Santa Clara Show.
For more information on this or other future Superior Galleries Elite Auctions, contact vice president of auctions Paul Song at (800) 545-1001, e-mail address paulsong@sgbh.com.
