All eyes will be on a Carson City gold eagle from 1890 at the official auction of the Long Beach Coin, Stamp & Collectible Expo.
Heritage Auction Galleries will offer the specimen in its Signature Auction to be held May 31 to June 3 at the Long Beach Convention Center.
The 1890-CC $10 gold piece, graded MS-64 by Professional Coin Grading Service, is a legend, according to Heritage president Greg Rohan.
?Out of a mintage of a mere 17,500 coins, this is the finest example of the date graded by either Numismatic Guaranty Corp. or PCGS,? Rohan said, ?and the only example that has received the MS-64 grade.?
Another highlight is an 1827 dime, graded MS-65 Prooflike by NGC. Rohan thinks it deserves a higher grade.
?Although this exceptional 1827 dime is graded MS-65 Prooflike by NGC, it should perhaps more properly be described as Proof-65,? said Rohan. ?This is apparently a proof-only variety with 11 examples currently known, ranging in grade from good to Proof-67.? Prices vary by condition.
?The most recent auction record for a comparable example is the Starr-Logan coin, Proof-62, which sold for $17,250 in November 2002,? said Rohan. ?The record price is $85,000 for the Proof-67 Lovejoy coin in 1990.?
Another highlight is an 1880 nickel, graded MS-65 by NGC.
The cataloger writes, ?This is the ?Dropped 8? variety that Walter Breen mistakenly called a proof-only variety. There is no question that business strikes exist for this variety, including the present coin. The 1880 Shield nickel is a major rarity in business strike format, yet it is quite common in proof format.?
A 1912 $20, in NGC Proof-67 condition, is also expected to be a highly sought-after piece.
Of it, the cataloger writes, ?Past estimates of the number of survivors have varied from 15 to 25 pieces, but the more comprehensive data available today bumps the total to somewhere between 30 and 40 coins.?
Also featured in the sale is an 1892 $20, graded Proof-65 Cameo by NGC. ?Although not quite as rare as the Philadelphia issue from the preceding year, the 1892 is a significant date within the Liberty double eagle series,? writes the cataloger.
To order a sale catalog, contact Nicole Jewell, c/o Heritage Auction Galleries, 3500 Maple Avenue, 17th Floor, Dallas, TX 75219; telephone (800) 872-6467, ext. 272.
