Photos and descriptions used with permission and courtesy of Heritage Auction Galleries

1873-CC No Arrows MS 65 PCGS. Ex: Eliasberg. This is unique example of the 1873-CC dime with no arrows on either side of the date. The exact circumstances surrounding the production of this issue are unknown, but mint records indicate that 12,400 pieces were struck. Presumably all were melted and converted to Arrows dimes with the exception of a few saved for assay purposes. The theory is that this single coin was saved from the destructive testing done by the Assay Commission. Probably one of the assay members was able to trade it for face value at the time by merely exchanging another dime for it. It was apparently kept in the Mint collection for several decades where it was well preserved, not appearing again for 36 years.

In 1909, Philadelphia dealers John Haseltine and Stephen Nagy sold a pair of 1877 gold half union patterns for the unprecedented price of $10,000 each. The buyer was future Secretary of the Treasury, William Woodin. A short paragraph from the Bower’s Eliasberg catalog describes what happened next: “A furor arose, and it was said that the pair of $50 gold patterns never should have left the Mint. The two pieces were returned to the Mint by exchange, in which “several crates” of coins–thousands totally, primarily patterns, but possibly including some other issues as well–were given to Haseltine and Nagy by Mint officials. What a treasure trove this was!”

The No Arrows ‘73-CC was apparently a part of this momentous trade and Woodin was the first owner of record of this important rarity. The coin was exhibited at the 1914 ANS Exhibit in the Spring of that year, and over the next several decades passed through the collections of several noted collectors. Charles Williams owned the coin and consigned it along with several other notable rarities (including a Class I 1804 dollar) to the auction of Adolph Menjou’s collection. Kosoff (who cataloged the sale) knew the coin was rare, but did not have a full appreciation of its true status as a unique item. Apparently dealer James Kelly had a more complete appreciation of its rarity, as did Louis Eliasberg. Both men wanted the coin and both were prepared to pay top dollar to buy it at the Menjou Sale. Eliasberg had flown in from Baltimore specifically to buy two coins: the 1853-O No Arrows half dollar and the 1873-CC No Arrows dime. The half dollar he purchased for $890, but when it came time to sell the dime the competition was much stronger. Years later Kosoff wrote that Jim Kelly “had hypnotized himself into a state of conviction that here was a coin that was worth any price. Opening at $1,100 Eliasberg stayed in the bidding until he was convinced that Kelly had no limit, and he allowed Kelly to purchase the piece for $3,650. Several weeks later, on November 7, Kelly and Sol Kaplan sold the dime to Eliasberg as the final piece needed in his complete set of U.S. coinage. (more…)

Photos and descriptions used with permission and courtesy of Heritage Currency Auctions

This note was introduced to the numismatic community when it appeared in the September 1996 Heritage Auction. The discovery increased the number of known Series 1874 pieces to five, though that number is misleading.

Two pieces are permanently impounded in the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and the Smithsonian Institution and a third is reported but it lacks sale information, its grade is even unknown. The last, and presumably the only other piece in collector’s hands, appeared at public auction once; it realized $44,500 in 1983.

As a basic type, this note is incredibly scarce. The design encompasses fourteen Friedberg numbers made up of the 1874, 1875, 1878, and 1880 Series’ and many different signature combinations. In total those fourteen Friedberg numbers show only thirty six survivors but more than two thirds of the notes are permanently impounded in various museum and government collections, thus only eleven of those specimens are presumably available to collectors. (more…)