This is the undisputed “King of Barber Coinage,” the rare and eagerly sought 1901-S Quarter. The San Francisco Mint struck a mere 72,664 Quarters in 1901, which snatched the record low mintage for the Barber series from the hands of the 1896-S (188,039 pieces produced).

This record would remain intact until 1913, when the San Francisco Mint delivered a mere 40,000 Quarters. The 1901-S is much rarer than the 1913-S in all grades, however, for the issue was saved in far fewer numbers by the contemporary public.

Indeed, little interest seems to have been taken in the 1901-S Quarter at the time of its production, especially numismatic interest. What interest there was in the 1901-S seems to have been focused entirely on the issue’s usefulness as a circulating medium of exchange. And circulate these coins did, many of the 72,664 pieces being lost in the process and most survivors displaying heavy wear. As with most issues in the various Barber coin series, in fact, the only 1901-S Quarters that are seen on a fairly regular basis in numismatic circles are low-grade pieces in AG, Good and VG.

Even at the lower reaches of the numismatic grading scale, however, the limited mintage guaranteed that the 1901-S would be a scarce coin in an absolute sense. Rarity increases exponentially through the Fine, VF, EF and AU grade levels, at which point we find ourselves at the Mint State portion of the grading scale. Here the 1901-S is very rare, the small number of such pieces known to exist having survived almost purely as a matter of chance.

The B&M cataloger has never seen a 1901-S Quarter with the technical merits and eye appeal of this awe-inspiring Superb Gem. This is the single highest-graded 1901-S Barber Quarter known to PCGS, and the coin fully deserves every bit of honor that derives from this important standing. (more…)

Bowers and Merena Auctions, America’s leading rare coin and currency auction house, is preparing another phenomenal sale as the Official Auctioneer of the March 2010 Whitman Coin & Collectibles Baltimore Expo.

A particularly diverse and important selection of United States currency is on hand for the auction–so many notes, in fact, that the firm will be preparing a separate, stand-alone catalog comprised only of United States paper money.

The notes will be auctioned March 2-6, 2010, as part of the Bowers and Merena Official Baltimore Auction offering rare United States and International coins, currency and banknotes. Ponterio & Associates, division of Bowers and Merena, will present the world and ancients auction of coins and currency.

“Our March 2010 Baltimore Auction promises to be an especially memorable event as far as paper money collectors are concerned,” opined Steve Deeds, president of Bowers and Merena. “We are assembling a complete catalog dedicated to United States currency, a definite highlight of which is a profound condition rarity Fr. 1700 1933 $10 Silver Certificate. A breathtakingly beautiful example, this note has been certified Gem Uncirculated 65EPQ by PMG.”

Matt Quinn, directory of currency auctions, added, “Another small size Silver Certificate highlight in this sale is a Fr. 1608 1953A $5 note in PCGS Superb Gem New 67PPQ with a captivating serial number F00000001C. And not to be outdone in our March 2010 Baltimore Auction are the large size Silver Certificates, which include an extremely rare Fr. 282* 1923 $5 Silver Certificate Star Note that PMG has certified as Superb Gem Uncirculated 67EPQ.” (more…)

Ponterio & Associates, Inc., the world and ancients auction division of Bowers and Merena Auctions, conducted its Official Auction of the January 2010 New York International Numismatic Convention (N.Y.I.N.C.) and realized more than $2.5 million. The sale was conducted in two sessions January 8-9, 2010, and offered more than 2,300 lots of important Ancient coins, International coins, paper money, orders and decorations.

“Bidding activity was very strong in our January 2010 N.Y.I.N.C. Auction,” observed Rick Ponterio, executive vice president of Bowers and Merena Auctions, “with many coins and notes selling for noteworthy prices. Particularly impressive results were achieved through our offering of the Chester Skotak Collection of Central American Coinage as well as in the section of the sale dedicated to Russian, Annamese and Argentine Sun Face coinage.”

Continued Ponterio: “We offered the Prize of Russian Numismatics–a 1902 37 1/2 Rubles–as lot 7389. This important coin, attributed as Fr-170, Y-B65, Bitkin-309 and Sev-578 and graded AU, realized $69,000, more than double our pre-sale estimate. Also of note is lot 7139, a very rare 1826 Great Britain 5 Pounds with a mintage of just 150 pieces. An original, unimpaired piece certified Proof-63 Deep Cameo by PCGS, the coin went to the winning bidder at $19,550.”

Additional highlights of the Ponterio & Associates January 2010 N.Y.I.N.C. Auction include:

o Lot 5041, Belize, 10 Dollars, 1.1.1974, P-36a, Superb Gem Uncirculated 67EPQ (PMG), realized $3,278
o Lot 5153, Taiwan, 50 Yen, 1921, P-1924, Very Fine, realized $2,818
o Lot 5448, India, 2 Rupees – 8 Annas, Undated (1917), P-2, Uncirculated, realized $7,705
o Lot 5457, India, 1 Rupee, Undated (circa 1928-1935), P-14b, About Uncirculated-Uncirculated, realized $8,625
o Lot 5832, Macedonia, Mende, AR Tetradrachm, circa 425 B.C., AU (NGC), realized $10,350
o Lot 5921, Rome, AE Aes Grave As, circa 280-269 B.C., Choice Extremely Fine, realized $17,250
o Lot 5942, Rome, Antonia, AV Aureus, posthumous struck circa 41-42 under Claudius, Very Fine, realized $10,350
o Lot 5959, Rome, Diocletian, AV Aureus, Nicomedia Mint, 294-295, Choice AU (NGC), realized $10,638
o Lot 7134, Great Britain, Broad of 20 Shillings, 1656, Fr-273, S-3225, KM-Pn25, AU-55 (NGC), realized $25,300
o Lot 7296, Mexico, Iturbide, Gold Medal, 1821, Grove-5 (unlisted in gold), AU-55 (NGC), realized $14,950
o Lot 7316, Peru, 8 Escudos, 1710-H, Fr-7, KM-38.2, Choice EF, realized $18,400
o Lot 7332, Romania, 20 Lei, 1868, Fr-1, KM-5, AU Details–Reverse Scratched (NGC), realized $37,375
o Lot 7356, Russia, Platinum 6 Rubles, 1830, Fr-159, C-178, Bitkin-56, Sev-599, MS-64 (NGC), realized $26,450
o Lot 7561, China, Pattern Dollar, Tientsin Mint, Undated (1907), L&M-20, K-212, MS-63 (NGC), realized $10,350 (more…)