Heritage Wold Coin Auctions will be offering perhaps the most interesting and desired South American coin, the unique 50 Francos gold piece, which was unknown for almost a century until it was discovered by Robert Friedberg in the 1950’s.

It is likely that Friedberg discovered this piece amongst the Virgil Brand collection he acquired around this time. It first appeared in Gimbels (where Friedberg worked) fixed price list in 1956 for US$3500.

In 1962, it was offered in Hans Schulman’s “The Golden Sale of the Century” where it was illustrated and sold for US$7500. Finally, it was offered and sold by Christie’s in the “Escudo Sale” of March 1970 and on April 1st of the same year it was authenticated and evaluated by Schulman for $10,000. The certificate as presented to the owner of the coin, Enrique Maulme, accompanies this lot.

An apparent contradiction to the Reales/Escudos denomination of the time, the 50 Francos was actually struck not for internal circulation but for international trade.

Some researchers argue that this piece was struck at the Paris Mint, since it features the “A” mint mark, but it is our opinion that it was actually struck in Ecuador mainly due to the crudeness of the design and overall engraving quality.

Important South American numismatist Carlos Jara also argues that this piece was probably part of a small circulation issue coin while Friedberg and Krause both list it as a pattern piece.

It is unquestionable though that this piece is one of the most charismatic and intriguing coins of South America if not the world. Estimate: $400,000 – $500,000.

U.S. coins struck with dies of different denominations are extremely rare. Until recent years, none were known.

The most famous among those are the Sacagawea dollar reverse, paired with a statehood quarter obverse, of which ten examples are known, per Fred Weinberg.

In Heritage’s April 2006 Central States Signature, a 1999 cent with a dime reverse hammered down for $138,000, the largest prices realized for an error coin in a Heritage auction, excluding the 1944-S steel cent that sold for $373,750 in our 2008 ANA Signature.

Aside from malfeasance of a mint worker, the muled denomination error is only possible when the denominations involved are similar in diameter. A cent is 19 mm, and a dime is 17.9 mm, a difference of 1.1 mm or approximately 5%.

Given the billions of cents struck annually at the Federal mints, it was inevitable that an absent-minded worker would pair cent and dime dies.

Presumably, the mistake was discovered and the struck pieces were destroyed before dispersal, with the single exception of the present survivor.

This lustrous Gem shows the characteristics expected of a cent and dime mule. The dime side has a broad, tall rim, since metal was forced into the collar of the dime die by the wider diameter cent die opposite. As a result, the cent side has a soft strike near the rim, since metal in the vicinity flowed into the dime collar.

This coin is being offered for sale at Heritage’s 2010 FUN Auction as Lot 2383

The following is from the 2009 FUN Heritage Auction Catalog and is perhaps the most informative summary of the history of the Olsen Specimen 1913 Nickel and the Modern Provenance Period.

1913 5C Liberty PR64 NGC. – The Olsen Specimen

Recently dubbed “The Mona Lisa of Rare Coins,” the Olsen specimen is the second finest of just five known examples and is currently graded PR64 NGC. It was the first 1913 Liberty Head nickel offered for sale in a public auction, and the only specimen that professional numismatist B. Max Mehl ever handled, despite his extensive advertising campaign that promoted the famously rare coin.

It also holds the record as the first coin to break the $100,000 price barrier in 1972, while another 1913 nickel, the Eliasberg specimen, became the first coin to break the $1,000,000 price barrier some 24 years later.

It is certainly possible that a 1913 Liberty nickel, perhaps the Olsen specimen, will someday become the first coin to break the $10,000,000 price barrier.

Jeff Garrett and Ron Guth, authors of The 100 Greatest U.S. Coins, noted in the 2009 third edition that the Olsen specimen “has been viewed … by more people than any other.” In A Guide Book of Shield and Liberty Head Nickels, Q. David Bowers describes the Olsen specimen as the most famous of all 1913 Liberty Head nickels. “This particular coin is probably the most highly publicized of the five specimens,” writes Bowers.

John Dannreuther considers it to be the second of five 1913 Liberty nickels struck. His detailed analysis, discussed later, indicates that the Smithsonian specimen was the first coin struck, followed by the Olsen specimen, and then the other three. Of those three coins (another specimen is in the ANA) in private hands today, the Olsen specimen was struck before the other two. A professional numismatist from Memphis, Tennessee, Dannreuther is well respected among his peers for his critical eye and careful reasoning. He was one of six numismatists chosen for the authentication team when the Walton specimen of the 1913 nickel reappeared in 2003, after a 40-year absence. (more…)