One of the more unusual and rare items in US numismatics will be auctioned by Stack’s in their Philadelphia Americana Sale September 23-26 in Philadelphia,  is Lot 4299, an Indian Head Cent struck in gold.  From the Stacks Catalog description ……..

“This off-metal error is 18.3 mm (horizontal) X 18.1 mm (vertical). 1.1 mm to 1.2 mm thick. Plain Edge. with Lovely olive gold fields join yellow gold lustre and coppery highlights in the protected areas. This specimen weighs 64.4 grains and was probably struck on a quarter eagle planchet, which should weigh 64.5 grains. The physical size of the planchet is also very similar to that of a quarter eagle (17.78 mm), the slightly larger diameter of this specimen accounted for by the spread during striking of the soft gold to fill the larger diameter collar (19.05 mm) of an Indian cent.

Only a handful of Indian Head cents in gold of various dates are known. The most frequently encountered Indian cent in gold is the 1900, which is estimated at two to four specimens, according to various sources. We have traced two specimens:

1) John A. Beck (A. Kreisberg, January 1975, Lot 609), later sold as Auction ‘89:856, again as part of the 1991 ANA Sale (B&M, August 1991, Lot 4103) and now owned by error collector Mike Byers;

2) 1993 ANA Sale (Heritage, July 1993, Lot 8000). Although the uspatterns.com web site reports that “With regard to the 1900, 3 or 4 are believed to exist including the circulated 1993 ANA example and the PCGS65 Col Green, Beck, Byers coin,” this estimate might be on the high side. A 1900 in gold is pictured as coin 6 in figure 131 of Don Taxay’s Counterfeit, Mis-Struck and Unofficial U.S. Coins, but it is hard to determine whether or not this is one of the above two listed specimens.

The 1900 is listed as Pollock 1990, referencing the 1991 ANA Sale specimen, and it is also listed in Judd’s Appendix B. A 1900 specimen in the Dewitt Smith collection was purchased by Virgil Brand in 1908 and is listed in his ledgers as #46973, but it is not clear whether this is one of the pieces cited above. Also known is a silver 1900 specimen struck from the same, rusted dies used to produce the gold specimens. The 1907 is referenced in several places, including Judd’s Appendix B, but has not been seen at auction recently. It is not inconceivable that other dates exist, as well as additional specimens of known dates.
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On July 30, Stack’s held its Treasures from the S.S. New York sale in Beverly Hills, California, where we sold over $6.5 million worth of U.S., Ancient, and World coins, U.S. and World paper money, and items recovered from the wreck of the S.S. New York. Several headlining consignments were featured, and included pieces from the Evan L. Kopald Collection of large cents, the Chet Krause Collection, and the Richard Gross Collection.

Colonial and Early American coins began the sale in traditional fashion, and offered up an outstanding near gem 1776 Continental dollar in Pewter. Certified as MS-64 by NGC, the coin sold for an impressive $135,125, an auspicious start to the sale. Other colonial highlights included the finest known Ryder 4-J 1787 Massachusetts cent in MS-64 RB (PCGS) that climbed to $97,750.

Early federal coinage boasted a remarkable 1793 Cohen 3 half cent graded MS-60 BN (NGC) that sold for $47,725 and an 1849 N-18 large cent graded Proof-64 RB (PCGS) that went for $20,700. A dazzling assortment of half dimes and dimes were at the forefront of the minor coinage, and the rare 1874-CC Arrows dime stood a cut above at MS-62 (PCGS) with a realized price of $126,500.

A nice run of quarters paved the way for the half dollars, where the Eliasberg 1817/4 half dollar took center stage. This coin, one of the rarest issues from the entire half dollar series, was the finest example graded by PCGS at AU-50 and was eventually awarded to a phone bidder for the exciting sum of $356,500, tying for the top realization of the auction. The always popular silver dollar category also boasted several notable realizations, like the condition census 1803 Small 3 example in MS-63 (NGC) that sold for $46,000 and the Satin finish 1921 Peace dollar in Proof-64 (NGC) that weighed in at $32,200.
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Harvey Stack, long-time principal of Stack’s, announced his retirement as of June 30th, following 62 years as a full-time professional numismatist. At age 81 he will devote his time to other activities. “Harvey has been one of the great figures in numismatics,” said Stack’s president Christine Karstedt. “He has developed many outstanding collections, has auctioned some of the finest properties to be sold, was the key person in working with Congress on the State Quarters Program, and is a past president of the Professional Numismatists Guild, among many other accomplishments.”

Q. David Bowers has now become Chairman of the Board for the Stack’s organization and will lead the numismatic direction of the firm. “We have more numismatic talent within our walls then any other firm. Stack’s will continue to be a market leader in all fields of American, world, and ancient coins as well as paper money, tokens, and medals,” stated Bowers. Becoming a dealer at a young age in 1953, he has had many accomplishments in the intervening years, including serving as president of both the American Numismatic Association and the Professional Numismatists Guild, receiving the Farran Zerbe Award from the ANA and the Founders’ Award from the PNG (the highest honors for each group), being named as one of the Greatest Numismatists of the 20th Century (one of just six living people to be accorded this status in a survey by COINage magazine), and being the first person to be named as Numismatist of the Year by the ANA.

Bowers has supervised the presentation at auction of the Louis E. Eliasberg Collection, the Garrett Collection, the Norweb Collection, and the Harry W. Bass, Jr. Collection, four of the greatest cabinets ever formed. Since becoming a shareholder in Stack’s in 2006 he has been important in the production of our award winning catalogues and in spearheading collector based retail programs for the organization. The author of over 50 books and a popular columnist for Coin World and The Numismatist, he has won more “Book of the Year” and “Best Columnist” awards than has anyone in the history of numismatics. (more…)