by Greg Reynolds for CoinLink

On May 26 and 27, Superior Galleries of Beverly Hills will auction a variety of numismatic items, mostly U.S. coins, plus some patterns, many British and other European coins, tokens and medals, and paper money. The topic here is the ‘Roadrunner’ collection of 133 items, the vast majority of which are U.S. coins.

A significant percentage of the Roadrunner collection consists of coins from the shipwreck of the S.S. Republic, including a startling sixteen Liberty Seated Half Dollars. An extensive run of Liberty Head Double Eagles ($20 coins) is newsworthy. The collector known as ‘Roadrunner’ has gold coins of all denominations dating from the middle of the 19th century. Most of his gold coins were produced at Branch Mints, though he has several Philadelphia Mint gold coins.

The most valuable coin in the Roadrunner collection is an 1879 Flowing Hair Stella ($4 gold coin). It is NGC certified ‘Proof-67 Cameo.’ He purchased it privately from Superior Galleries.

Overall, this collection is particularly strong in the series of Liberty Head Eagles ($10 gold coins). Eagles dated 1860-S are extremely rare, and Roadrunner has one of the highest graded ones, an NGC certified MS-61 1860-S from the S.S. Republic. It is one of only two that the NGC has graded above MS-60; the other, which is graded MS-61 is also from the S.S. Republic. The PCGS has not graded any of these above AU-55. It seems likely that fewer than fifty 1860-S Eagles are known.

The 1858-S Eagle is very rare. There are certainly less than 135 pieces known. Roadrunner’s 1858-S, NGC graded AU-55, may be one of the best. Jeff Garrett & Ron Guth write that the 1858-S “is nearly as rare as the more highly regarded 1858 Eagle, but unlike the 1858, no Mint State examples of the 1858-S are known” (Encyclopedia of U.S. Gold Coins, 2006, p. 337). (more…)

DGSE Companies, Inc. (AMEX:DGC), which wholesales, retails and auctions fine watches, jewelry, diamonds, precious metal and rare coin products via traditional and internet channels, today announced its results for Superior Galleries’ April 10, 2008 Santa Clara Elite Auction, where Superior Galleries is the official auctioneer. This 800 lot event realized $945,000 inclusive of the buyer’s premium.

Some individual highlights of this auction included:

* 724 – Fr. 376 1890 $50 Treasury Note PMG VF $143,750
* 513 – 1801 $10 Capped Bust NGC MS62 $35,880
* 552 – 1907 $20 High Relief, Flat Rim NGC MS64 $35,075
* 275 – 1889-CC Morgan Dollar ANACS MS62 $20,700
* 529 – 1871-CC $20 Liberty PCGS XF40 $19,550

Commenting on the Superior Galleries Beverly Hills Elite Auction, Senior Vice President of Auctions Paul Song said, “We are delighted to have set a new record for the grade for lot 724, the 1890 $50 Treasury Note Fr. 376, graded PMG VF. This rare piece of American currency brought $143,750 which represents the highest price ever achieved for a similar note in VF grade at auction. This item sold to one of Superior Galleries’ private collectors on the telephone amid fervid bidding. Our strong results are a testament to the attention and care that we have been putting toward creating the finest auctions in the industry.”

Mr. Song continued, “We are now concentrating our efforts on our May 26-27, 2008 Pre-Long Beach Elite Auction, which will feature the Roadrunner Collection of U.S. Coins, the PamGold Collection of English Coins, and the Precious Bird Nest Collection of High Relief Double Eagles.” For more information on this auction, or on how to consign to one of our future Elite Auctions, please call Paul Song or Aaron Malone, Consignment Director: 800-545-1001 or consign@sgbh.com. Space is limited in all of our exclusive Elite Auctions, so please contact us well in advance to reserve a spot alongside these or future special numismatic treasures. (more…)

DALLAS - (Business Wire) DGSE Companies, Inc. (Amex: DGC),  today announced that Superior Galleries has acquired the Roadrunner Collection of Rare U.S. Coins and Currency to be auctioned in their Beverly Hills Pre-Long Beach Elite Auction May 26-27, 2008, held immediately prior to the Long Beach Coin Convention. This particular collection will be held as an exclusive evening session on the 26th of May, and is anticipated to realize in excess of $1,300,000-1,500,000.

This exciting collection includes almost 125 lots of fresh U.S. coins that have been privately held for years. Included are a number of shipwreck recovery coins - both silver and gold, patterns, superb Morgan and Peace dollars, branch mint Liberty gold eagles, No Motto double eagles, California Fractional gold, and rare currency. The consignor spent many years acquiring the finest pieces as evidenced by the grades assigned to each by NGC and PCGS.

Paul Song, Senior Vice President of Superior Galleries stated, “We are delighted that this exceptional collection has been entrusted to Superior Galleries, and we look forward to offering it to an extremely eager collecting public. The collection will certainly be the cornerstone to our May 26-27, 2008 Pre-Long Beach Elite Auction, and we are working vigorously to make this a memorable auction indeed.”

Some individual highlights include: 1879 Flowing Hair Stella $4 Cameo Proof 67, 1916-S $20 MS66, Friedberg 2231-B Series 1934 $10,000 dollar note Gem Crisp Uncirculated 65, Friedberg 1223-g Series 1882 $10,000 Gold Certificate - punch cancelled and listed as “Extremely Rare” in the catalog, 1890 Seated dime Proof 68 Deep Cameo, 1871 Judd-1100 pattern quarter in copper Proof 65 Red, 1899 Morgan dollar Proof67, 1836 Gobrecht dollar Judd-60 Proof 63, 1922-S and 1923-S Peace dollars both MS67 Ex: Binion Collection, and a 1900-O/CC Morgan dollar MS66. (more…)

DALLAS–DGSE Companies, Inc. (AMEX:DGC), today announced its results for Superior Galleries February 11-12, 2008 Beverly Hills Elite Auction. This 700 lot event continues a multi-decade tradition of Pre Long Beach Elite Auctions. This auction, anchored by the stellar Turtle Rock Collection, realized $1,935,263.00 inclusive of the standard 15% buyer’s premium amid active bidding.

Some individual highlights of this auction included:

* 491 – 1827 Capped Bust Dime NGC PF67 $120,750
* 353 – 1879 $4 Stella PCGS PF58 $109,250
* 497 – 1833 Capped Bust Dime NGC PF66 $82,800
* 488 – 1820 Capped Bust Dime NGC PF66 $80,500
* 496 – 1831 Capped Bust Dime PCGS PF66 $80,500
* 501 –1845 Liberty Seated Dime NGC PF67 $71,300
* 325 – 1854 $1 Gold Indian Type Two PCGS MS66 $66,125
* 430 – 1852 Augustus Hubert $50, 887 THOUS, reeded $29,900

Commenting on the Superior Beverly Hills Elite Auction, Senior Vice President of Auctions Paul Song said, “We are delighted with our results, particularly with the record prices realized by the Turtle Rock Collection of Proof Dimes. This was our fourth successful auction in four months, and we are so pleased to continue to be able to offer the freshest numismatic material to our clients. Our strong results are a testament to the attention and care that we have been putting toward creating the finest auctions in the industry. Personalized marketing to key bidders helped drive prices on important lots, particularly in our anchor collections. (more…)

by Greg Reynolds for CoinLink

On the evening of Feb 12, Superior Galleries of Beverly Hills will auction an astounding collection of early Proof dimes. These dimes, from an unnamed consignor, are the centerpieces of the “Turtle Rock collection,” and thus will be referred to here as Turtle dimes. Superior will also auction a wide variety of other U.S coins, from several different consignors.

Turtle capped bust dimes of the following dates are certified as ‘Proofs’ by the Numismatic Guaranty Corp. (NGC): 1820, 1821, 1824/2, 1827, 1828, 1829, 1830/29, 1831, 1833, 1834 and 1835. Most of these are NGC graded Proof-65 or higher. Even if the Proof status of one or two of these were to be questioned, not an unusual occurrence in the coin collecting community, it would still be one of the all-time finest groups of Proof Capped Bust dimes ever assembled. Unfortunately, I left my notes regarding past offerings of Proof Capped Bust dimes in another State. So, I cannot here rank the all-time finest groups of Proof Bust dimes, nor can I now trace the Turtle dimes to epic collections. Even so, the greatness of this group is indisputable. The nature and tremendous importance of early Proofs warrants discussion, particularly for the benefit of those collectors who have never seen any of them.

It is not easy to explain the special nature of early Proof coins. After all, these are among the most elusive and fascinating of all U.S. coins, especially silver and gold Proofs from the 1820s. (more…)