A small grouping of miscellaneous early U.S. federal and colonial coinage consigned to Stack’s has yielded a heretofore unknown 1722 Wood’s Hibernia Halfpenny die variety. This discovery is only the second such new variety uncovered since the 2007 release of Sydney F. Martin’s landmark reference on the Wood’s Hibernia series entitled The Hibernia Coinage of William Wood (1722-1724). Martin’s research on this series is amazingly extensive, and has opened up a wealth of previously unpublished information to the numismatic community.

This new discovery couples Martin’s C.1 reverse with a previously unlisted obverse. The new obverse (which Martin has given the designation 4.105) most closely resembles obverses 4.1, 4.71, 4.81, and 4.87, however the positioning of the lettering and stops in the legend in relation to key areas of the bust of George I clearly differentiate this new die.

The coin in question is graded Extremely Fine-40 by Stack’s and will be offered in the upcoming January 13-14, 2009 Americana Public Auction Sale. This marvelous auction will contain a number of highly important consignments including The Brian Danforth Collection of Rosa Americana, Wood’s Hibernia, Saint Patrick, and other Colonial Coinages, The John W. Adams Collection of Medallic Distinctions Awarded to North American First Peoples, U.S. Medals from the Western Reserve Historical Society, Selections from the Estate of Michael K. Ringo, A Comprehensive Collection of Connecticut Coppers from a Northeastern Collector, The Don Dorward Collection of U.S. Coins, and The Brejente Collection of U.S. Medals, and The White Oak Collection, to mention only a selection of the top consignors. Also included in this marvelous sale are offerings of early glassware and silver, an important collection of Feuchtwanger’s Hard Times Era Tokens, over 500 lots of additional medals and tokens, as well as many other wonderful consignments of U.S. federal and colonial coinage.

It is also interesting to note that although the consignor of this esteemed coin has been a customer of Stack’s for decades and had a keen affinity for early U.S. federal and colonial coinage (particularly Draped Bust and Flowing Hair Silver Dollars including a 1794 Silver Dollar offered in an earlier Stack’s auction), the Wood’s piece in question is the only such coin of that series contained in his collection. (more…)

Bowers and Merena Auctions, America’s leading rare coin and currency auction house, wraps up 2008 with their final auction of the year, the Official Auction of the Baltimore Coin and Currency Convention held November 18-22, 2008, at the Baltimore Convention Center. The auction realized a total of $6,280,880.

The undisputed highlight of the auction was an exciting new discovery coin, lot 1143, an exceedingly rare 1795 S-79 Reeded Edge Liberty Cap Cent, one of just six pieces known to exist and the only example certified by PCGS or NGC. This 1795 S-79, Rarity-7+, Reeded Edge, graded Good-4 by PCGS and mounted in a special PCGS holder that allows easy viewing of the edge, was the subject of very lively floor bidding that brought it to the impressive realized price of $402,500. “The sale of this lot was really one of my favorite auction moments of the year,” said Steve Deeds, president of Bowers and Merena. “We opened bidding at $70,000 and the floor just took off. It stalled a bit at about $180,000, and then just kept going, and finished with the room erupting in applause – it really was exciting to be there and watch it happen. Everyone involved, including the buyer and consignor, are very pleased with the result, and this is a coin that won’t soon be forgotten.”

Top honors also go to lot 1704, a 1920-D Buffalo Nickel graded MS-67* by NGC that realized $138,000, from the Yankee Collection of Buffalo Nickels. NGC Census shows a population of just two with none finer either with or without a * designation, and PCGS has yet to certify a single example higher than MS-66. Also noteworthy is lot 1137, a 1793 Wreath Cent, S-8, Rarity-3- with Vine and Bars Edge graded MS-63 BN by PCGS, and also possessing the CAC designation, which realized an extraordinary $115,000. (more…)

Paper Money Guaranty (PMG) is thrilled to announce that it has discovered a new variety of the 1915 10 Dollar Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank Note, which has been given the Friedberg number 817b. The Friedberg number refers to Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg’s Paper Money of the United States, the authoritative reference of US currency. The discovery note features hand-signed signatures rather than the engraved or stamped signatures seen on previously known varieties and is graded About Uncirculated 58 EPQ. It will be included in an upcoming Heritage Auction Galleries sale.

Chad Hawk, a grader at PMG, discovered the note. Chad commented, “This discovery is very special to me. I’ve been blessed to see some of the world’s finest notes, but this will stick with me forever.”

On its potential impact, Chad noted, “This discovery is important because it will encourage collectors to keep looking, because discovery notes are out there, waiting to be discovered. If more notes of this type surface, we may be able to find out why they began signing and hand-stamping the signatures in the first place. As Federal Reserve Bank Notes were among the first transitions from Nationals to Federal Reserve Notes, this discovery could help us understand more about the transition from signed notes to engraved plates.”

Federal Reserve Bank Notes came into existence with the creation of the Federal Reserve System. Two separate issues were issued: the series of 1915 and the series of 1918, and they are avidly collected and studied. The 1915 10 Dollar Notes from the Kansas City issuing bank carried the signatures of Teehee & Burke (Register and Treasurer of the US) and Cross & Miller (Cashier and Governor of the Federal Reserve Bank in Kansas City).

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