Editors Note: Every now and then we come across a numismatic items that we might have heard about but never seen, or in some instances had no knowledge of at all. This of course may be more of a function of our limited expertise than the fact that the item(s) is truly unique. So at the risk of being called a “dumb ass” (not the first time), we are going to create a new News category called “Unusual Items“. This will be an eclectic collection of the not-so-common items we stumble across during our daily search for worthwhile news and articles, and we hope that you will find this as informative and entertaining as we do.

These impressions in yellow cardboard measure 40 x 32 mm and show the obverse imprints of both the Jefferson and McKinley gold dollars with a slightly different pattern reverse.

Andrew Pollock assigned two numbers for this piece, apparently believing the obverses were on one card and the reverses on another. They should have received only one number.

There are two examples known, but the second is very different from this piece. The other contains both obverses and six different reverses. That piece is permanently impounded in the Smithsonian.

This is the only cardboard impression available to collectors.

Cardboard impressions are obviously rare but they date back to 1849 for the gold dollar. Other impressions include the 1851 three cent silver, and the Isabella quarter (obverse and reverse). The reason for the Isabella strikings is evident from the writing on the back of each card: They are first strikings from the new dies. One might easily assume the gold dollar and three cent silver impressions were for the same purpose.

The purpose here is somewhat more enigmatic. With a pattern reverse included on this card, it is likely this was produced before the first day of issue, as a first day of issue would surely have included the adopted reverse.

The cardboard has a rich, deep gold color, obviously meant to suggest the gold dollars that were soon to be struck. Deeply impressed. Regarding condition, this piece is essentially as struck with no scratches or surface problems worthy of mention.

Used with Permission from CoinLink Content Partner Mike Byers - Mint Error News 

By Laura Sperber of Legend Numismatics

As we stated in our last Market Report, we were having trouble gauging where the market is. From our vantage point we see some very interesting happenings. It is still hard for us to see the exact direction the market is going. BUT we do NOT see it crashing or making a major overall adjustment right now.

Big money collectors are still in the game-however they are clearly shifting their goals. We have seen many cashing out “lesser” coins and reinvesting (for lack of a better word) in to rarer more quality orieinted coins. By that we mean if a player had a $1 82CC in MS66, he sold it and bought something like a GEM Bust Quarter (if one had been around). In the past 2 weeks since the ANA, we have been able to outright purchase (or recieve on consignment) at least $2 MILLION dollars worth of coins. That is something we have never experienced at this time of the year. It was weird, we’d do one deal then the next day out of the blue another would come up and we’d be flying out. Of course right after ANA is usally the worst time to sell, but people didn’t seem to care as they questioned the future or had other coins they wanted to buy now. Not one person who sold told us they needed the money to pay bills (although one person did mention taxes). Most were shifting focus or assets.

Collectors seem very skeptical about buying unless a coin is super rare, has over the top quality for the grade, and is a must buy for their specific collection. We do not see many impulse purchases happening right now from collectors. The real danger, is we do see substantial INVESTOR purchasing occuring. We can sell MILLIONS to the telemarketers who deal with them or the 2 big funds that are out there. We have had several INVESTORS call us direct and requested we build them portfolios. INVESTORS are funny, they won’t just buy anything, but when they find the “right” coin or hear the ‘right” numbers about it, the checks fly! Our sales since ANA have been incredibly strong-but then we also have a supply of fresh, truely rare, and neat coins, while many other dealers do not. We still will pay what it takes to buy certain coins because we know what is NOT available. And yes, we are still looking for that NON 1926/1932 PCGS MS65 CAC stickered $10 Indian. (more…)

What about rarity? This is the only example ever graded by NGC—in any grade!

What about grade? Consider Proof-67 Cameo!

What about fame? The $4 Stella is one of the most heralded of American rarities, and among the two designs, the Coiled Hair, by George T. Morgan, is the rarer.

All set to cross the auction block in Stacks Baltimore sale is this rarest of the rare pattern, Judd-1640, a glittering Proof in aluminum—a rare format even more elusive that an gold impression.

Here is some background, from Dave Bowers’ Whitman book on type coins (excerpt, adapted):

The $4 Stella

The Stella or $4 gold coin is among the most famous and desired of American rarities. The vast majority were struck in gold, with just a few in other metals. The presently offered aluminum striking provides the opportunity for some historical information:

The $4 piece was the brainchild of Hon. John A. Kasson, who had served as a minister to Austria. In Europe coins of slightly less value than the American $5 piece (the British gold sovereign being but one of many examples) were popular in trade. Kasson thought that an American $4 piece would serve as an international medium of exchange. This stands as one of many such notions that reached pattern coin form, but never resulted in issues made for general circulation. Others include the international $5 of 1868 and Dana Bickford’s impressive $10 of 1874. (more…)

Lear Capital, the West Los Angeles- based precious metals company has assembled the world’s finest known $4 gold coin set that includes four of all the finest known Stella coins. A collector has commissioned the four coins to create one of the most expensive sets available. The set is valued at more than $6.5 million.

To complete the set, Lear spent three years trying to obtain an 1880 Coiled Hair Four Dollar Stella for its client, a prominent New York businessman who collects rare coins. Lear obtained the “Four Dollar Stella” in late 2007. As one-of-only-eight known, this 1880 Coiled Hair Four Dollar Stella is the finest known and valued at more than $3 million.

The Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC), the official grading service of the American Numismatic Association and a provider of third-party coin grading services, graded all four coins. The set can be viewed online at http://www.ngccoin.com/stella.

“We relied upon the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation and their expertise in grading to help assemble the finest known set and it has been an honor working side-by-side with such professionals,” says Kevin DeMeritt, president of Lear Capital. “It is a gorgeous and impressive set that contains so much American history.”

The “Four Dollar Stella” completes a set that contains an 1879 Flowing Hair (425 known), 1879 Coiled Hair (12 known), and an 1880 Flowing Hair (17 known). The set contains the finest known examples of each date.

The Four Dollar Stella (From NGC)

Stellas are four-dollar pattern coins. They are remnants of a move to recognize the Latin Monetary Union, an alliance of member nations which agreed to create an international coinage. While the US never formally joined, several efforts were made to conform US coinage to standards used more broadly. One visible step, for example, was to normalize US coinage with the metric scale by making a modest weight change on US silver coinage. The change was indicated on our silver coins by surrounding the date with arrows — creating the With Arrows type coins of 1873 and 1874. (more…)