Below are the Top 10 coins sold in the recent Heritage Long Beach, CA Signature sale. Prices realized include Buyers Premium.

1. 1808 $2 1/2 MS61 NGC - $163,875.00

The rarity of the 1808 quarter eagle is well known even to those who do not necessarily collect gold type coins. Struck in just this one year, only 2,710 pieces were minted and of that number it has been estimated that fewer than 2% exist today in all grades, with 35-40 pieces being a reasonable estimate of the surviving specimens. Breen speculates that the low survival rate may be due to the weak borders on all known coins which exposed them to undue wear. Every 1808 quarter eagle we have seen has had rim problems of some sort, probably due to the lack of raised detail evident around the margins. Also, all known examples show a die crack that extends from the cap through all six stars at the right.

Breen also points out that the date and letter punches used on the 1808 quarter eagle were reused on 1809 dimes. However, the bust and device punches were never reused. Typical for all of John Reich’s designs, the 13th star is notched, a “signature” of the short-lived German immigrant-engraver.

2. 1794 $1 VF30 PCGS - $161,000.00

When David Rittenhouse took over the responsibility as the Mint’s first Director, he had a twofold task to accomplish. The first was to begin production of silver coins, especially silver dollars, that would compare favorably in weight to the widely circulated Spanish (Carolus) dollars. Second, the coins had to present well. The dollars from 1794 all show varying degrees of weakness and misalignment because they were struck on a press meant for smaller coins. This weakness was noticed at the time of issue, but attributed to shallow engraving. But the experimentation had just begun with silver dollars, and in the next year the 1795 dollars show much coarser hair and heavier design elements on the reverse.

Even though all 1794 dollars were struck from misaligned dies, obvious attention was paid to the manufacture of these coins. Of the 125+ pieces known, there are five die states. This is a Die State III piece and is characterized by light relapping of the obverse die to lessen the clash marks that apparently occurred just after the first coins were struck. This is the most frequently seen die state and Martin Logies identified 84 different specimens from this state.

3. 1891-O 25C Specimen MS65 NGC - $161,000.00

The special nature of this coin has been recognized since at least 1941 when it appeared in Mehl’s Dunham Sale. It has passed from one specialist to another since then, always remaining in strong hands and rarely offered to the numismatic market. The obvious reason for striking this piece, as well as the other known branch mint proof, was “resumption of coinage of this denomination at New Orleans (interrupted 1860),” as stated in Breen (1977).

It is always interesting to compare and contrast branch mint proofs with those produced in Philadelphia. It appears that employees in the branch mints were not familiar with the day-to-day striking of proofs. Rather, when called upon to strike such coins, they produced pieces that they thought resembled the proofs that were regularly turned out of the mother mint in Philadelphia. And in most cases, they did an admirable job of emulating Philadelphia proofs.

4. 1833 25C PR65 PCGS - $149,500.00

An outstanding specimen of this formidable rarity. The portrait and eagle have a needle-sharp strike, as is the case for the right-side stars. The lower left stars and the drapery fold near the bust tip show incompleteness, which suggests the dies were slightly misaligned. The fields are fully mirrored, and the devices are frosty.

Likely eligible for a Cameo designation, but encapsulated in a first generation holder, before Cameo was bestowed on most proof series.In past decades, prooflike Capped Bust quarters were often described as proofs, and sometimes even as one-sided proofs. The definition of what constitutes a proof has tightened since PCGS began operations in 1986. Only a few proof 1833 quarters have been certified by NGC and PCGS.

5. 1899 $10 PR68 Ultra Cameo NGC - $149,500.00

There is and should be no doubt that this piece is the finest existing 1899 proof eagle. In addition to this piece, the only PR68 example that either service has certified, NGC has certified two PR67 Ultra Cameo examples, and likewise, PCGS has certified two PR67 Deep Cameo coins. The 1899 proof mintage was just 86 coins, with a current estimated population of about 25 different coins, including two in the Smithsonian Institution.

This amazing Superb Gem is fully brilliant with light yellow-gold surfaces. The fields are fully and deeply mirrored with the watery appearance of pristine proofs. All of the devices, including the central motifs, the peripheral stars, letters, and numerals, and the borders are fully and completely lustrous with exceptional mint frost. Careful examination with a 10x magnifier fails to reveal any visible pedigree markers.

6. 1907 $10 Wire Rim MS67 NGC - $149,500.00

Judd-1901, formerly Judd-1774. The Periods variants of the 1907 Saint-Gaudens eagle hold an interesting place in American numismatics. Their status as patterns or regular issues is debatable; while the pieces were never officially released for circulation, their large mintage and inherent beauty have made them popular with series enthusiasts, and for years, the Judd-1901, listed as “1907, Wire Rim, Periods” with a mintage of 500 pieces, has been a fixture in the Guide Book. A number of features distinguish the design of the Judd-1901 from the version that was used to strike the first circulating pieces. The overall relief is substantially greater than for the circulating varieties, though the difference between the Judd-1901 and the regular issue is not so great as the change from the High Relief Saint-Gaudens double eagle to its regular-issue counterpart.

Beyond the relief, the most substantial difference is in the eponymous periods; most frequently mentioned are the periods or pellets that bookend the words E PLURIBUS UNUM, while Walter Breen also noted the periods around TEN DOLLARS and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Less frequently mentioned in numismatic literature is the period on the headband, after LIBERTY.

7. 1796 50C 15 Stars, O-101, R.5 AU55 NGC - $149,500.00

The Draped Bust Small Eagle half dollar, bearing the dates 1796 or 1797, ranks among the lowest mintage of U.S. type coins (3,918 pieces). Only the one-year-type Capped Bust No Stars and Capped Draped Bust quarter eagles (1796 and 1808, respectively) and the Gobrecht dollar (1836-1839) record lower mintages. On the other hand, the 1796-1797 half ranks highest in value among U.S. type coins on a grade by grade basis.

The Bank of the United States might well be considered the “parent” of the 1796-1797 half dollar. Mint records show that these coins were produced from silver ingots deposited by the Bank, that in turn received the following deliveries: 60 half dollars on February 28, 1797 per warrant 81, 874 pieces on March 21, 1797 under warrant 84, and 2,984 coins on May 26, 1797 per warrant 90. Had the Bank not made silver bullion deposits during this time, or had not requested that it receive half dollars in return, it is quite likely that there would have been no coinage of Draped Bust Small Eagle halves!

8. 1846 $1 PR65 PCGS - $149,500.00

The proof-only blundered date variety, which Breen describes as “date first entered much too low and oblique, then largely effaced and corrected; parts of upper halves of 846 show in lower halves of final position of date.” The reverse displays the lumps on the central right border of the third A in AMERICA, diagnostic for the die used to strike most restrike proof No Motto Seated dollars.

Fully struck, gorgeously preserved, and originally patinated in deep shades of sea-green, golden-brown, and canary-gold. An exceptional Gem exceeded in third-party grade only by the Kaufman specimen from our recent Central States Signature. The standards for what is considered a proof striking have tightened since the advent of PCGS and NGC.

9. 1796 1/2 C With Pole AU55 PCGS - $138,000.00

The 1796 half cent is the classic rarity of the denomination from a mintage of just 1,390 coins. Perhaps 10% of those coins still exist today, nearly all in very low grades. We estimate the existence of about 25 No Pole coins and perhaps 120 With Pole coins.
Certain issues, such as the 1796 half cent and the 1901-S quarter, are known in high grade and low grade, but virtually unknown between these extremes. Nearly all known 1796 half cents, of both varieties, exist in Mint State and also below Fine. Those that grade VF, XF, and AU, such as this piece, are extremely rare.

Walter Breen described two subvarieties for the With Pole pieces, struck on rolled copper planchets or on spoiled cents. His spoiled cent subvariety, like the thick planchet 1795 coins, should weigh at least 100 grains, compared to the 84 grain standard for the issue. To date, we are only aware of a single thick planchet piece, discussed in Breen’s Half Cent Encyclopedia.

10. 1820 25C PR64 NGC - $97,750.00

A spectacular coin which combines beauty and rarity. Both the obverse and reverse show unbelievable sunset iridescent toning which becomes deeper towards the borders. The strike is remarkably sharp with the rims much higher than usual and almost convex in appearance. Every fine detail is bold on Liberty’s hair and the wings. The surfaces show complete mirror-like reflectiveness, even within the lines of the shield. The few other known proofs of this date are quite controversial.

Must certainly rank as the finest known example, sure to excite the specialist. The first and only coin graded by either service as a proof, and we deem it the finest known. … This gem may be the specimen from the F.C.C. Boyd Collection sold by Kosoff in January 1945 as lot 69.”
The proof 1820 quarter is extremely rare.