In the words of B. Max Mehl, the Kellogg & Co. fifty dollar gold pieces are “the most beautiful of all Pioneer gold coins and one of the rarest.” While Heritage has handled Kellogg fifties on several occasions in the past, we take particular pleasure in offering this specimen, which seems to match none of the previously known examples of this extraordinary issue. A “new” Kellogg fifty is a numismatic landmark and an unparalleled opportunity for the Territorial gold collector.

For more than a century, numismatists have puzzled over the purpose of the Kellogg fifties and exactly how many were struck. All known specimens were minted in proof format, suggesting they may have served as presentation pieces for bankers and politicians: They were struck when the firm was considering a large business strike mintage to compete with the fifty dollar pieces of their competitors, Wass, Molitor and Company. The “regular-issue” coins never materialized, but the proof production has delighted and puzzled collectors since the coins appeared.

One disputed question about the Kellogg proof fifties has been the number struck. The proprietors of Kellogg & Co., John Glover Kellogg and Augustus Humbert, were partners in 1855. Both of them retained several examples of the Kellogg fifties long after they dissolved their partnership in 1860. Kellogg’s heirs, including his son Karl, remained in possession of three coins many years after Kellogg’s death in 1886. Humbert, who died in 1873, left his collection to his brother, Pierre. When Pierre died in 1901, his heirs sold the collection to Captain Andrew C. Zabriskie. As Henry Chapman relates in the introduction to the Zabriskie Collection (Henry Chapman, 6/1909):

“Capt. Zabriskie some years ago had the good fortune to purchase from his executors the collection of coins left by Mr. Humbert, the California Assayer, and from which collection he derived many of the most remarkable Pioneer Gold Coins, which , added to his collection that had been forming for many years, makes his Pioneer Gold the best ever offered at public sale.”

Later in the sale, Chapman described the Kellogg fifty in lot 341, which realized $1,250, a huge price at the time. To quote his description in part:

“Sharp, beautiful specimen. The finest known, as Capt. Zabriskie had his choice of the six which Mr. Humbert had preserved. So far as I am aware, it is possible about 10 are known, in fact, this is the number it is said was coined.”

Chapman thus reveals the startling fact that Humbert saved at least six specimens of this issue until his death. We can only wonder what Humbert’s purpose was, since $300 was a large sum in 1855, too large to tie up in souvenirs. Whatever his reasons, he deserves the thanks of all Pioneer gold collectors for preserving so many of these wonderful coins. In his catalog of Humbert’s collection, which he sold in 1902, Chapman mentioned one specimen in the collection of J.W. Scott, which would be the 10th coin in his census, after the three kept by Kellogg’s family and the six in Humbert’s estate.

The trouble with Chapman’s roster is this: More than 10 specimens have always been known to numismatists since the coins surfaced. The census of known examples has gone up and down over the years, but most catalogers agree at least 13 pieces were struck, even if fewer examples seemed to be extant at a particular time. With the appearance of the present coin, we have a pictorial record of what seem to be 14 different coins. (more…)

Auction to Feature Condition Census #4 1794 Silver Dollar

Bowers and Merena Auctions will host its Boston Rarities Auction on Saturday, Aug. 7 at The Castle at Park Plaza Hotel and Towers in Boston, Mass. The sale, comprised of nearly 1,800 lots, will feature world-class rarities and highly desirable collectors’ coins.

“Three consignments stand out in my mind as defining elements of the importance of this sale: the Cardinal Collection Educational Foundation Mint State Set of 1794 United States Coinage, the Horseshoe Collection of New Orleans Mint gold and silver coins, and the Ostheimer Specimen of the 1870-S Seated Liberty Silver Dollar,” said Greg Roberts, CEO of Bowers and Merena. “With selections as diverse, important and desirable as these, we are confident that our Boston Rarities Sale will see spirited bidding from a wide variety of collectors.”

The Cardinal Collection Educational Foundation (CCEF) Mint Set of 1794 United States Coinage is a fully Mint State complete set of 1794-dated coins struck from the Half Cent through the Silver Dollar with most coins choice to gem in quality. The coins are among the finest known for their respective issues and die varieties, but the obvious highlight of the set is the Virgil Brand-F.C.C. Boyd-Cardinal specimen of the 1794 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar. Certified MS-64 by NGC, the coin is Condition Census #4 for the issue and one of only six Mint State examples known to exist. The five coins in the 1794 Mint State Set will be auctioned individually at the beginning of the beginning of the Silver Dollar section.

“This important offering is made possible by the CCEF’s recent acquisition of the Carter-Contursi 1794 Silver Dollar, graded PCGS Specimen-66, which recently sold for $7,850,000 in a transaction that set a world record price for the most valuable coin,” said Roberts.

At the heart of the Horseshoe Collection is one of the most comprehensive sets of New Orleans Mint gold and silver coins that Bowers and Merena has offered in quite some time. The stand-out highlight of the collection is an 1854-O Liberty Double Eagle, a pop 2/0 coin certified AU-55 by PCGS. With an estimated 25-35 surviving coin population from a mintage of 3,250 pieces, it is the second-rarest New Orleans Mint Double Eagle. Other rarities featured in this collection include Morgan Dollar condition rarities, key-date 19th century gold coins from other Mints and a J.W. Scott Restrike of the fabled 1861 Confederate States of America Half Dollar. (more…)

The Vienna auction house Dorotheum has sold the world’s largest gold coin, a Canadian Maple Leaf manufactured by the Royal Canadian Mint in 2007. It is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records and carries a face value of one million Canadian dollars (800,000 euros, 970,000 US dollars) measuring 53 centimetres (21 inches) in diameter and weighing 100 kilograms (220 pounds).

According to the Wall Street Journal,The coin was sold as part of the liquidation of the assets of bankrupt Austrian investment firm AvW Group, founded by Wolfgang Auer von Welsbach, the great-grandson of a 19th century Austrian nobleman and industrialist who invented the lighter flint and gas mantle.

Mr. von Welsbach is in police custody and faces possible charges of embezzlement and fraud in connection with the company’s collapse.

AvW had acquired the coin in 2007, joining an exclusive club of owners including Queen Elizabeth, who is also displayed on one side of the coin, two unidentified investors in Dubai and one who is so reclusive even his or her residence is unknown.

The bidding started at 3.27 million euros, with Oro Direct, a Spanish gold-trading firm being the lone bidder. It is reported that up to 8 different bidders had registered but no counter bids were made. The auction room was packed with more journalists than potential buyers.

The auction price disappointed Michael Beckers, Dorotheum’s coin expert who oversaw the sale. He had predicted that the price could go as high as €4 million “on a good day”.

“I’m a little disappointed. I had hoped and expected to achieve more,” he said, minutes after the hammer fell.

The Royal Canadian Mint manufactured and launched the coin in 2007 to showcase its production facilities and steal the entry in the Guinness Book of Records for the world’s biggest gold coin.

That title had previously been held by the Austrian mint, who in 2004 produced fifteen 100,000-euro coins weighing 1,000 troy ounces (31.1 kg) to celebrate the 15th anniversary of its best-selling Philharmonics coin.

Valencia-based Oro Direct’s managing director Michael Berger said his firm intends to use the coin in its marketing efforts, .

“We believe in gold, and therefore also believe we have made a great investment. We believe that going forward, gold will offer the only real safe haven in this uncertain economic environment,”