Last week, Stack’s celebrated its 74th anniversary with a tremendous three-day auction sale of U.S. coins, tokens, and paper money. Significant realizations abounded in every category and the sale realized a total of nearly $5 million!

The auction included selections from the Alan Bleviss Collection, the Jerry Byrne, Sr. Collection, the David Hickson Collection, the Chester L. Krause Collection, the Maryland Historical Society, the Mayflower Collection, the Minot Collection, the Robert A. Vlack Collection and much more.

Session One began with U.S. tokens and, after a nice selection of high quality Hard Times Tokens, presented Part II of the Alan Bleviss Collection of Civil War Tokens. This amazing collection is one of the most extensive holdings ever assembled, and the offering here provided more than 500 tokens from over 20 states. Highlights included the rare P.L. Geissler token from Evansville, Indiana that was overstruck on a McClellan presidential token, an R-9 example in MS-62 (NGC) that sold for $11,500.

The rare Logansport, Indiana token of H.C. Eversole, also an R-9 example in MS-62 (NGC), brought $4,600, and the gem Plainfield, Indiana M. Osborn token, an R-8 in Zinc graded MS-65 by NGC, garnered $5,462.50. U.S. Medals boasted the rare 1799 George Washington Funeral Medal, a gold uniface oval medal in AU condition that sold for $17,250.

U.S. coins offered a modestly sized section of Colonial and Early American Coins that featured several fantastic pieces. One of these items was the rare 1790 Standish Barry threepence. Graded VF-30 by PCGS, this item was formerly part of the collection of the Maryland Historical Society, and sold for a hearty $43,125. Another impressive piece was the remarkable 1797 Theatre at New York token, one of just 15 collectable pieces available today. This extraordinary item was graded Proof-64 RB (PCGS) and sold for $28,750. (more…)

By Doug Winter – RareGoldCoins.com

In my opinion, the 1826 is one of the rarest and most underrated early quarter eagles. Most every “fact” that is traditionally associated with this issue is incorrect.

I recently purchased a lovely PCGS AU55 example (see the photo below) from the Bowers and Merena Baltimore auction acting as an agent for a collector who is attempting to put together a high quality date set of early quarter eagles. It had been quite a while since I had owned a nice 1826 quarter eagle and this inspired me to gather some facts about this issue.

For many years, the 1826 quarter eagle has been called an “1826/5” overdate. This is clearly wrong and there is a very easy way to prove this. The 1825 obverse die employs large stars while the stars on the 1826 are far smaller. In addition, there is no evidence of an overdate when the date is examined with light magnification. I believe there is either some minor recutting or a small die defect. This issue should more properly be called an 1826/6.

The mintage figure has long been reported to be just 760 coins. Given the fact that around thirty or so exist, I feel that this figure is incorrect. It is probable that some of the quarter eagles struck in early 1827 were dated 1826. The actual mintage figure is more likely in the area of 1,250-1,500; possibly as many as 1,750.

One thing that is certain about this date is its rarity. It is the third rarest early quarter struck after 1797, trailing only the extremely rare 1804 13 Stars and the 1834 No Motto. As I stated above, there are an estimated thirty pieces known. Most are in the lower AU grades, indicating that this issue did not see much actual circulation. I am aware of two or three Uncirculated pieces and none of these, with the possible exception of one coin, appears to be finer than MS61. (more…)

Stack’s eagerly invites you to take part in our 74th Anniversary Sale, held this year in Baltimore, MD November 9-11, 2009. Stack’s is proud to celebrate our 74th year in the auction business by holding a star-studded auction event, replete with dazzling rarities at every turn. This auction will include U.S. coins, tokens, medals, and paper money, and includes selections from the Alan Bleviss Collection, the Jerry Byrne, Sr. Collection, the David Hickson Collection, the Chester L. Krause Collection, the Maryland Historical Society, the Mayflower Collection, the Minot Collection, the Robert A. Vlack Collection and much more!

Session One begins at 2:00pm on Monday, November 9th and leads off with U.S. tokens and medals, including over 500 lots from the Alan Bleviss Collection of Civil War Tokens.
U.S. medals offer a selection that is modest in size only. U.S. coins comprise roughly the second half of this session, and provide a truly wonderful array of Colonial and Early American issues, many of which hail from the Maryland Historical Society.
Federal issues hold their own among these exceptional colonial pieces, and small cents through nickels finish out the session, with lovely runs of Proof cents and nice quality Buffalo nickels capping it off.

Session Two begins at 2:00pm on Tuesday, November 10th and covers half dimes through double eagles, patterns, and gold commemoratives and offers exceptional pieces in every category, as well as fine runs of early examples in most denominations.

Session Three will commence on Wednesday, November 11 at 11:00am and will begin with silver commemorative coins. From here, we move through modern commemoratives, bullion issues, Proof and mint sets, and miscellaneous U.S. coins to the section of United States Currency.
Finishing out our 74th Anniversary Sale is the Robert A. Vlack Collection of Advertising Notes, comprising over 150 lots.

If you cannot attend in person, be sure to send us your bids by U.S. mail or fax, or place your bids on our website, either before the sale or by bidding online during the sessions. If you have yet to do so, take a moment to familiarize yourself with our new Stack’s at Home™ program, an improved online bidding experience which allows bidders to watch and participate in the auction in real time through live audio and video feed. You can find us at 123 W 57th Street, New York, NY 10019 or at Box 1804, Wolfeboro, NH 03894. To contact us by phone, please use 800-566-2580 (NY) or 866-811-1804 (NH), or email us.
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