by Greg Reynolds, a CoinLink exclusive report

The Robert Bass collection of Private & Territorial gold patterns, die trials and related pieces is the all-time finest in this field. Bass started buying territorial gold coins and patterns in the 1960s. He sold his collection of territorial gold in 1999. He was too emotionally attached to his territorial patterns, however, to part with them, until 2006 when he had to deal with personal and health problems.

Don Kagin reports that he purchased this collection from Robert Bass “more than one year ago.” It has taken a long time to inventory, weigh, research and prepare a catalogue of the items. Kagin emphasizes that a featured trio are “three unique Humbert $50 pieces” that were previously in the legendary Bushnell and Garrett family collections.

Items from more than thirty private mints or prospective mints are in the Bass collection. Eleven of these may never have minted gold coins.

This Bass collection contains 179 pieces. For about eighty-three of these, fewer than five pieces are known. Even more startling is that, of these eighty-three or so, more than fifty of them are unique, meaning just one piece is known to exist today.

Of course, there are several pieces from the well known gold coin firms of Clark-Gruber and Kellogg, which issued a significant number of copper die trials. The Bass collection also includes two dozen Restrikes including Conway and Baldwin pieces.

Many of the Bass pieces are encapsulated, graded and authenticated by either the Professional Coin Grading Service or the Numismatic Guaranty Corp. (NGC). Some others are encapsulated by the NCS, an affiliate of NGC. NCS certified items as genuine. Usually, NCS certified coins and patterns have problems that are too serious for them to qualify for NGC grading and certification. Because of the nature of life on the western frontier in the mid 19th century, collectors generally expect that private and territorial numismatic items will, on average, have more imperfections and problems than U.S. coins minted during the same time period.

In reference to U.S. coins, the term ‘pattern’ typically refers to not just patterns, but also to die trials, experimental pieces, certain kinds of restrikes and novodels, and other items that are not quite coins. Some of these are very difficult to explain. Likewise, the term ‘pattern’ has a similar meaning in the field of private and territorial gold. Most of the items in this field of ‘patterns’ are die trials, and thus most of the pieces in the Bass collection are die trials.

In some cases, an item may be both a pattern and a die trial. Consider the Cincinnati Mining & Trading $20 gold denomination. All Cincinnati pieces are dated 1849, are extremely rare, and have a legendary status among collectors of private and territorial numismatic items. The $20 denomination was probably never struck in gold for circulation. If any such Cincinnati $20 gold coins were struck, none have ever been seen (and revealed to exist) by a coin expert.

Two Cincinnati $20 pieces struck in copper definitely exist. Others may exist. These are definitely die trials and may be patterns, narrowly defined, as well. This design for a $20 gold denomination was obviously considered, or even planned. Yet, there is no evidence that a production run of Cincinnati $20 gold coins ever occurred. It is probably a design-type that was never adopted; hence, it is a pattern, narrowly defined.

These Cincinnati $20 patterns could have been struck in gold, but were struck in copper instead, or as the first step. The dies, and maybe machinery as well, were being tested in copper as copper is much less expensive than gold. Copper test strikings that resemble coins are die trials.

Coincidentally, another Cincinnati $20 gold pattern in copper, probably the only other, was just auctioned by Stack’s in New York on Tuesday, Oct. 16. It was formerly in the collection of Waldo Newcomer, and was in the famous 1914 exhibition sponsored by the American Numismatic Society (ANS). The ANS catalogue of that exhibition includes several illustrated pages, and this item is clearly seen on one of them, according to the Stack’s cataloguer.

At the Stack’s auction, bidding for this Cincinnati $20 pattern started at less than $20,000 and progressed for a long while. There were a few floor bidders. As the level climbed from around $40,000 to around $90,000, Don Kagin battled John Kraljevich. As prices climbed past $100,000, a telephone bidder became the leader. Eventually, there was a duel between this telephone bidder and a floor bidder who I could not clearly see from my vantage point. After a few more seconds ticked by, this floor bidder, #468, captured the piece for $149,500! Could this be an auction record for a territorial gold pattern in copper?

The $20 Cincinnati pattern in the Bass collection is NGC certified ‘Fine-12 Brown.’ Bass had two Cincinnati ‘pattern’ half eagles ($5 gold denomination). The copper piece is NGC graded Fine-12 and was earlier in a Stack’s auction in December 1997. The second $5 piece is made of gold plated copper (gilt), and is certified by NCS with the designation that the piece has the details of an Extremely Fine grade. I reiterate that collectors of territorial items are much less concerned about technical details than are collectors of 19th century U.S. coins.

One of the more unusual and mysterious pieces in the Robert Bass collection is a pattern $2½ gold coin, struck in brass, issued by the “Pelican Co.” It was in the Garrett collection for more than a half-century. The cataloguer of this piece in 1980 said that it was earlier in the Andrew Zabriskie and James Ellsworth collections. Almost nothing is known about the Pelican company and this is the only Pelican $2½ piece that has ever been known to the coin collecting community. It is NGC certified MS-63, an extremely high grade for a territorial pattern.

For many decades, the Garrett family collection was the best in the field of private and territorial patterns. The Garrett family also collected U.S. coins and a wide variety of numismatic items, including regularly issued territorial gold coins. While far from complete in any one area, the Garrett collection is one of the most fascinating and enticing collections for advanced numismatists to dream about. It was auctioned by the firm of Bowers & Ruddy in 1979 and 1980. The Garrett family collection was consigned by Johns Hopkins University, where it resided for years. The Robert Bass collection has many more territorial patterns than the Garrett collection had.

Amazingly, the Bass collection has four patterns of the 1849 Oregon issues. A half eagle ($5) in white metal grades “Very Good,” according to Kagin. Another half eagle in tin and lead is authenticated and encapsulated by NCS with a ‘Very Fine’ details notation. An Eagle ($10 gold denomination) struck in tin is NGC graded AU-55, which is an extremely high grade for a piece of this nature. Both Oregon gold coins and the corresponding die trials tend to be heavily worn and often have serious technical problems. An AU-55 grade piece of any Oregon variety is something that I definitely would like to see. There are fewer than four known of each of the three just mentioned Oregon die trials.

The fourth Bass Oregon piece is unique, that is it is the only one known. It is an eagle struck in a combination of metals, believed to be gold, lead and copper, and is gold plated, thus ‘Gilt.’ It is NCS authenticated with a notation that it has the details that correspond to an Extremely Fine grade. It was earlier in a Stack’s auction, in January 2002.

I cannot list here all the interesting and desirable patterns in the Bass collection. Don Kagin is preparing a full color catalogue that contains introductory, historical, and technical information, along with pedigrees. As far as I know, Robert Bass is not related to the late Harry W. Bass, a very famous collector of U.S. gold coins and patterns.

©2007 Greg Reynolds