The Henry Miller Collection of rare gold coins highlights Heritage Tampa FUN Auction

Double eagles include MS65 1852-O plus Ch/Gem Proofs of most dates from 1860 through 1889; many other rarities offered for the first time in decades

DALLAS, TX – The Henry Miller Collection of rare gold coins, a grouping that has been decades in the making, will be offered as part of the upcoming Heritage Auction Galleries Signature® and Platinum Night U.S. Coin Auction, Jan. 5-8, 2011, being held in Tampa, FL in conjunction with the Florida United Numismatists (FUN) annual winter convention.

“Many of these coins are among the best of their kind,” said Greg Rohan, President of Heritage. “It’s a privilege for us to be able to offer them, all together, for the first time to this generation of collectors.”

The top rarity in the Miller Collection is an 1852-O double eagle graded MS65 by NGC. It is the single finest 1852-O double eagle in existence and a strong candidate for the finest New Orleans double eagle, regardless of date.

“This coin was purchased in the early 1970s and has been off the market ever since,” said Rohan. “Collectors have been aware of it for some time, though it has not been made available for study before now. For that reason, some experts underrated its condition and importance.”

The certified population figures tell the rest of the story: It is the single finest 1852-O double eagle graded by either NGC or PCGS, and moreover, it is the only New Orleans double eagle in the combined certified populations to have such a high grade, no matter what date is on the coin.

The double eagle, a $20 gold coin created in response to the California Gold Rush, was first made for commerce in 1850. It was struck at two facilities, the main Mint in Philadelphia and the branch mint in New Orleans. As the New Orleans Mint was closer to the California gold fields, it enjoyed brief popularity as a destination for newly mined gold. That popularity was short-lived, however, when in 1854 an official branch mint opened up in San Francisco; the brief heyday of the New Orleans Mint was done.

While circulating gold coinage is important in the collection, so too are the proof gold coins that were made especially for collectors. One of the earliest such coins in the collection is an 1860 double eagle, graded PR64 by NGC with CAC sticker.

“This coin dates to the earliest years of active coin collecting in the United States,” said Rohan. “When half cents and the so-called ‘large cents’ were taken out of commerce and replaced with smaller coins the same size seen today, people started collecting the obsolete coins. The Mint picked up on the increasing collector interest and started offering specially made ‘proof’ coins to collectors in sets.”

The sale of proof sets was only a few years old in 1860, however, and $20 was a vast sum to tie up in a single coin for a collection. While the official mintage of proof 1860 double eagles was 59 pieces, a tiny sum, experts estimate that only 10 specimens survive – if that – and two of those coins are in permanent museum collections.

While double eagles make up the largest part of this important collection, smaller gold denominations also play an important role. Most prominent among them is an 1823 half eagle, or five dollar coin, graded MS65 by NGC with CAC sticker.

“Most United States gold coins struck prior to 1834 were melted down because the value of the gold in them was greater than the face value,” said Rohan. “The Capped Head to Left subtype of half eagles, struck from 1813 to 1834, is a great illustration. The 1823 half eagle, for example, is both one of the most available dates in the series and very scarce today regardless of grade. This collection has the single finest 1823 half eagle in the combined certified populations.”

A few additional highlights of the collection (out of dozens of coins of similar quality, value and rarity), include:

1857-O double eagle, MS62 NGC, CAC: An important Mint State rarity from the “lean period” of New Orleans double eagle strikings, pedigreed to the collection of famous actor Adolphe Menjou.

1881 double eagle, PR65 Cameo NGC, CAC: Out of 61 specimens struck, 20 or perhaps even fewer exist today, and this is one of the finest known.

1885 double eagle, PR66 Cameo NGC, CAC: One of the true “trophy coins” of the proof Liberty double eagle series, linked to a business strike issue of just 751 pieces.

1887 double eagle, PR66 Cameo NGC, CAC: A proof-only double eagle issue with an estimated surviving population of just 30 specimens.

Heritage Auctions, headed by Steve Ivy, Jim Halperin and Greg Rohan, is the world’s third largest auction house, with annual sales more than $600 million, and 500,000+ registered online bidder members. For more information about Heritage Auctions, and to join and gain access to a complete record of prices realized, along with full-color, enlargeable photos of each lot, please visit HA.com.

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