1915-S $50 Panama-Pacific 50 Dollar Octagonal MS64 PCGS....

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1915-S Panama-Pacific Fifty Dollar, MS64
The Iconic Octagonal Variant
Only 645 Pieces Distributed

1915-S $50 Panama-Pacific 50 Dollar Octagonal MS64 PCGS. Ex: Trompeter. A two-page spread in the Mint Director's Annual Report in 1915 depicted photographs of the plaster models for the five commemorative coins that were to be issued for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. The coinage act of January 16, 1915, provided for the production of 200,000 silver half dollars, 25,000 gold dollars, 10,000 quarter eagles, and 3,000 fifty dollar gold pieces. The act further stipulated that half of the fifty dollar gold pieces "shall be similar in shape to the octagonal $50 gold pieces issued in California in 1851," by the then temporary U.S. Assay Office of Gold at San Francisco.

Designs for the fifty dollar pieces were submitted by Robert Aitken, in both a round and octagonal variant for the two shapes of the coin that would be produced. The official description of the design in the Mint Report read:

"Obverse: Minerva, the goddess of wisdom, skill, contemplation, spinning, weaving, and of agriculture and horticulture. Reverse: Owl, sacred to Minerva, the accepted symbol of wisdom, perched upon a branch of western pine. Dolphins, suggesting, as they encircle the central field, the uninterrupted water route made possible by the Panama Canal, occupy the angles of the octagonal coin."

The dies were completed at Philadelphia and shipped to San Francisco, along with a large medal coinage press that was needed for the striking of the large fifty dollar gold pieces. The first coinage of fifty dollar gold pieces was delivered on May 28, and included 609 coins, all of the octagonal variant. In total, 1,500 octagonal and 1,500 round fifty dollar coins were struck. However, few were sold to attendees of the Pan-Pac Expo, and efforts to market the coins to wealthy bankers were largely futile. In the end, only 645 octagonal coins and 483 round pieces were distributed. The remainder of each mintage was later melted.

This near-Gem octagonal example displays sharp definition and luminous satin luster with rich honey-gold color. The surfaces are delightfully free of distracting abrasions, and the overall eye appeal is outstanding. An ideal type coin for the advanced classic commemorative collector. This a fresh-to-market coin that is housed in an older PCGS holder, undoubtedly the same holder it was in when this upper-end MS64 was a part of Ed Trompeter's collection.
Ex: Trompeter Collection.
From the James E. Blake Collection.(Registry values: P7)

Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# BYLX, PCGS# 7452, Greysheet# 10216)

Weight: 83.59 grams

Metal: 90% Gold, 10% Copper

View Certification Details from PCGS