1913 Liberty Nickel, One of Five Known, Leads
Heritage Central States Event
The
Walton specimen of the 1913 Liberty
nickel, graded PR63 by PCGS and one of only five known, will be
sold at public auction for the first time at
the Official Auction of the Central States
Numismatic Society's Annual Convention, presented by Heritage
Auctions, April 24 – 26, with Platinum Night scheduled for the
evening of April 25.
"The 1913 Liberty nickel is one of the most famous U.S. coins
ever struck," said Todd Imhof, Executive Vice President of
Heritage, "and the Walton specimen has the most dramatic story of
the five examples known."
George O. Walton was on his way to a coin show in 1962 when he
died in a car accident. His 1913 Liberty nickel was recovered from
the wreck and returned to his family. It was sent to an auction
house, but returned as a fake — an error that led collectors to
believe that one of the five 1913 Liberty nickels was lost and
possibly gone forever.
Walton's heirs held onto the nickel, though, and in 2003, an
offer meant as a publicity stunt led to a stunning reunion.
"The other four 1913 Liberty nickels were brought together for
the American Numismatic Association's World's Fair of
MoneySM, which was held in Baltimore that year," said
Imhof. "A reward was offered for the 'missing' fifth nickel,
$10,000 just to be the first to see it. Nobody expected two of
George O. Walton's heirs to show up with their uncle's nickel, much
less for a collection of coin experts assembled for a midnight
authentication session to declare it genuine."
The rediscovered 1913 Liberty nickel was displayed at the
convention alongside the other four and later lent to the American
Numismatic Association's Dwight Manley Money Museum, where it was
on display for nearly a decade. This is its first appearance at
auction.
Selected coins once owned by famous numismatic
scholar and philanthropist Eric P. Newman, a centenarian who is
a founding member of the Central States Numismatic Society and the
last person to own all five 1913 Liberty nickels, are a collective
highlight of equal importance to the Walton 1913 Liberty nickel's
auction debut.
Items being sold are from the extensive collection of Eric P.
Newman Numismatic Education Society (a Missouri not-for-profit
corporation) and have been assembled over a period of 90 years.
Proceeds of the sale of all items will be used exclusively for the
benefit of other not-for-profit institutions selected by the Eric
P. Newman Numismatic Education Society for public purposes and also
for supplementing the Society's own museum operations and scholarly
research efforts.
"Everyone who has studied U.S. coins has been touched by Eric P.
Newman's research," said Jim Halperin, Co-Chairman of Heritage. "He
is a titan of numismatics and one of the hobby's greatest
treasures. We are honored to participate in a sale that will help
many worthy causes, including Eric's tradition of adding to our
knowledge about the history of money. The Newman family's
generosity is nothing short of inspiring."
The vast majority of the
Selections From The Eric P. Newman
Collection are pattern coins. Top highlights include an
1877
quarter dollar with William Barber's "Sailor Head" portrait of
Liberty struck in copper, Judd-1500 variety, graded PR65 Red
NGC and easily the finest known example out of just eight
confirmed; and an
1879
metric twenty dollar or "Quintuple Stella" struck in copper,
Judd-1644 variety, graded PR64+ Red and Brown NGC.
"The U.S. Mint's coinage experiments shed light on the coins
they produced for commerce," said Halperin. "It is only natural
that Eric P. Newman has taken great interest in them."
A single Territorial gold coin from The Eric P. Newman
Collection caused a stir as soon as it was certified. An
1852
Humbert ten dollar coin, Kagin-10 variety, was graded MS68 NGC,
CAC, the first California private or Territorial gold coin to be
certified as MS68 by a major service. The coin was retained by
Augustus Humbert, United States Assayer of Gold for California in
the early 1850s, and passed into his estate. In a relatively short
pedigree punctuated by long stretches of ownership are several
famous collecting names, including Waldo Newcomer, "Colonel" E.H.R.
Green, and of course Eric P. Newman. Its offering at auction is an
unprecedented opportunity for serious collectors.
Early American coinage is well-represented in the event. The
unique
1783 Nova Constellatio Type Two "Quint" in Silver, AU53 PCGS.
The 13 former colonies each used a different monetary system at the
time, and the Nova Constellatio patterns were based on a
complicated system of 1,440 units to a Spanish dollar that would
accommodate 12 of them. This 500-unit pattern, or "quint," is
unique and has been owned by several famous collectors including
John Work Garrett, who donated his collection to Johns Hopkins
University. The University's sale of this coin in November 1979 was
its most recent auction appearance.
The Bushnell-Parmelee-Green-Norweb specimen of the 1792
Judd-1 silver center cent, MS61+ Brown NGC, is one of the first
experimental coins made under the authority of the Mint Act of
1792. Its unusual appearance, with a small silver "plug" in the
middle of a wider copper body, was an attempt to reduce the weight
of the cent by adding a small amount of precious metal. Graded
MS61+ Brown, this coin once owned by Ambassador and Mrs. R. Henry
Norweb is slightly finer than the Morris specimen, sold by
Heritage for $1.15 million in April 2012.
Noteworthy among official early U.S. issues is a 1796
dollar with Small Date obverse and Small Letters reverse, B-2,
BB-63 variety, graded MS65 NGC. The sole finest 1796 Small
Date, Small Letters dollar known, it is a highlight of The
William Jacob Collection, Part II.
In addition to the great coins mentioned above, this auction is
filled with other highlights, including, but not limited to, the
following:
Bidding on this auction is open now at www.HA.com/coins.
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Heritage Auctions to offer more than 1,200
original dies and hubs from engraver Karl Goetz
The first of more than 1,200 original dies and hubs cut by satirist
and engraver Karl Xaver Goetz, one of Germany's most prolific medal
artists of the 20st century, will be offered beginning April 17-22
at Heritage Auctions'
World & Ancient Coin Signature® Auction during
CICF.
Goetz is perhaps best known for engraving the famous 1915
Lusitania medallion commemorating the sinking of the British ocean
liner by German torpedoes. His medals later gained notoriety
through their artistry and biting criticism of war, with often
controversial and polarizing results.
As a member of the Munich Artists Society, The Numismatic
Society, and The Austrian Association for Numismatics in Vienna,
Goetz' medal artistry was known worldwide. Many of his works are
still on display at the Kaiser Friedrich Museum in Berlin, among
others. The first selection of dies offered by Heritage will
features those crafted for both government and commissioned works,
including the die used by Goetz to famously promote anti-black
sentiment in the 1920s. His "The Watch on the Rhine" aka "The Black Shame"
medal is infamous for using racial overtones to protest black
colonial French troops.
"The dies and hubs will be offered in order as they appear in
Gunter W. Kienast's opus 'The Medals of Karl Goetz,'" said
Cristiano Bierrenbach, Executive Vice President of International
Numismatics for Heritage. "Goetz' remarkable dies are a testament
to his talent as well as the important, yet tumultuous, events
during which he cultivated his fans and critics."
The entire collection will be offered in three parts: The first,
April, 17-22, 2013 during Heritage's World and Ancient Coins Signature® Auction at
CICF in Chicago. Future selections will be offered again in
September 2013 with the final selection
offered in April 2014.
This auction is open for bidding now at www.HA.com/coins.
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Lost and Found: the Walton 1913 Liberty Head
Nickel: A Special Chicago Coin Club Meeting at CSNS
One of the ultimate American numismatic story coins is the
George Owen Walton specimen of the 1913
Liberty nickel. Walton had a special holder made for his prized
nickel, the same holder that contains the coin today, and he
proudly displayed the coin at conventions throughout the 1950s and
into the early 1960s. He was traveling to a coin show in Wilson,
North Carolina on March 9, 1962, when he lost his life in a
terrible automobile accident 20 miles from his destination.
All of his coins, including his 1913 Liberty nickel, were
recovered in the brief case that held them through the accident.
They were not scattered about the highway. That is a tale that grew
in the telling. The coins were eventually sold for his estate, but
the Walton 1913 nickel was returned to the family in 1963 as an
altered date. Four decades later, the previous decision was
reversed as a team of experts declared the coin to be the genuine
1913 Liberty Head nickel.
The Chicago Coin Club will host a 2 PM special educational
seminar on Thursday, April 25, just prior to the auction of this
rare coin. Mark Borckardt, Senior Numismatic Cataloger for Heritage
Auctions, will moderate the program. Reminiscing about their
experience will be publicist Donn Pearlman, retired Coin World
editor Beth Deisher, and Paul Montgomery, vice-president of
American Precious Metals exchange, who was president of Bowers and
Merena in 2003 when the nickel was rediscovered. Joining them will
be George Walton's nephew, Ryan Givens, Walton's niece, Cheryl
Myers, and her husband Gary Myers.
Upon conclusion of the program, members can move to the auction
room where they may witness a new price record for a minor
(non-precious metal) coin. This program will prove a
once-in-a-lifetime event for all who attend, and will certainly be
talked about for years to come.
The meeting will take place Thursday, April 25, at 2PM, at the
Central States Numismatic Society 74th Anniversary Convention.
Schaumburg Renaissance Hotel &
Convention Center
Room Nirvana C
1551 N. Thoreau Drive
Schaumburg, IL 60673
Open to the public — come early to be assured a seat as a
standing room only crowd is expected!
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Website Tips: All items from Heritage
Auctions Now eligible for Make Offer to Owner program
Due to popular demand, we have altered the Make Offer to Owner
(MOtO) program to remove the minimum purchase price requirement for
all lots, previously $417 for coins and $385 for everything else.
Now, all items purchased from Heritage at auction are eligible for
MOtO, with a minimum commission of $40.
Owners of items bought from Heritage at auction that were
previously ineligible for MOtO can enable their items individually
through the individual links in MyCollection, or they can enable all of their items at
once by going to MyCollection and clicking on the following link:
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This Week's Top
Ten
The thirteen highest valued US Cents to sell in Heritage
auctions, one per issue:
 |
 |
- 1793 Chain 1C Periods MS65 Brown PCGS. CAC. S-4, B-5, High
R.3. Our EAC Grade MS60. Realized $1,380,000
- 1793 1C Liberty Cap. AU55 PCGS. S-13, B-20, Low R.4. Bland
AU50; tied for CC-2. Noyes AU50; tied for CC-2. Photo #20425. Our
EAC Grade AU50. Realized $632,500
- 1794 1C Starred Reverse. AU50 PCGS. S-48, B-38, R.5. Bland
XF40; CC-1. Noyes XF40; CC-1. Photo #21666. Our EAC Grade XF40.
Realized $632,500
- 1795 1C Reeded Edge Fine Details NGC. S-79, B-9, R.7.
Realized $431,250
- 1944-S 1C --On a Zinc-Plated Steel Planchet--MS66 NGC.
Realized $373,750
- 1793 1C Wreath Cent, Vine and Bars SP66 Brown NGC. S-6,
B-7, R.3. Realized $329,000
- 1943 Cent--Struck on a Bronze Planchet--AU58 PCGS.
Realized $218,500
- 1943-S Cent--Struck on a Bronze Planchet--VF35 PCGS.
Realized $207,000
- 1856 1C MS66 PCGS. Eagle Eye Photo Seal. Realized
$172,500
- 1807 1C Small 7 over 6. AU55 PCGS. S-272, B-2, High R.4.
Bland AU50; CC-1. Noyes AU50; CC-1. Photo #20999. Our EAC Grade
AU50. Realized $161,000
- 1796 1C Draped Bust, Reverse of 1795. MS65 Red and Brown
PCGS. S-93, B-34, R.3. Bland MS65; CC-1. Noyes MS65; CC-1. Photo
#20187. Our EAC Grade MS63. Realized $161,000
- 1799 1C Normal Date XF45 PCGS. S-189, B-3, High R.2. Bland
VF25; tied for CC-6. Noyes VF30; tied for CC-2. Photo #35050. Our
EAC Grade VF25. Realized $161,000
- 1864 1C L On Ribbon PR65 Red and Brown PCGS. CAC.
Snow-PR2. Realized $161,000
Do you have a suggestion for a future top ten list? Send
it to us!
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"This is
a rare opportunity for students to get first-hand experience with
some of the icons in the numismatic industry," ANA Executive
Director Jeff Shevlin said.
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