Rare Panama-Pacific Pattern Coins To Be Auctioned in New York City

Dallas, Texas. Heritage Numismatic Auctions of Dallas will auction four very rare Pattern strikings of the Panama Pacific issues in their New York City Signature Sale, November 8-10, 2003. The Patterns are minted in copper, silver, and gold, and some evidence suggests that they were produced in less-than-official circumstances.

The Panama Pacific International Exposition followed in the tradition of the great World’s Fairs held at the beginning of the Twentieth Century. The Expo celebrated the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914, and served as notice to the world that San Francisco had recovered from the destructive earthquake and fires of 1906. The site had taken three years to construct, greatly boosting the morale of the Bay City. Apparently San Francisco had been selected to host the Expo over several competing cities because its located supported commemorating the 400th anniversary of the discovering of the Pacific Ocean. After rejecting Golden Gate Park as the site, the Expo was built over 635 acres of filled-in mud flats north of the city (in what is today known as the Marina District). The Palace of Fine Arts, the sole surviving primary exposition building, was restored during the 1960s. The Expo ran from February 20th through December 4th, 1915.

Commemorative coins were struck in the following denominations: silver Half Dollar; gold Dollar; gold Quarter Eagle ($2.50); $50 Round; $50 Octagonal. According to the Pollock reference on Commemorative coins, Farran Zerbe, who was involved with the coining and distribution of these commemorative coins, was quoted by Walter Breen as saying that these die trial specimens "may have been struck at the Philadelphia Mint by the instructions of the Secretary of the Treasury (William McAdoo), who was a coin collector." The characteristics of the gold Half Dollar suggest that it was made clandestinely, being overstruck on a ground-down double eagle instead of being made using a new planchet of normal thickness; this suggests that the manufacturer desired to avoid entries in the bullion account books. Thus, its secret manufacture at the Mint parallels that of the 1913 Liberty nickel.

1915 Panama-Pacific Half Dollar, Judd-1960 (previously Judd-1793), Pollock-2031, R.8, PR64 NGC.
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This gold die trial of the 1915 Pan-Pac half was struck from the approved dies before the S mintmark was added. This rarity has only been offered twice at auction in the past 24 years, and is one of only two pieces known. Its pedigree extends to Virgil Brand, according to the Pollock reference. Pollock had carefully examined the #1 specimen, the Farouk-Norweb coin, which, like this example, shares the same history and mysterious circumstances of production: "...planchet file marks and traces of an undertype, indicating that the half dollar dies were impressed on a cut-down $20 gold coin, which had been filed to remove high-relief details."
Ex: Virgil Brand; B.G. Johnson; Celina Coin Co.; A. Friedman; 1979 ANA Sale (New England, 7/79), lot 1365, where it realized an amazing $27,000.

1915 Panama-Pacific Half Dollar, Judd-1961 (previously Judd-1791), Pollock-2029, R.7, PR64 NGC.
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This silver pattern features the obverse and reverse of the Pan-Pac Half Dollar as ultimately minted, but before the S-mintmark was added to the obverse; fewer than four known.
Ex: 1979 ANA Sale (New England, 7/79), lot 1364, where it brought an impressive $15,000.00.

1915 Panama-Pacific Half Dollar, Judd-1962 (previously Judd-1792), Pollock-2030, R.7, PR65 Red and Brown NGC.
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This copper die trial for the Pan-Pac Half Dollar was likewise struck before the S-mintmark was added; fewer than four examples are confirmed.
Ex: 1979 ANA Sale (New England, 7/79), lot 1363, where it brought $5,000.

1915 Panama-Pacific Gold Dollar, Judd-1965 (previously listed as Judd-1793A2), Pollock-2032, 2033, R.7, 8, PR62 NGC.
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Regular die trial for the Pan-Pac gold dollar, without the S mintmark, and struck in gold with a reeded edge. A group of nine "S-less" Pan-Pac gold dollars were offered in New England's 1979 ANA Sale, seven with a reeded edge and two with a plain edge. Each coin was pedigreed to King Farouk and had apparently been together for decades with museum wax on some of the pieces. This piece is listed in the New England catalog as the second impression.
Ex: Palace Collection/ King Farouk (Sotheby's, 2/54), lot 288; 1979 ANA Sale (NERCA, 7/79), lot 1367; Louis M. Sklar Collection. where it brought $4,000.

Catalogs for this sale are available for $50 from Heritage, c/o Sonia Magdaleno, 100 Highland Park Village, Second Floor, Dallas, TX 75205. All of the lots are displayed in full color on the Heritage web site at www.HeritageCoin.com.