Unique Specimen 1856-O $20 Highlights Heritage's $14 Million Long Beach Auctions

Dallas, TX: An 1856-O Double Eagle, certified as Specimen 63 by NGC, realized a spectacular $542,800 during the Heritage Numismatic Auctions sales in conjunction with the Long Beach Coin, Stamp & Collectibles Expo, June 3 - 5. The combined prices realized for the Signature Sale auctions of U.S. and world coins was $13.8 million with the total expected to exceed $14 million when combined with the related Heritage Bullet Sale.

Unique in Specimen format, the New Orleans No Motto Twenty sold for more than the total of its two prior auction appearances: a 1995 Superior sale ($203,500) and a 2002 Heritage auction ($310,500). Research suggests that this is the second highest price achieved at auction by a Liberty Double Eagle, trailing only the Norweb 1861 Paquet Reverse $20.

The Long Beach Signature Auction featured a special Platinum Night session on June 3, presenting the rarest and most desirable pieces in the sale. The 435-lot session realized $7,277,245 million, and was followed by The Harold W. Anderson Collection, Part One, a splendid and diverse old-time holding that was off the market for two generations.

Long Beach auction highlights include:

The single finest certified 1841 Quarter Eagle, PR65 Ultra Cameo NGC, brought $253,000. Known as the "Little Princess," this proof-only issue has an unrecorded mintage but less than twenty survivors are recorded in all grades. Louis Eliasberg confirmed the rarity of the Little Princess when it became the final addition to his complete collection of U.S. gold coins.

An 1879 Flowing Hair Stella, Judd-1635, PR66 Cameo NGC, hammered down for $209,875. Less than 500 Stellas were struck between 1879 and 1880, and high grade proofs of this pattern gold denomination are coveted by advanced numismatists.

A magnificently preserved Sheldon-6 1793 Wreath Cent, encapsulated as Specimen MS65 Brown by NGC, brought $149,599. It served as a plate coin for the variety in Sylvester S. Crosby's United States Coinage of 1793 (1897), and its lengthy pedigree includes such numismatic luminaries as Lorin G. Parmelee, Dr. Thomas Hall, Virgil Brand, Harold Bareford, Herman Halpern, Ed Milas, and Martin Paul.

Featured consignors for the Heritage June Long Beach Signature Auction included The Harold W. Anderson Collection, Part One; The Jack R. Caniff #1 Registry Collection of Washington Quarters; The Barry Donnell Collection; The Virgil Farstad Collection, Part Two; The David J. Greene Collection of Buffalo Nickel Errors; The Garden State Collection; The Greenwich Collection, Part One; The Newark Mounds Collection; The Kyle Patrick Registry Collection of Lincoln Cents; The Paulsboro Collection, Part One; and The South Florida Collection.

Additional highlights of the June Long Beach Signature Auction:

• Lot 6033, 1794 Half Dime, V-3, LM-3, MS66 NGC, realized $83,950
• Lot 6063, 1867-S Quarter, MS67 NGC, realized $74,750
• Lot 6106, 1794 Dollar, B-1, BB-1, XF Details, Obverse Repaired, NCS, realized $57,500
• Lot 6112, 1836 Name Below Base Gobrecht Dollar, Judd-58, PR66 NGC, realized $115,000
• Lot 6115, 1838 Gobrecht Dollar, Judd-84, PR65 NGC, realized $71,875
• Lot 6219, 1854 Three Dollars, MS68 PCGS, realized $112,125
• Lot 6235, 1879 Flowing Hair Stella, Judd-1635, Net PR55 ANACS, realized $60,375
• Lot 6239, 1797 Small Eagle, 16 Stars $5, MS60 NGC, Miller-19, realized $126,500
• Lot 6356, 1870-CC Double Eagle, XF Details, Cleaned, NCS, realized $97,750
• Lot 6363, 1881 Double Eagle, MS61 PCGS, realized $57,500
• Lot 6373, 1867 Double Eagle, PR65 Cameo NGC, realized $195,500
• Lot 6374, 1869 Double Eagle, PR64 Cameo NGC, realized $80,500
• Lot 6376, 1884 Double Eagle, PR64 NGC, realized $126,500
• Lot 6378, 1891 Double Eagle, PR66 Deep Cameo NGC, realized $149,500
• Lot 6158, Five Piece 1915-S Panama-Pacific Commemorative Set, MS65 to MS67 NGC, realized $201,250
• Lot 6412, 1849 Moffat & Co. $5, MS67 NGC, Kagin-4, realized $109,250

Heritage Numismatic Auctions presented 4,165 lots in its June 3-5 Signature Auction, the 41st major sale Heritage has held as official auctioneer of the Long Beach Coin Expo. The sale was 87.5% sold by number of lots, a testament to the power of the Internet and the strength of the coin market. Thousands of bidders competed, the majority of them online, and 836 have won lots thus far.

Heritage World Coin Auctions also hosted a 2,483 lot Signature Sale at Long Beach, which garnered more than $1.15 million with a 95.3% sell-thru rate. Prices realized for the two auctions already exceed $13.8 million, and sales will climb well past $14 million as bidders compete for Post-Auction Bargains and participate in Heritage's Bullet auction session. The June Long Beach Bullet Auction will be held June 7 at Heritage's award-winning website, www.HeritageCoin.com