1827/3 25C Original, B-1, R.7, PR64 PCGS....

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1827/3 B-1 Original, PR64
One of Just Nine Examples Known
Ex: Parmelee-Green-Boyd-Stack

1827/3 25C Original, B-1, R.7, PR64 PCGS. Ex: James A. Stack. Attractive russet-brown coloring dominates both sides, strongest in the peripheral regions of the obverse, and creating a wonderful woodgrain effect on the reverse. All details are defined in razor-sharp detail, from Liberty's curls to the eagle's wing feathers to the letters on the scroll. Only a few minor obverse contact marks are present, with one in the field by stars 1 and 2, one before the mouth, two around stars 4 and 5, and one under star 8. A single mark below the eagle's right wing and an old thin scratch from the second S in STATES through the U in PLURIBUS to the eagle's head are the only contact marks that exist on the reverse. All of these marks require a thorough examination to notice, and do not detract from this superlative survivor's eye appeal one bit.
     According to Mint records, 4,000 quarters were minted in calendar year 1827, all delivered as part of Warrant #1133 on December 29 of that year. However, all of these coins were dated 1828. The only 1827-dated quarters produced around the year of issue were the nine so-called "Originals," identified by the Curl Base 2 in the date. This die was also used on the 1828 B-1 quarter. The same obverse die was used on all 1827 quarters, original and restrike alike, and is the same as the 1823/2 obverse die, but overdated and with a short-serif 1 punched over the existing 1, which had a longer serif.
     The emission sequence of these die marriages is more complex than originally thought. The conventional ordering places the 1827 Originals before 1828 B-1, and suggests that those 4,000 examples delivered at the end of 1827 were examples of 1828 B-1. However, a December 2023 article by Craig Sholley, John Dannreuther, Joey Lamonte, and Saul Teichman, presents different findings. The root of the issue is the typical emission sequence of 1828 quarters, which is B-1, B-2, B-3, B-4. This is not correct. B-3, the famous 25/5/50 C. issue, shares an obverse with B-1 and B-2, and its high grade examples show repunching on stars 2, 7, 9, 10, 11 and 13 more strongly than examples of B-1. B-2 coins exhibit weak or absent repunching. Therefore, the proper emission sequence is B-3, B-1, B-2. They suggest that the 4,000 quarters delivered on December 29, 1827 comprised the whole production of B-3, as 4,000 is about 4% of the 1828 mintage, and about 4% of surviving 1828 quarters are B-3s. Following that, the 1827 Original quarters and 1828 B-1s were produced with several remarriages of the dies, as shown by comparing the die states of their shared reverse as well as the reverse rotations of the 1827 Originals. Considering the next delivery of 1828 quarters, after the December 29, 1827 delivery that comprised the B-3 die marriage, was on February 8, 1828, and a few 1828 B-1s were produced before the first 1827 Original, the 1827 Original is almost certainly a product of calendar year 1828.
     The present example contains a storied pedigree reaching all the way back to the Seavey Descriptive Catalog in 1873. Following its appearance in the landmark Parmelee sale in 1890, this coin was linked to a 1923 Thomas Elder sale as well as the Browning collection. However, the evidence for the Elder appearance is tenuous, as the example in that sale is listed as a restrike, and evidence to the contrary is weak. Also, a 1929 letter from Browning to M.L. Beistle revealed that Browning did not own his example of the 1827 quarter, removing his name from the roster as well. Further research has conclusively connected this example to the World's Greatest Collection and Will W. Neil sale before going to James A. Stack, clarifying the middle years of a provenance that is filled with all-star numismatists from front to back.
Ex: George Seavey (1873 Descriptive Catalog #471), The Lorin G. Parmelee Collection (New York Coin & Stamp, 6/1890), lot 975, to the Chapman's; possibly Col Ellsworth probably via Wayte Raymond; Col Green; F.C.C. Boyd (via B.G. Johnson's 6/29/1943 invoice); World's Greatest Collection (Numismatic Gallery, 3/1945), lot 89; Will W. Neil (B. Max Mehl, 6/1947), lot 897; James A. Stack; James A. Stack (Stacks 2/1975), lot 29; Rare Coin List #10 (Paramount, 6-7/1975); Dan Drykerman; Somerset (Bowers & Merena 5/1992), lot 1172, offered by O'Connor Numismatics in 2007.
Listed among the 100 Greatest U.S. Coins.(Registry values: P10)
From The Key West Collection.

Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# 23S9, PCGS# 5373, GSID# 5075)

Metal: 89.24% Silver, 10.76% Copper
Weight: 6.74 grams
ASW: 0.19338oz

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