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1860 $20 PR64 NGC. CAC....
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Sold on Jan 6, 2011 for:
$230,000.00
Bid Source: Internet bidder
Description
Rare 1860 Liberty Head Twenty, PR64
About 10 Examples Known in All Grades
1860 $20 PR64 NGC. CAC. Proof Liberty Head double eagles of
any date are rare, especially in high grade, and a proof double
eagle of the 1860s vintage, as the present coin, is exponentially
rarer still. The year 1860 was only three years after the first
great wave of coin collecting arose in America. Most members of the
burgeoning collector community were pursuing either Washington
items, Colonials, foreign coins, and/or the "old coppers," the
large cents and half cents that had been only recently withdrawn
from circulation.The Liberty Head double eagle design was developed in 1849 and launched commercially in 1850 in response to the great wave of newly mined gold from the West. Dr. Robert Loewinger reports that proof double eagles dated before 1858 are all but nonexistent:
"There was at least one Proof made in 1850 in Philadelphia, and also a brilliant Proof made in 1854 at the San Francisco Mint. No Proofs were made from 1851-1853 and from 1855-1857. The city of Bremen, Germany Proof set likely contained an 1854 double eagle. Proofs were made during the years 1858-65."
In 1860, few indeed were the collectors interested in assembling modern-era gold coins, and fewer still were the number interested in obtaining (and preserving) a proof double eagle over a Mint State business strike. The year 1860 was also only the third year that the Mint publicly marketed proof coins to collectors.
The proof mintage of the 1860 double eagle is recorded as 59 pieces. The proof coins were manufactured with frosted devices against deeply mirrored fields, a prized attribute among collectors today and one that is responsible for the existence of wonderful borderline Cameo examples such as the present PR64 specimen. Despite the original mintage figure, Breen writes in his Proof Encyclopedia:
"Gold proof sets. All the gold proofs were delivered April 5. At least 30 were sold in sets, some of the lower denominations as individual coins, the remainder unsold being melted in January 1862 per R.W. Julian. There are not now 30 proofs extant of any of the higher denominations."
Regarding the 1860 double eagle proof in particular, Breen opines that "probably less than 10 survive in all." We would be unsurprised to learn that the total is actually smaller still. Although the combined NGC/PCGS population is 11 "pieces" ranging from PR63 Cameo to a single PR65 Ultra Cameo at NGC, there may be numerous duplicates in those figures. Note that two examples are off the market, presumably forever, in museum collections.
We can account for these 10 specimens, although some duplications may also be present here:
--PR65. Ely; Woodward (1883); Garrett Part II (Bowers and Ruddy, 3/1980), lot 789.
--PR64 Deep Cameo PCGS. Wolfson; Stack's (10/1962), lot 872; ANA Signature (Heritage, 4/2006), lot 2294, $201,250. In that sale, we noted, "It is perhaps a strong statement that the remarkable Harry Bass collection did not contain a proof example of this issue. Neither did the Eliasberg, Pittman, and Norweb collections."
--PR64 Cameo NGC. Ex: Ed Trompeter. Long Beach Signature (Heritage, 2/2000), lot 6883; Pittsburgh Signature (8/2004), lot 7683, PR64 Cameo PCGS; 2006 ANA (Bowers and Merena, 8/2006), lot 4397, $189,750.
--PR64 Cameo NGC. Superior (7/2005), lot 556, $189,750.
--PR64 NGC. CAC. The present example.
--PR64. Father Flanagan (Superior, 5/1990), lot 5737, $148,500.
--PR63 Cameo PCGS. Long Beach Signature (Heritage, 9/2004), lot 7983.
--PR63 PCGS. CSNS Signature (Heritage, 4/1999), lot 6259.
--Proof. Smithsonian Institution.
--Proof. American Numismatic Society.
The deep field-to-device reflectivity present on this rare near-Gem proof is quite close to a Cameo designation, and we are surprised that the piece failed to achieve it. There are no singular contact marks visible on either side, although the surfaces are just a touch hazy, which may have prevented an even finer grade. The date logotype is lightly stamped into the die, a feature of the issue as a whole and not indicative of any strike deficiency. Census: 1 in 64, 0 finer (11/10). There are five NGC examples certified PR64 Cameo, and one PR65 Ultra Cameo.
From The Henry Miller Collection.(Registry values: P7)
Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# 26DB, PCGS# 9072, Greysheet# 9987)
Weight: 33.44 grams
Metal: 90% Gold, 10% Copper
Note for clients in the European Union: This lot is considered by the European Union to be “investment gold”. We believe that it meets the criteria established in Article 344(1), point (2) of Council Directive 2006/112/EC and thus should be exempt from import VAT regardless of the selling price. Any questions or concerns about VAT should be addressed to your accountant or local tax authority.
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Auction Info
2011 January Tampa FUN Signature & Platinum Night US Coin Auction #1151 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
January, 2011
5th-9th
Wednesday-Sunday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 7
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
Page Views: 6,626
Buyer's Premium per Lot:
15% of the successful bid per lot.
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