LOT #4315 |
Current Bid: $240,000
1873-CC 25C No Arrows MS63 PCGS. Briggs 1-A....
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Description
1873-CC No Arrows Quarter, MS63
Ex: Eliasberg-Bolen-Gardner
One of Only Five Examples Known
The Rarest United States Quarter Issue
1873-CC 25C No Arrows MS63 PCGS. Briggs 1-A. Ex: Eliasberg.
The 1873-CC No Arrows quarter is among the greatest rarities of all
United States coinage. The example offered here most recently stood
as one of the top relics of the Gene Gardner Collection, a
legendary rarity that attracts the notice of advanced collectors at
every offering. The surfaces of this example -- one of only three
Mint State survivors -- display thick mint frost amid the
prevailing dove-gray patina, contrasted against mottled shades of
pale olive, rose, and smoke-gray. A sharp strike prevails
throughout the centers, although several of the right-side obverse
stars lack their radials. The reverse is well brought up
throughout, and no marks on either side are worthy of singular
mention. Two tiny ticks on the lower reverse, to the left of the
mintmark, suffice for pedigree purposes.The Rarest United States Quarter Issue
The 1873-CC No Arrows Seated Liberty quarter was created in mid-January 1873. Carson City Mint Coiner Chauncey N. Noteware put a single coin press into production to strike the first Carson City silver coinage of the year, and 1,000 silver dollars, 22,000 half dollars, and a token quantity of 4,000 quarter dollars were produced. The dies Noteware utilized for the lesser denominations were of the No Arrows design, as the Mint Act of 1873 had not yet been passed. In The Confident Carson City Coin Collector, Rusty Goe reveals that Noteware delivered the new coinage to Superintendent Henry F. Rice on January 18th.
The nail in the coffin on the 1873-CC No Arrows coinage came on February 12th, when Congress passed legislation increasing the weight of silver coinage by a tiny fraction. The legislation provided that, to signify which coins in circulation were of the new silver weight, arrows should be added at either side of the date. Thus, the With Arrows type was born, and the No Arrows coinage -- barely produced at all -- was largely melted without ever leaving the mint.
Today, only five examples survive of the 1873-CC No Arrows quarter, including three in Mint State and two well-circulated coins. The finest is an MS66 PCGS (formerly MS66 NGC) example formerly owned by James A. Stack. The second-finest is the F.C.C. Boyd "World's Greatest Collection"-Norweb example in MS64 PCGS (formerly MS64 NGC). The present Eliasberg-Waldo Bolen-Gene Gardner example, MS63 PCGS, makes up the third and last of the known Mint State survivors.
Two circulated survivors are known, including one XF40 NGC piece and a lower-grade coin (exact grade unknown) that was owned by Leon Hendrickson and authenticated by Larry Briggs, described in a Numismatic News 1996 article.
Little is concretely known about the origins of the five surviving examples that have turned up in numismatic holdings over the years. The circulated pieces did not emerge until the 1990s, but the three Mint State pieces were on the numismatic scene as early as the late 1870s. John W. Haseltine owned a pair of them at that time, and the third surfaced in Ed Cogan's sale of the John S. Randall collection in May 1878.
It is generally believed that the surviving examples were among a small group of coins preserved in January 1873 for the Assay Commission. Documentation exists for Rice sending two examples to the Commission, in keeping with the mint's practice of assaying one coin for every 2,000 struck. However, another provision allowed for additional assay coins to be reserved at the discretion of the Mint Director. At the time, Henry R. Linderman was Mint Director, and it has been theorized that he may have been the channel through which a few additional 1873-CC No Arrows quarters were preserved and distributed to select members of the numismatic public. The Eliasberg-Gardner piece is historically thought to be a coin deliberately preserved for assay purposes, but never destroyed by that test. The issue is listed among the 100 Greatest U.S. Coins.
The Eliasberg-Bolen-Gardner Example
The Eliasberg 1873-CC No Arrows quarter is an old friend come back for another visit; we originally offered it as part of the Waldo E. Bolen Collection of 1873-CC Coinage during our Central States Signature in April 1999. Waldo Bolen managed the incredible feat of assembling one example of every U.S. dime issue save for the unique 1873-CC No Arrows dime. When Bolen finally did manage to buy the 1873-CC No Arrows dime from the Eliasberg Collection for $550,000, his U.S. dime collection was complete. The acquisition also spurred him to go on and assemble a complete 11-piece set of 1873-CC coinage. The 1873-CC No Arrows dime sold in the Bolen Collection for $632,500, and it more recently traded hands in the Battle Born Collection (Stack's Bowers, 8/2012) for $1,840,000.
The present quarter dollar is not unique; as mentioned, three Mint State examples are known. But it is a coin of immense importance and rarity, and likely to be pursued by the same echelon of bidders as those who would bid on the dime. (The dime and quarter issues have similar backstories -- some minted, most melted.) The present piece will also be pursued by the legions of Seated quarter enthusiasts. Astute numismatists will pounce on this opportunity, as it may be many years to come before another example is offered at auction.
The late Gene Gardner discussed this coin when it appeared in our sale of his collection nearly a decade ago:
"The Eliasberg coin and an incredible rarity with just five known specimens, three of which are Mint State. The James A. Stack seems to rank highest, followed by the Norweb coin and then this specimen. As David Bowers noted in the Eliasberg catalog, this coin is not only the rarest Liberty Seated quarter, but the rarest of any quarter in the entire series (just nosing out the 1827). A lovely coin, naturally toned with an average strike. In the unlikely event that this coin would ever need attribution, a small die break on the reverse connects the denticles to the D in UNITED."
Roster of 1873-CC No Arrows Quarter Dollars
1. MS66 PCGS. John Swan Randall Collection (Ed Cogan, 5/1878), lot 795, $0.35; Browning Collection; William Grayson (B&B Coins); James A. Stack Collection (Stack's, 3/1975), lot 136, $80,000; NASCA, 7/1979, not sold; New England Rare Coin Auctions, 4/1980, lot 519, $205,000; Partnership of Bob Riethe and Greg Holloway; Auction '90 (RARCOA, 8/1990), lot 659, $341,000.
2. MS64 PCGS. Capt. John W. Haseltine; F.C.C. Boyd Collection / "World's Greatest Collection" (Numismatic Gallery, 3/1945), lot 378; Harold M. Budd, Sr.; Ben Stack (Imperial Coin Company); Numismatic Gallery; Norweb Collection, Part II (Bowers and Merena, 3/1988), lot 1647, $88,000; William Greene Collection (Superior, 2/1998), lot 2038, $209,000; Nevada Collection (Heritage, 8/1999), lot 6281, not sold; Battle Born Collection (Stack's Bowers, 8/2012), lot 11094, $470,000; D.L. Hansen Collection.
3. MS63 PCGS. Believed to have been rescued from the coins sent by the Carson City Mint to the U.S. Mint's annual Assay Commission; Capt. John W. Haseltine (1874); Stephen K. Nagy; William H. Woodin; H.O. Granberg; H.O. Granberg Collection (B. Max Mehl, 7/1919), lot 358; F.C.C. Boyd Collection (Numismatic Gallery, 3/1941), lot 378, $725; Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection (Bowers and Merena, 4/1997), lot 1503, $187,000; Waldo E. "Pat" Bolen, Jr. Collection of 1873-CC Coinage / Central States Signature (Heritage, 4/1999), lot 5926, $106,375; Richmond Collection, Part III (David Lawrence, 3/2005), lot 1480, $201,250; Orlando Sale (Stack's, 1/2009), lot 338, $431,250; Gene Gardner (Mr. Gardner wrote that he bought this coin "for an arm and both legs"); Eugene H. Gardner Collection, Part III (Heritage, 5/2015), lot 98357, $376,000. The present coin.
4. XF40 NGC. First appeared at the 1992 ANA convention (according to the Stack's Bowers 8/20/2012 catalog); Pre-Long Beach (Superior, 10/2000), lot 3167; Long Beach Signature (Heritage, 2/2002), lot 5588, $79,350.
5. Circulated Uncertified. According to the 10/29/1996 issue of Numismatic News, this circulated example was authenticated by quarter dollar variety specialist, Larry Briggs. This coin has yet to appear at public auction and neither PCGS nor NGC show it on their respective population reports.(Registry values: P10)
From The Bruce S. Sherman Collection, Part I.
Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# 23UW, PCGS# 5486, Greysheet# 5207)
Weight: 6.22 grams
Metal: 90% Silver, 10% Copper
View all of [The Bruce S. Sherman Collection, Part I ]
The Confident Carson City Coin Collector
by Rusty Goe
The Carson City Mint’s celebrated legacy — replete with landmark achievements, setbacks, mysteries and tall tales — is covered in exacting detail in Goe’s three-volume set.
by Rusty Goe
The Carson City Mint’s celebrated legacy — replete with landmark achievements, setbacks, mysteries and tall tales — is covered in exacting detail in Goe’s three-volume set.
Auction Info
2025 January 14 - 19 FUN US Coins Signature® Auction #1380 (go to Auction Home page)
Proxy Bidding Ends
January
15th
Wednesday
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January
14th-19th
Tuesday-Sunday
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Signature® Floor Session - Platinum Session - THE BRUCE S. SHERMAN COLLECTION, PART I (Live Floor, Live Phone, Mail, Fax, Internet, and Heritage Live):
(Lots 4270-4367) - 5:00 PM Central Time, Wednesday, January 15, 2025.
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Heritage Auctions
2801 W. Airport Freeway
Dallas, TX 75261
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