Gold Pattern Leads Central States Sale to $27.8 Million
Three Heritage Auction events combine to break records, led by PF-64 Cameo graded 1863 $10 gold coin.
An 1863 $10, Judd-349, PF-64 Cameo, PCGS, CAC soared to a record $810,000 to lead Heritage’s Central States Numismatic Society U.S. Coins Signature® Auction to $27,825,772.
That total, combined with Heritage’s CSNS Currency Signature® Auction, which ended at $12,610,964, and the CSNS World & Ancient Coins Platinum Session and Signature® Auction, which reached $11,904,407, raised the total for the three events to $52,341,143.
The 1863 Judd-349 $10, which smashed its previous auction record (set in the coin’s last auction appearance in 1988) of $64,900, is the only gold specimen known to collectors from these dies, and it claims an unbroken pedigree back to its day of striking. Only a few numismatic issues – Judd-349 among them – can claim to be unique. This coin was among the Important Selections from The Bob R. Simpson Collection, Part XII featured in the auction, a trove from which highlights also included a 1795 13 Leaves Eagle, BD-1, MS-64+ that drew 37 bids on its way to $600,000 and three coins: a 1796 BD-1 Eagle, MS-62+ PCGS, CAC, an 1839 Gobrecht dollar, Judd-109 Restrike, Pollock-122, Unique, PF-64 Red and Brown PCGS and a 1799 $10 Large Obverse Stars MS-65 PCGS, CAC– each of which reached $360,000.
“The exceptional results in these auctions reflected the outstanding items contained in each one and cast a spotlight on the understanding of the numismatic collectibles market by the bidders who took part in these events,” says Greg Rohan, president of Heritage Auctions.
The top result for a lot that was not part of the Simpson Collection was $408,000 for an 1893 Liberty double eagle, PF-65 Deep Cameo PCGS, more than doubling the auction record of $192,000, which was set at Heritage Auctions in 2022. The Philadelphia Mint decreased production of proof Liberty double eagles to just 59 pieces in 1893, and unfortunately, the issue has a low survival rate, perhaps due to the ready availability of high-grade business strikes, with a mintage of 344,280 pieces. Whatever the reason, the 1893 proof Liberty double eagle is an elusive issue in all grades today: PCGS and NGC have combined to certify only 13 specimens between them, with this coin being the single finest. Another double eagle – an 1896 Liberty $20, PF-66 Deep Cameo PCGS – reached $300,000.
An 1879 Flowing Hair Stella, Judd-1635, PF-66 Cameo CACG, an example of one of the most popular issues in American numismatics, drew a winning bid of $324,000. Although technically a pattern, the 1879 Stella, which was named one of the 100 Greatest U.S. Coins, typically is collected as a trophy coin and type issue. The surviving population is in the hundreds, which only adds to the demand for this rarity.
Complete results for Heritage’s U.S. Coins auction can be found at the Heritage Auctions website.
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