Seventy years ago, on September 24 and 25, 1954, Stack’s Rare Coins offered Part 1 of the Anderson Dupont Collection, one of the most comprehensive collections of U.S. silver and copper coins to be offered at auction for years. This first of two Anderson Dupont sales focused on United States large cents from 1793 through 1857. The title page of the catalog notes that the sale was “Personally Described and Edited by Dr. William H. Sheldon,” large cent expert and author of the standard reference on the series Early American Cents, 1793-1814, later revised and known as Penny Whimsy.
In his reminiscences, the late Harvey Stack wrote of this auction (excerpted from the Stack’s Bowers Galleries Blog “Harvey Stack Remembers”):
“The collection presented 1,000 dates and varieties from 1793 to 1857. It contained many high quality and rare examples, explaining why Dr. William Sheldon was willing to catalog it. This collection alone provided much information as to rarity and quality. To me, working directly with Dr. Sheldon and his helper C. Douglas Smith was a college course on grading cents and identifying varieties. The Anderson Dupont Collection contained coins that were
acquired from collections that had been sold over the previous 50 years or more. These coins had not previously been available for study.
“To give an idea as to the scope of the collection there were 19 cents of the 1793 Chain and Wreath types, 75 cents dated 1794, and a total of 344 dates and varieties from 1795 to 1814 and followed by 784 later dates of the 1816 through 1857 range. Many were of Condition Census quality and others were among the best known of certain varieties with a large number in Mint State or Proof…
“Once Dr. Sheldon revealed in detail what was forthcoming in the offering, excitement developed rapidly within the huge community of cent collectors. In fact, some established cent collectors tried to make plans to determine who would ‘win’ many of the lots. We needed extra time and people to show lots, as well as time to discuss some of the new information that appeared in the auction catalog. The catalog quickly became a new reference book.
“The evening the large cents were offered, the auction room filled up quickly with some 300 seated collectors and standing room only for the balance of those attending… Those of us in the room were able to see history being made.”
To view the September 1954 Anderson Dupont catalog, visit our catalog library here.
